The Law Firm Marketing Trifecta
When positioning a law firm for success, the law firm marketing trifecta consists of the three core marketing disciplines, namely, brand, content, and advertising, that we believe are essential for success. By ensuring best-in-class practices in these three key areas, firms of all shapes and sizes can stand out from the competition and generate optimal clients and thereby reach business growth goals.
A firm’s brand sets the stage for creating an attractive first impression. Content clarifies that the firm has expertise in the relevant practice area, builds goodwill, and boosts organic traffic (SEO). Lastly, regardless of form (traditional or digital), advertising, when appropriately executed, drives qualified traffic to the firm’s website. In this discussion, we delve into the trifecta’s three prongs, including navigating common pitfalls and strategies for success.
Brand
The look, feel, and overall presentation of a firm’s brand are obvious, such as the logo, color scheme, and website design. However, it also includes some less apparent aspects such as tone and message. Depending on the firm’s practice area and client segment, branding should differ. For example, what may work well for a family law practice catering to a localized population in the midwest should not be applied to a corporate boutique in New York City. Regardless of practice or geographic area, branding plays an essential role in firms that want to set themselves apart from the competition.
The Challenge For Attorneys
One of the most challenging aspects of executing best in class branding for many lawyers is that design and aesthetics are arguably not in the average attorney’s wheelhouse. To be clear, that is not to say that attorneys are not capable of improving and even excelling in this discipline. Instead, branding is an area that, for those not naturally inclined, requires practice and experience. Further, design and law are generally not thought of as requiring remotely similar skillsets. In contrast to the law, which is very much fact and precedent specific, branding relies largely on feeling.
So how is a lawyer not competent or naturally gifted in the intricacies of branding supposed to navigate this core tenet of marketing? In essence, the only way to build a feel for what works is to study. Viewing other market players and comparing design that is advantageous and seasoned analysis helps formulate an understanding of a strong brand dynamic.
Investing time in building proficiency of successful brand composition is either of limited interest to many attorneys or merely unrealistic due to time constraints. For this reason, often, it makes sense for lawyers to outsource the creation of their brand. The need to get a branding professional to create a firm’s brand stands in contrast to the two other competencies of the marketing trifecta. Content and advertising are more manageable and even strategic in terms of payoff for an attorney to learn. While advertising is less important for an attorney to know than content, it is still a significantly more valuable skill to learn than a deep dive into the fundamentals of branding. Advertising is more of an ongoing and regularly occurring endeavor than the formation of a brand. On the other hand, strategic content creation is above and beyond the most important for an attorney to master independently. After all, the most informative and high-quality content can only be created by the attorney dealing in the practice area minutiae daily.
A Moving Target
The most advantageous look and feel for law firm branding is not one size fits all and changes over time. For example, prior legal brand design theory was more sterile and in line with professional standards of the time. More recently, though, we have seen a marked shift, and professional services branding has taken on a more casual flair. That is not to say that law firms have abandoned their standards or eliminated the more objective and less ostentatious approach accepted in other sectors. Instead, we have seen a move toward more of a modern aesthetic with personality but still maintains an aura of professionalism and trust.
An exemplary illustration of this shift is the wholesale move to shortened firm names in branding. Firms that used to have lengthy and forgettable names are now monosyllabic and easily remembered law firm brands. For example, in conjunction with a comprehensive rebrand, Wiley Rein is now branded as Wiley.
The National Law Review elaborates on the rationale for this change in law firms’ naming convention quite well. At its core, long firm names, paying homage to founding partners has come to be seen as a liability. The clunky names are not memorable and act as an obstacle to effective marketing. We expect this shift to continue with the changing norms of what is seen as an acceptable presentation of firms and evolving professional responsibility requirements.
Market Positioning Dictates Brand
Beyond a general understanding of law firm branding and design, a firm’s market positioning should dictate specific decisions in the real of brand “look and feel.” A firm’s place within a market segment needs to consider various core factors, including location, practice area, optimal client base, and firm ethos. A local family law practice should focus on crafting an aesthetic that is more individual in feel. On the other hand, a tech-focused corporate firm should take a more professional design ethos.
Content
In contrast to the challenges present for a sizable portion of attorneys regarding design and branding, the content aspect of the trifecta comes considerably more naturally. After all, lawyers are trained to write and explain nuanced matters to the layperson. Lawyers that put the time into creating high-quality content for their website can excel in this area and see long-term extended returns from their efforts.
Focusing On Search Demand
When deciding on content and thought leadership topics, it is essential to gauge and analyze the search interest from your optimal client profile. While gains from great content can be had even without associated search volume (through generalized ranking factors, linking, etc.), efforts should focus on search demand for maximal returns. Quantifying this demand is easier for some practices than others. Generally, for more routine and consumer-focused practices, with larger search volume, it is easier to find which topics and keywords have the most demand. Simultaneously, there is also generally more competition for such generalized practices, and therefore ranking is considerably more challenging.
In our view, there are several ways practitioners should go about deciding which topics to cover. Generally, subjects are incorporated because they are fundamental aspects of a practice, such as a post titled “Divorce 101 In North Dakota.” There is also discussion that can capitalize on new developments such as a change to divorce law in the state of one’s practice. Also, through the use of various keyword research and other tools, opportunities to fill in gaps where it is limited high quality thought leadership can be of specific high value.
Quality Over Quantity
When it comes to creating content, the right perspective is essential for success. Often, there is a short-term view taken, where the result is shoddy and short pieces that took little time to create. Content of this kind is not only limited in its positive effect but can, at times, be detrimental.
So what constitutes excellent content that will bring positive returns for years to come?
First and foremost, the writing should be relevant and substantive. Relevance is more straightforward and refers to what people interested in the specific practice area might be searching for online. Substantiveness, on the other hand, is multipronged. While length is not always determinative, lengthier high-quality writing wins the day in the eyes of search engines like Google and leads to a higher ranking. There is no set word count quota to meet, but content that is in the thousands of words does better than those with a few hundred. With that said, there is a place for shorter form content too. Practice area alerts such as recent changes or developments to clients’ areas of concern also play a positive role.
In addition to quality writing, incorporating other kinds of content is an integral part of an overall strategy. The creation of infographics, video, and other interactive components should be a priority as they go a long way in differentiating from the competition.
Content Can Have Many Lives
Since high-quality content is a resource-intensive undertaking, it is a mistake not to maximize the return from such an investment. Writing content and posting it to the firm’s website without amplifying and reusing it is typical for practitioners. Instead of taking this route, it is advised to post excerpts on social media, incorporate it into emails, and update it as there are new relevant developments. Besides the further traction from added distribution, search engines favor updated content, which further improves both website and keyword ranking.
Stay On Brand
When formulating content, paying attention to ensuring that graphics and other assets are on-brand will help to portray a professional and uniform firm. We often see the haphazard application of logos or font choice that varies from one piece of content to another. This leads can lead to subconscious confusion on the part of potential clients and diminishes the potential positive returns for an otherwise stellar piece of content.
Advertising
While organic traffic can be generated from strong content over time, creating immediate and relevant client flow is through advertising, and specifically, via digital ads. Advertising, though, encompasses a broad range of platforms and methodologies. Therefore, it is essential to differentiate between the various options and what will correspond best for the particular law firm at hand. Specifically, while certain platforms and strategies might be excellent for one firm, they may not be the best choice for another. When choosing the platforms to pursue and spend resources on, several key factors should be accounted for in the decision-making process. Some of the key variables include the firm’s practice area, location, size, and optimal client.
We advise clients to take a measured and phased approach to advertise and to focus on digital platforms. The phasing methodology allows for fine-tuning of spend and helps to minimize waste of resources. Such an approach contrasts starkly to going all-in from the outset. An all-in approach eliminates the opportunity for continuous optimization of efforts. The concentration on digital platforms offers immensely better targeting, analytics, and spend control capabilities compared to print or direct mail. That is not to say that analog ads do not provide value for individual firms in specific contexts; instead, digital offers superior capabilities overall.
Focusing On Goals That Move The Needle Not Vanity Metrics
It is essential to stay focused on the goals that genuinely matter when embarking on digital advertising. We often see attorneys convinced by marketers that somehow vanity metrics such as likes from irrelevant people somehow moves the needle in a meaningful way. While there is some value in follower count, especially for more general application practices, such as family law or personal injury, it most important to concentrate on client generation. Whether it is tracking leads submitted or calls received, following the numbers that matter and improving accordingly helps improve marketing performance effectively.