Digital Marketing For Lawyers: What You Need To Know About Your Legal Consumers

Customers form the lifeblood of any industry. But let us face it, these individuals can be difficult to read sometimes. And we hate to say this, but they will also lie to you on occasion. More often, they can get away with it. After all, the customer is king, right? Well, that still holds true even among legal consumers. That said, digital marketing for lawyers requires you to learn what clients want from their legal counsel so that you can focus on attracting their business.

In this article, we will expound on what people are looking for in their attorney, some of which are based on a recent survey of consumer legal needs by Thomson Reuters.

They want the best lawyer, period

With information at your beck and call, thanks to the internet, some people will tend to do things themselves because they can just Google their questions away. In fact, based on the survey, 21 percent of the respondents have performed research and had gone through legal forms when they have a legal issue, with more than half of them contacting a lawyer afterwards. The great thing is, many of these individuals will still realize that what they could learn overnight is not enough, and that only a professional can do the job better. Which is good news to you because these will likely involve complicated scenarios, translating to a potentially higher value for your services. That said, they would want someone who’s really excellent at what they do, a lawyer that has successful cases under their belt. Needless to say, clients get a lawyer not only to defend them, but also to win the case. Of course, an excellent counsel, whatever that means, will have better odds of turning a case in their client’s favor.

Aside from being one of the best if not perceived to be the best, clients want that their lawyer will be able to solve their problem through a successful litigation. With that, lawyers should be able to provide regular communication and updates to their clients. While you should give importance to what they want, we know that it’s not always right or possible, so you would have to strike that balance somewhere. Thus, you should highlight your credentials when formulating your digital marketing tactics, may it be on your official website or social media page because that is an attractive feature most of them are looking for.

Your reputation precedes you

This is where client feedback becomes another factor for someone considering your legal services. It is not uncommon to hear from people about their experiences with their counsel whether online, or through word of mouth. Almost 90% are in unison when it comes to considering the reputation of the lawyer when deciding to hire them. Even the little gestures count, including the way you treat clients. They could be as simple as returning their calls in a timely manner, which, when you fail to do it, can leave a bad taste in their mouth. It makes them think that you are taking them for granted and would only make time for more lucrative cases. Having an online presence with your website contributes to your trustworthiness, which is one aspect that clients prefer. And besides, having a website itself adds to the legitimacy of your work.

A feedback rating system also helps build your image. With your own Yelp of sorts within your website, you should encourage your clients to rate your performance and service quality. However, you can only hope they will have the nicest things to say about you, like standing up for them despite compromising circumstances. In any case, you can control the information you want to put out there anyway, as there are those that choose to leave out any negative feedback that’s been given to them. These reviews contribute to your credibility and branding, and add brownie points to your SEO as well.

It matters where you are

Nearly half of the respondents to the Thomson survey have said that the location of their lawyer is a factor, which should fall within a 30-mile distance from their residence. This is crucial when formulating your digital marketing strategy. You do not want to waste your resources on going nationwide when, say, your law office is based in a particular state. You need to employ a targeted approach of finding customers just within your territory where they can easily reach you. Aside from your own site, you should not miss out on listing your contact information on legal directories, Google My Business, and other forms of advertising your location.

On the other hand, you can still lure clients beyond the radius of your office location. There are people, especially younger consumers, who prefer to communicate through email or text messages, which they can do conveniently on any of their mobile devices. And if they are sold by your skills as a lawyer, your location wouldn’t even matter as much anymore.

They are highly dependent on the internet for everything (almost)

By now, this one is pretty much a given fact. Since many clients are more comfortable communicating digitally with a lawyer, they rely on the web to answer their most burning questions, especially when it comes to legal queries. Around 27 percent of surveyed individuals used voice search when looking for answers to a legal query, which is quite interesting trivia. We mentioned earlier that your listing in legal directories will be very useful, given that 38 percent of those surveyed said that they use such sources to get the contact information, while 27 percent turned to social media for the same purpose.

Takeaway

Having a clear understanding of what your prospects want in their lawyer should equip you to customize your approach to digital marketing for your profession. This way you are maximizing your online presence, leaving no stone unturned until you reach your goals in your legal practice.