The truth is that the legal marketing industry is growing so quickly in response to the ever-changing digital marketing realities. Therefore, so many self-proclaimed lawyer lead generation gurus are doing everything possible to fill in the space hence the need for attorneys to be careful when hiring digital marketers and consultants.
Furthermore, the whole idea of legal marketing is often misunderstood, leading to the spread of so many legal marketing myths that many people believe as the truth. However, without the right information, it can be quite difficult to separate lies from facts.
That is why we have decided to debunk some of the common legal marketing myths out there. Read on to separate facts from lies.
Myth #1: It Is Essential to Advertise on Every Platform
Most people out there believe that they have to be visible on every platform to generate leads. However, that isn’t the case, and it will only hurt your return on investment.
If you want to have a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google, etc., you need to set aside a significant amount of money in the marketing budget.
Now, even if you have enough money to advertise on all the platforms, you need to ask yourself whether you are reaching qualified potential clients by being on all the platforms. The answer is a simple “no.”
In legal marketing, being everywhere doesn’t help you with anything. Sometimes, it can even cause more harm than good.
The most important thing you need to do is identify one or two platforms and focus on them. That way, you can learn everything you need to know to advertise successfully on the platform and scale your campaigns profitably.
Just make sure that the platform (s) you choose have the right demographic you need to target. For instance, if you are a divorce attorney, you should focus on channels where couples who are experiencing issues with their marriages hang most.
Take time to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your law firm and explore all the options that can boost your firm’s marketing presence other than pushing yourself into making rushed decisions that can hurt your legal marketing efforts in the long run.
Myth #2: Lawyer Lead Generation Generates Sales
This is far from the truth because professional legal marketers are not salespeople. Their primary job is to present your law firm to prospective clients in a highly targeted and consistent way that helps you to build a distinct, professional, and trustworthy image.
Most of them are focused on producing materials that tell your brand’s story and create a deep connection with your target audience.
This process is aimed at generating leads, and if it is successful, your law firm should start getting more calls and initial consultation appointments. But whether this turns into new cases for your law firm or not is entirely dependent on your lead conversion strategies.
Myth #3: Data is Insight
It is becoming increasingly common for law firms to collect data to measure the success of their various marketing campaigns. In principle, this is a good practice and great discipline.
However, the danger occurs when people trust their data so much without questioning its potential limitations.
For instance, if you launch and run a direct email marketing campaign that results in little or no leads at all, you may be tempted to conclude that direct mail isn’t a good fit for your law firm. But it could turn out that direct mail is a good fit, only that there were a few issues with how the campaign was executed.
It could be your messaging wasn’t well packaged, or your creatives weren’t good enough for the campaign.
Furthermore, if you strongly believe that the lion’s share of the new case leads come from offline referral, you may be tempted to focus more efforts on that avenue when the drivers of your referral network were actually generated on LinkedIn.
The bottom line is that data is important and contains knowledge, but you shouldn’t let that knowledge always cloud your instincts and judgment. Take time to analyze the data and ask yourself the hard questions before you draw conclusions.
Myth #4: Attorneys Don’t Need to Advertise
Some attorneys are still stuck in the good old days when lawyer advertising wasn’t essential. They still believe that having good practice is enough to attract new case leads.
To be fair enough, you still need to do an excellent job to succeed in your legal practice, but most of the time, a skill isn’t enough to get your business going. This is because even the most celebrated legal minds out there are dedicated self-promoters.
For instance, why do you think Supreme Court judges still write a lot of books? It is not because they are modest. It is because they want to market themselves.
Therefore, the question shouldn’t be whether you should advertise or not, but how do you advertise in a way that can push your law firm to the next level?
Myth #5: Tracking Leads Is a Waste of Time
With the volume of calls coming through your office line, hectic schedules, and countless meetings with existing and potential clients, it may be quite difficult to figure out how a prospective client heard about your law firm.
However, knowing where your leads are coming from is incredibly important if you want to understand the consumer journey and determine the return on investment for your marketing efforts.
If you are working with a lawyer lead generation company such as PALO, it becomes easy to know where the leads are coming from. However, if you are running internal campaigns, it is important to ask every person who contacts you how they heard about your law firm and enter the information into a database.
To make this process seamless, consider investing in case management software that will streamline your data collection process and ensure all the vital information is in one location.
Using case management software with lead tracking capabilities will also improve the accuracy of lead reporting and help you understand which elements of your advertising are working.
Myth #6: Results Are Immediate
This myth is particularly true among attorneys who want to try online marketing for the first time. Typically, if your firm is just getting started with lawyer lead generation, content marketing, or organic link building, you will be tempted into thinking that the results are always instant.
However, the truth is that it can take you months or even years of hard work and patience to start seeing the fruits of your hard work.
Any digital marketing company or expert who promises to make a few tweaks to your marketing campaigns to help you achieve immediate results is probably selling you nothing and only wants your money.
You need to keep in mind that legal marketing is a process that yields results over time. It is not as easy as most people have been made to believe.
Myth #7: Legal Marketing and Branding Are the Same Thing
While it is common for many people to assume that legal marketing strategies and branding are essentially the same thing, this isn’t the case. Although the two are closely related, each one of them represents an entirely different aspect of advertising your law firm.
Branding mainly focuses on how your law firm looks and how it presents itself to prospective clients. It encompasses things such as your law firm’s logo, tag line, colors, and mission.
The primary goal of branding is to establish a foundation on which all of your marketing initiatives will be created.
On the other hand, marketing deals with how the different branding elements are implemented into a strategy to advertise your law firm online and offline. It ensures the creation of continuity within your brand standards.
The Bottom Line
As an attorney, you need to build a foolproof system for generating and cultivating new case leads. Although the process may be overwhelming, it is worth the effort in the long run.
One thing we know for sure is that quality leads are out there, and with the right marketing strategies, you can transform them into high-paying clients.
While legal marketing may appear straightforward, there are lots of things you need to do right to stay ahead of your competitors. At PALO, we specialize in helping lawyers generate high-qualified leads that you can easily convert into new cases.
Our team is highly experienced in legal marketing and understands what it takes to help you achieve your goals. Talk to us today to find out how we can help you take your law firm to the next level with our proven pay per call legal marketing strategies.
