Introduction
This year, tried and tested methods of law firm digital marketing will be as relevant for law firms as they were some years ago. This entails content development, blogging, and email marketing. Further, mobile responsiveness and SEO continue to be a key factor for law firm marketing professionals. But this year which marks the beginning of the new decade, a lot of changes will be coming up in law firm marketing.
Hence this piece has been put together to shed light on the top 6 law firm digital marketing trends to watch out for in 2020. Let’s get started!
1. Podcasts:
Since people are always on the go in this era of digital marketing, it makes sense to use podcasts to get the attention of the people. Podcasting continues to evolve exponentially and it is estimated that over 60 million Americans listen to podcasts on a daily basis. Creating podcasts takes planning and resources but it reaps rich dividends, if and when it is executed successfully.
You can get them produced through your own and let someone else handle the post-production. That way you will be able to save time while maximizing the benefits from podcasts through your regular releases.
2. Analytics & Data:
It may be difficult to track returns on marketing efforts, but in this day and age companies are able to make more informed decisions than ever before. Today businesses of all shapes and sizes can use technology in their marketing efforts. Every passing day, new tools come up which can help firms of all sizes to collect data that is relevant to their marketing strategies.
One way to get the most out of your analytics is by choosing the metrics you wish to follow. You can begin with custom data, social media engagement, social media reach and site traffic.
3. Client-first Marketing:
Your focus should be on finding the problems of your customers and then go about finding and offering solutions to such problems. You should focus on the expertise of your firm on helping the clients. Use all opportunities to underscore your firm’s emphasis on client experience. Build relationships with your clients by sharing meaningful content, as much as you can. You can also do so by creating campaigns that can engage interaction and participation from the people.
4. Video:
Video isn’t a new trend but for the current year and for the times ahead, law firms need to understand that video is more effective than text. Video can be effortlessly used to build the personal brand of your firm.
It can also be used to showcase the values of your firm. You can share information and insights through videos which will help you in engaging with your target audience. Today with the superior quality of smartphone cameras, you really don’t need to invest a lot in equipment, to be pushing out polished videos on a regular basis.
5. Better Connection Between Marketing and Business Development:
Law firms are increasingly recognizing the value of having staff to focus on individual books of businesses. This year it is expected that marketers will play a more prominent role in the firm’s overall business strategy.
Marketers were well placed to identify initiatives on which the firms should be focusing their time and resources. Marketers are expected to come up with proactive steps that will ensure that the firm is able to provide the best service to their clients will maintaining competitive leverage in the market.
6. Reputation Management:
Monitoring your firm’s online presence is more important today than it has ever been before. This is because a lot of people are influenced by reviews when it comes to buying products or availing the services of law firms. Information spreads like wildfire on social media and hence firms need to be prepared to respond to mentions, commentaries, and inclusions.
They also need to be prepared to counter negative reviews or criticism against the company. If you don’t do so, then there is a chance that the entire thing can spiral out of control. A lot of consumers change their minds if they encounter any negative information about the service provider. Hence, it is imperative for all law firms to invest in online reputation management.
7. Diversifying Business Models:
The exponential expansion of technology in the digital age has resulted in some law firms expanding their offerings. 2020 is likely to be the year where law firms expand the services they deliver and it may soon become commonplace for many law firms to offer services like legal technology and consulting services.
It is imperative on part of law firms to change with the times or run the risk of being left behind their counterparts. It is expected that there is likely to be a rise in the number of people who pursue “legal adjacents” careers such as project managers, risk professionals, and legal operations specialists.
8. Voice Search will become commonplace:
There have been some weaknesses in voice recognition that have slowed adoption. But things are likely to change in 2020. The bigwigs have managed to make voice recognition work which makes it one of the top law firm marketing trends of 2020. Slowly but surely people are beginning to trust voice search which means that the share of search traffic from voice searches is all set to grow. The voice recognition error rate for major technologies is rapidly getting down, which augurs well for voice search in the future. It is expected that law firms will build their sites around conversational human language this year.
The Bottom Line
Each year brings some trends to the forefront and 2020 is no different. One thing that can be said for sure is that law firm marketing will continue to evolve. Law firms around the world will feel the greater need to adapt to changing times or run the high risk of being left behind their competitors. Law firm digital marketing needs to adapt quickly and work with the trends, tools, and techniques which work best for their business. You can implement the aforementioned tips on your own or get them implemented through a reputed digital marketing reseller program.
