In an ever-changing marketing landscape, competitive firms are constantly looking to attract potential clients and generate growth by identifying the latest trends. As the legal industry continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, finding new ways to attract clients online is perhaps more important than ever.
Many experts are expecting 2021 to be a year of resurgence for the legal industry as more people get vaccinated and back to work. It’s important to be abreast of the current top legal marketing trends so that you can position your firm for growth in 2021. The following are some of the major legal marketing trends to watch for this year:
1. The focus will remain on quality content over quantity
Content remains as important as ever, especially after Google’s Expertise-Authority-Trust (E.A.T) update placed a greater emphasis on quality of content over quantity. Law firms will increasingly need to make content a top priority. Your site should have well-written and compelling content that provides valuable information about your firm, your legal services, and track record of success.
2. Law firms will make it easier for people to find them and interact with them
Prospective clients are increasingly demanding as seamless of a user-experience as possible. With so many options available online, visitors to your site will quickly leave if they don’t find the information or answers they are looking for.
Pay close attention to user experience. This means testing and refining interactions with your online clients. How do people find you online? How easy is it to book initial consultations, chat live, and or make payments? It all needs to be straightforward, easy-to-locate, and simple to complete.
3. Websites will continue to evolve into a one-stop-shop for all information about the law firm
Attorneys have historically been transactional when it comes to marketing. Referrals, billboards, and radio and TV spots have been the vehicles that connect prospective clients with lawyers. But the times are changing with marketing.
Successful law firms will continue to raise awareness with informative, interactive content on their site. For instance, creating helpful content (videos, graphics, written blogs) on a topic such as “premises liability” may help educate someone who just slipped and fell on someone’s property due to that property owner’s negligence. Helpful, informative content can help drive traffic, convert readers to clients, and build trust and authority online.
4. Voice-search optimized websites will rule the day
An emerging trend is the use of voice commands to do online searches. People can issue a voice command to their phones, their laptops, and their assistant devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa.
Search engines will pick up content that answers the question directly and is short enough to be read aloud. Consider this when building content. Be sure to use phrases or keywords that reflect real-life conversations and make content that is straightforward and concise that your material gets picked up by voice query searches.
Some benefits of voice-optimized searching include:
5. Micro-niches will become more important
Research has shown that many clients prefer targeted services. Also, complexities in certain legal industries are creating the need for high-value legal knowledge in specific areas.
Because of this, demand for highly specialized legal services is expected to increase this year. Micro-niches allow law firms to appeal to clients with specific needs. An in-depth understanding of the particular industry allows firms to provide custom services that add value in the eyes of the client.
6. Short(er) videos will replace longer ones
Video content has been among the top legal marketing trends for years. However, the ideal length for videos continues to decrease. Studies show the vast majority of people will watch a legal video all the way through if it’s less than one minute long.
On the other hand, videos that run over 20 minutes typically only retain about a quarter of viewers through the entire video. TikTok has exploded over the past year. This medium is expected to continue to grow throughout 2021. You can make use of short-form videos on a wide variety of platforms beyond TikTok, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and your own law firm site.
Benefits of shorter videos include:
The digital marketing landscape is always changing. Attorneys in all practice areas will need to evaluate the way they market themselves and adopt new techniques to maintain a growing, successful practice for years to come.
To learn how Client Chat Live can help position your law firm for growth in 2021, call (808) 495-0231 or visit our contact page.
