Many law firms require constant lead generation to stay in business—as cases resolve, they need new leads to raise their hand for legal guidance.
Keeping a steady stream of leads is not an easy feat, but with the right tools and strategy, law firms won’t need to worry about running short of prospective clients.
The future of lead gen for lawyers
Law firms are currently in a state of transition when it comes to lead generation tactics. They can still use many of the same methods that have proven successful for years—TV and radio spots, billboards, and ads on buses and park benches can certainly drive leads, but they also have an entirely new suite of digital marketing tactics at their disposal.
Regardless of which methods you choose, the biggest change is how much data and analysis law firms have to these marketing channels, even those that are offline.
Find out what 600 law firms and legal-focused marketing agencies have to say about marketing priorities and strategies in our 2023 Marketing outlook for law firms.
What challenges do lawyers face with lead generation?
Historically, many law firms have been reactive with their lead generation strategies. They’ve used tactics they know have worked for their competitors, or looked to studies and trends to define their marketing strategies.
Unfortunately, this top-level analysis doesn't allow law firms to evaluate their unique strategy and target audience. Without deeper insights, they aren’t able to understand precisely which of their marketing strategies are most effective.
As a result, they can often spend a big portion of their marketing budget on channels that simply aren’t bringing in new leads—money that could be spent on those lead generation strategies that are more effective.
Revolutionizing the lead generation process with visitor tracking
Fortunately, analyzing lead sources has gotten a lot easier, thanks to advances in lead source tracking technology.
Today, law firms can use tools like CallRail to gain deep insights on the different methods they use to generate leads, giving them the ability to adjust their strategy to maximize ROI and reduce marketing spend overall.
Best lead generation tactics for law firms in 2023
Law firms have a multitude of marketing tactics to choose from, but here are some of the most common and effective attorney lead generation channels:
1. Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When potential customers are looking for a lawyer, it’s likely their first port of call is Google. By optimizing your website for local search (and search engines in general), you’re maximizing your chances of new leads discovering you when searching for lawyers in their area. This tactic also requires minimal overhead to get started, making it one of the most cost effective lead generation tactics.
2. Pay-per-Click advertising (PPC)
You won’t always be able to rank at the top of Google’s organic search results – but you can invest in immediate visibility and brand recognition with pay-per-click ads. PPC ads can be hosted above organic search results on Google, or you can bid on ads hosted on virtually any social media platform, as well as many high-traffic websites. The key is to consider where your audience is most likely to see the ads, and adjust your bids and placements accordingly.
3. Content marketing for website & social media
Blogs, white papers, case studies, videos—those are just some of the ways you can use content as part of your lawyer lead generation strategy. Working with talented designers and writers, you can create content that will not only attract more people to your firm’s website through search and social media, but also move them down the funnel and help them convert.
Traditional lead generation tactics
1. Referral website marketing
One of the best lead generation tactics for law firms is to partner with other websites that have a large audience which overlaps with your own. You can incentivize referrals from affiliated websites by offering kickbacks, such as a % payment for every new retainer client a referral partner passes your way.
2. Networking
In-person and virtual networking are still effective methods for discovering prospective clients. Public speaking, hosting webinars, or simply attending events and building your name recognition can bring new clients in the door.
3. Television ads
Law firms have used television ads to generate leads for decades, and it’s still an effective tactic for reaching a target audience. In addition to spots on cable television, firms may want to consider advertising on streaming platforms to reach an even broader audience.
Common lead generation mistakes and how to avoid them
Not using a robust tracking software that provides deep client insights
A good marketing strategy is backed by the evidence. This is why call tracking software is so valuable — with the right insights, you can remove any guesses, and instead rely on hard data demonstrating which of your lead generation tactics are the most effective.
For example, imagine you’re using billboard ads, television ads, and Facebook ads to draw in new leads for your firm. If you use a single phone number for all of your ads, you’ll know how many leads you're getting each month, but you’ll have no idea which channels are pulling them in.
On the flip side, if you use software like CallRail, you’ll be able to assign different phone numbers to each campaign. This will show you not only which marketing channel is bringing in the most leads, but also which set of leads are most likely to convert into actual customers.
That’s data you’ll miss out on completely if you’re not using the right tracking software.
Not having a clear target audience for your campaigns
Knowing the basic demographics of your audience isn’t enough—you have to understand what their motivations are, their fears and anxieties, their hopes and desires. Getting a deeper understanding of your audience is the only way to lay a solid foundation when it comes to lead generation for lawyers.
Failing to optimize for mobile users
How many of your users visit your website using a mobile phone or tablet device? The number is probably a lot higher than you guess—studies suggest that on average, more than half of website traffic comes through mobile devices.
If your site isn’t optimized for smaller screens, then you’re likely losing out on a high volume of potential leads.
Missing major conversion events in a lead's lifecycle
Have you mapped out the journey your leads take before and after interacting with your business? What drives them to your website in the first place? What actions do they take once they come across your site? And most importantly: When are the moments in this journey that they are most likely to convert? The answers to these questions can unlock new opportunities to generate leads.
What’s driving law firm marketing in 2023? Download the infographic – 2023 marketing outlook for law firms – to find out.
CallRail's commitment to law firm marketing success
Thousands of successful law firms are already using CallRail to lower their marketing spend while increasing their inbound leads. Our unique tracking technology offers a multitude of benefits for law firms:
- Assign unique phone numbers for different campaigns to evaluate ROI
- Analyze not only phone calls but also form submissions on your website
- Customize numbers and phone messaging for law firms in different localities
- Review and analyze transcripts and call data in one single dashboard
And that’s just the beginning. To see how CallRail can help transform your law firm, sign up for a free trial.
