The corona virus has affected more than 120 countries worldwide, and every lawyer and law firm will feel the effects, both professionally and personally, as governments demand an appearance of control over the situation, change strategies, and try to support businesses and Economies around the world while the population remains safe. But at a time when so much seems out of your control, there are ways to manage your law firm marketing strategy to guide you through a potentially difficult time and even seize opportunities in the midst of the crisis.
We are running a two-part series so you can continue to effectively market your law firm. Today we’re going to go through 5 great tips to get you started and focus your marketing efforts in a crisis.
How should your law firm market Covid-19 during the Coronavirus outbreak?
Don’t Panic
It seems the world is in constant panic, news channels and social media are littered with news, updates, and even wild conspiracy theories about the corona virus. However, it is very important to take measured steps at this point when it comes to marketing. On average, law firms spend about 2% of their annual budget on legal marketing. If you’re running a marketing campaign for growth campaigns, your marketing budget is likely to be around 7% of that, and now is not the time to think about cutting that budget, although the urge to do so is strong. Reducing your budget would be an overreaction that could be costly for your law firm in the long run. It’s also worth noting that if any competing law firm cuts their marketing budget, it will leave a market niche for you. Take the time to do a mini-check of your expenses and realign your budget instead of giving it up.
For example, you can assign a certain amount to event marketing. However, if all events are canceled instead of cashing in this budget, you can redirect it to a digital space like Google PPC, which will continue to be active during that time.
Think Digital
In the above point we used the example of canceling events. For many law firms, a budget is provided for marketing activities that are no longer relevant, such as:
Event Marketing – Since most events have been canceled, event marketing is not a problem for the time being.
Print Marketing – Let’s face it, you probably won’t need all 5000 of these new business cards right now.
Seminars – As little as speaking with an empty room may be less daunting than speaking with 250 people, it won’t help your lead generation.
Networking – Can’t you network with anyone else there? You cannot not personally.
As mentioned earlier, at a time when much of the workforce has moved to the online workspace, many law firms can keep the money saved by canceled bank events by focusing on their digital marketing efforts. Internet requirements are expected to increase during this current Covid 19 crisis. Use the abundance of additional online users to your advantage. Focus on:
Content Marketing (blogs, etc.) – Now is the time to write your content and keep your news up to date with the latest advice, tips and tricks in your area ofactivity. If you can focus on breaking news like the corona virus, you will likely get more hits.
SEO – Take some time to evaluate and update your SEO while things are calm.
Pay Per Click – When everyone is online and looking for information, now is a good time to get your law firm involved in these results.
Email Marketing – Reach your current and potential customers with specific offers, new content to remind you you’re still there, and the best contacts.
Social media – In a crisis, people flock to social media for updates and information, as well as easy relief. Use that to your advantage. Be active.
All of the digital channels mentioned above are likely to have a higher usage volume in the coming weeks. So, if you position your law firm with your marketing in these places, you ensure visibility to your clients at a time when others are hiding.
There are other digital methods that you can use to market yourself during this time. For example, add a chatbot to your website to make sure you get in touch with visitors.
Align your content with the SERPs
Right now, people are looking for as much information as possible about the corona virus and its effects. The trends in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) regarding homework, labor law, sick pay, tenancy rights, etc. are omnipresent. Use your knowledge in these areas to be the company that provides the answers to the questions your customers are desperately looking for. People are confused and scared. So, let them find your calm voice of authority and information and they will instantly recognize your law firm as a worthwhile practice.
At the moment, when creating your content, think about the titles and keywords you use. Make sure you don’t just focus on one keyword in your content, use long-tail keywords, and remember that Google and the other search engines love relevance. Therefore, make sure that your news article or blog is relevant to the search query that you think your customers will be looking for.
Be Smart, Take advantage of a crisis
While we are discussing the reasons why you should keep coming on the market during the coronavirus pandemic, we strongly recommend that you take advantage of the situation, like this pharmacy that Calpol sold for £ 20. With this in mind, we recommend that you avoid the following:
Price Reduction – Do not increase the prices of your services related to the Coronavirus. Customers expect trust and guidance from you so as not to be exploited.
Creation of “new products and services” that do not exist – Creation of “new” services that are marketed to help people in a crisis who are neither new nor useful, but only to take advantage of vulnerable and frightened customers, and this will lead to bad relationships and reputation.
Content That Triggers Panic – Instead of trying to pray with alarming blogs and emails about fear and worry, you should be the voice of reassurance and guidance. This is a time not to be alarmed. Your customers will thank you in the long run.
It is important to realize that every point of contact with your client is a form of marketing, and clients will remember if you were the law firm that tried to make them a service they were in a time of global panic and Confusion neither wanted nor needed. Instead, be the law firm that helped them with good advice and service when they needed it, and they will remember it long after the crisis has ended.
Go Local
The world of everyone has just got a little smaller. Now is the perfect time to make sure you’re set up for local search marketing. If you don’t have Google My Business yet, get one. Thanks to Google, you can advertise your company for free. You can add all of your business information, get customer reviews (recommendations are still the first choice for law firms), and make sure you update opening hours if they change due to Covid-19. Make sure your customers know how and when they can reach you in the region.
For advanced local search engine marketing, you can adjust some of your content and search engine optimizations to those in your region and include some localized Google PPC campaigns to narrow your focus now, as your target customer base may have shrunk significantly.
Hopefully this should allow your law firm to make a good start in planning your marketing strategy in these difficult circumstances. Come back on Monday to receive the second part of our guide to marketing your law firm during the Corona Virus.
For more details: Raza & Associates