What is a ‘small’ law firm?
A small law firm (sometimes referred to as a “boutique” firm) operates with a distinct, client-focused approach. Typically comprising two to a dozen attorneys, these firms strike a balance between the personalized service of solo practitioners and the broader range of legal services offered by larger firms.
Small law firms excel in providing a one-on-one experience, much like solo practices. However, they stand out by offering expertise across several practice areas, which can range from family law to DUIs. This multifaceted expertise means clients have access to a variety of legal skills under one roof.
Not to be confused with the notion of being ‘boutique’ purely because of size, small law firms are defined by their specialization in one or a few specific areas of law. The attorneys in these firms are often seasoned professionals, many of whom might have honed their skills at larger firms before choosing to focus on a specific legal niche.
Small firms often emerge around a group of partners or as family practices, with a commitment to cultivating strong, lasting client relationships. While they may lack the extensive administrative support and resources of larger firms, their lean structure allows for more direct involvement in each case, fostering a more intimate and responsive client experience.
In essence, small law firms offer a blend of personalized attention, specialized knowledge, and collaborative practice, making them a compelling choice for clients seeking dedicated legal counsel.
How do you market your law firm as a solo lawyer?
Marketing your firm as a solo lawyer is not easy. There’s many factors at stake that you should weigh before committing to one particular strategy.
Your online presence is crucial as a solo lawyer. Optimize your website for search engines (SEO) to increase visibility. Create engaging content that showcases your expertise and use social media to connect with clients. Email marketing keeps you in touch with your client base, and analyzing your digital strategy’s performance helps refine it over time.
Develop a Solid Marketing Strategy
Begin with a detailed marketing plan. Only 56% of small firms have one, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. A well-structured plan outlines your marketing tools and tactics, setting a clear path for client-focused marketing and business growth.
Design an Impactful Website
Your website is often the first point of contact for potential clients. Ensure it is well-designed, highlighting your practice areas and adhering to SEO best practices. According to Ruler Analytics, organic marketing channels (like your website) have a much higher conversion rate that the norm. This leads us to our next major point; SEO.
Implement Effective SEO
Invest time in understanding and implementing SEO. Incorporate relevant keywords into your content to improve your search ranking. Regularly create informative content, like blogs or articles, to establish your firm as a knowledgeable resource.
Leverage Google My Business
Set up and optimize your Google My Business account. This enhances your local online presence and makes you more accessible to potential clients in your area.
Small Law Firm SEO considerations
Running a small business (and that includes a small law firm) is not just as simple as ‘get new clients.’ There’s many facets when it comes to reaching your ultimate goal; helping your clients and growing your business. From analyzing business metrics, costs, and labor (like hiring and training new employees) to actually defining who you want your ideal client to be. The list goes on, but one thing is certain, in that list you need to focus some of your bandwidth on refining your marketing strategy. Why is this a special consideration for a small firm? In big firms, with 100+ partners, associates, and support staff, you as the owner might not need to focus as much of your time on keeping the ship afloat. You’ve got employees to help you with that. But, as a small law firm owner, the distance between a problem and your decision to find a solution is much closer.
When it comes to creating an SEO strategy for a small law firm, the first thing you need to do is choose the right path to launching your website.
Launching Your Website
Launching your website as a small law firm is an exciting step towards expanding your online presence and attracting potential clients. A great SEO strategy needs to focus on a website’s technical and on-page factors. What does this mean? Technical factors deal with how a website’s code and architecture interact with a user’s computer and with the web as a whole. On-Page factors deal with content, user interaction, and retention. To achieve this mix, your website needs to be flexible enough to meet the needs of your long-term goals.
Don’t Lock Yourself In To A Contract
Some digital marketing companies force you to give up the rights to your content and your website. We highly recommend that whatever legal marketing or SEO company you work with gives you full access and flexibility in your website and its content.
Marketing considerations for small law firms
What is your bandwidth?
As the leader in your firm your time is most valuable. Bandwidth refers to the capacity or capability to handle tasks, projects, or responsibilities within a given timeframe. It encompasses both the available time and resources required to effectively manage and execute various initiatives. Say you want to be really hands on with your marketing efforts. Your time is worth a certain amount of dollars per hour. If you invest too much of it on marketing you might actually be losing money as compared to delegating the efforts or hiring outside help.
Who can you delegate tasks to?
Without being able to properly delegate tasks you might run into a bottleneck problem. If you take on too much you’ll end up not finding time to move things along. The last thing you want is to invest time and energy into crafting a great plant, having a great strategy for implementation, and getting your marketing team and intake team up to speed, all for it to pile up on your desk and tank your firm’s efficiency. Finding the right person or people to delegate tasks to is a crucial consideration for a small firm owner.
What is a CMO?
A CMO is a Chief Marketing Officer. Law firms often consider hiring a full time CMO or Director of Marketing or a fractional CMO.
A fractional CMO is a seasoned marketing executive who provides strategic marketing guidance and management for law firms, helping them navigate the complexities of the modern business environment. These professionals offer high-caliber, tailored marketing services that bridge the gap between strategic insight and tactical execution, ensuring that law firms’ marketing efforts are always aligned with their growth objectives. The biggest benefit a fractional CMO can offer is coming onto the role as a part-time advisor.
Should You Hire a CMO for Your Law Firm?
Engaging a fractional CMO for your law firm offers numerous advantages that can significantly impact your firm’s growth and success. Here are some compelling reasons why hiring a fractional CMO is a strategic move for your law firm:
Cost Savings:
Fractional CMOs offer a cost-effective solution compared to hiring a full-time CMO. With a fractional arrangement, you only pay for the time and services utilized, resulting in significant savings that can be allocated to other areas of your business.
Strategic Guidance:
Fractional CMOs provide valuable strategic guidance tailored to the unique needs of law firms. From targeting the right audience to improving marketing performance, they offer leadership and direction that is essential for staying ahead of the competition. This is especially true for building and maintaining an SEO strategy. SEO can be both broad level and full of minutiae. It can also deal with both short term data and long-term metrics. Having a CMO be in the weeds of this endeavor can help you manage your overall marketing strategy better.
Flexibility:
Fractional CMOs offer flexibility in engagement, allowing law firms to adjust their marketing strategies as needed to support growth or respond to changing market conditions. This adaptability is crucial for seizing new opportunities and maximizing results.
What is your Marketing Budget?
Law firm owners should place a realist goal on their marketing operations. Ultimately, that means money. How much do you need to invest into marketing? How much should your law firm be investing into SEO? In general, you should strive to place 2% to 20% of your gross revenue into marketing efforts. For many attorneys, SEO constitutes a good part of that investment.
A great SEO agency does not leave you in the dark about what your website’s metrics mean and how they help contribute to your firm’s growth. Our agency prides itself on delivering excellent SEO services, exclusively dedicated to legal professionals, it also strives to promote transparency and communication. If you’re looking for experts to help:
- Enhance search engine visibility
- Drive presence in organic and local search results
- Creating a targeted keyword approach for content marketing
- Maximizing page and link optimization for improved performance
- Analyzing SEO data and translating that for you and your team
