Law Firm Marketing Involves Branding Offline and On

A web site should instill confidence and help law firms stand out. So why do so many attorneys insist on using pillars and gavels?

Whether the last straw was dropped in a marriage, a DUI received on a Friday night, or a company board meeting ending with a vote to restructure in bankruptcy, people are turning to Google before turning through Yellow Pages.

A handful of companies exist that claim to have lawyer’s best interests in mind. They offer services like web design, law firm search engine optimization, and so on but do they really understand branding?

I must admit, the law firm marketing department of my company is my favorite to work with. Primarily because it is unspoiled land. I can count on one hand how many attorneys we work with who were branded with a logo, slogan, or any sort of branding prior to working with us. Most law firms come to us with a template web site that they spend thousands of dollars for from a huge lawyer service that doesn’t fully understand branding themselves. But rather than focus on the negative, let’s identify the problems and how law firms can evolve.

Think Like a Business

Most law firms I work with are essentially, small businesses. Less than fifteen lawyers working together, often specializing in various fields. Just like a company, a law firm should consider a positioning statement or slogan.

New Firms May Consider a Company Name

This is something rarely done by attorneys. Using a corporate name like “Divorce Law Group” or even “Smith Defense and Justice” may help your firm stand out. Using a corporate name for your firm rather than your own name also has some reputation management and online reputation management benefits which we will go into later on.

Brand Your Firm With a Logo

One thing that many law firms fail to do is consider their image. A logo. A face for the firm. By having a logo, your firm stands out and can be easily identified. So long as that logo is not just your law firm’s name and gavel clipart. If your firm does not have a uniquely branded logo, prospective clients will only see “just another group of names”.

Prepare for the Internet

All of this gets your law firm prepared for the internet. Search engine optimization can get traffic to your firm’s web site, but it takes professional design and branding to convert traffic into new cases.

Jason Bland is with SEOLawFirm, a law firm marketing and law firm web design subsidiary of guaranteed search engine optimization company, Adviatech Corp. To learn more, visit http://www.seolawfirm.com.