At some point during your law firm’s digital marketing journey, you are bound to come across this dilemma; paid vs. organic marketing.
It’s likely that as your firm started, you relied heavily on free or organic methods of digital
marketing. But as your law firm grows, you might need to supplement this with paid
approaches for good balance.
When you get to this point, making a decision should not be a dilemma. Below is a
breakdown of these two approaches to help you make an informed decision.
What Is the Difference?
Both organic and paid marketing share the same objective but apply different approaches.
The goal of every marketing strategy is to get potential clients visiting your website or social media channels.
In paid marketing, brands pay publishers to display their ads by targeting and reaching
potential clients faster and easier. Instead of waiting for prospective leads to come across
your blog article or social media post, paid marketing targets your audience directly by taking your content wherever they are. In traditional marketing, paid strategies include banners, TV, and print ads where businesses pay for space or a slot.
Organic marketing, on the other hand, relies on natural methods to reach your audience. It is free in the sense that marketers do not pay a publisher but instead, rely on quality, engaging, informative, and valuable content to attract and convert leads. Word of mouth referrals is one of the most effective traditional methods of organic marketing.
Paid Marketing for Law Firms
The primary goal of paid marketing is to achieve faster and larger results than organic
marketing. Publishers directly target prospective clients by pushing ads and sponsored posts on whatever platform they are using.
The obvious advantage of paid digital marketing is that the results are effective, immediate, and on a large scale. However, this will cost your law firm money and the results are likely to go down when you stop paying. A large group of consumers also tend to ignore featured ads because they feel like they are forced on them.
In a study on Facebook advertising, more than half of the respondents found Facebook ads more annoying than posts by brands.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
In PPC, a law firm marketer pays a publisher to display their website or other ads among the first search results related to specific keywords. It is a safe and budget-friendly strategy because you only pay when a lead clicks on your ad.
PPC for law firms is a must because of the stiff competition on the internet, since a lot of lawyers have fully embraced digital marketing. It offers an unmatched level of brand awareness and exposure because customers do not have to search for your law firm for your ad to appear on their results. However, ensure that you have plausible reasons to choose PPC by reflecting on your marketing needs and growth goals.
Sponsored Social Media Ads
Not too long ago, organic social media marketing was sufficient for law firms but that’s not the case anymore. Now lawyers have to supplement this with sponsored ads to reach a bigger audience. Every popular social media platform from Facebook to Pinterest and Reddit now provides featured ads, but it’s crucial to know that the benefits on each platform differ.
Sponsored ads are ideal for law firms because they can target your audience and take ads to them, including those that are not among your followers.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is not only made up of young Instagram and YouTube stars promoting beauty products and fitness regimens. It’s simply leveraging thought leaders or successful figures in the industry who have access to your audience. This approach can be both cheap and expensive depending on your influencer.
For law firms, your most ideal influencers are clients you have helped in the past. Their word-of-mouth referral is more effective because they will be promoting from a point of experience.
Organic Marketing for Law Firms
Organic marketing has been touted as the most reliable and trusted form of marketing by consumers. This is partly because organic strategies connect with people in the most authentic way and by providing value first. The main goals are to establish a long-term relationship with clients, achieve thought leadership, educate, and optimize content for search engine rankings.
The main advantage of organic marketing is that you don’t have to pay a publishing site and the connection created is authentic. Hiring a legal content writing company might be necessary but the money you spend is not much compared to the results. However, organic strategies may take a significantly longer period and several high-performing pieces of content to actualize the desired results.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO refers to a collection of strategies aimed at ranking your legal content among the top results on search engines. This requires a combination of different activities like researching and applying keywords, website optimization, and technical configurations.
Optimizing your content ensures that prospective clients looking for legal services see your law firm among the first options. If your website is responsive, fast, and has valuable content, visitors are likely to find more about your firm and subsequently, convert to a client.
Another aspect of SEO that all law firms should perfect is local search. Ensure that all the right people in your areas of operation are seeing you by using maps, local keywords, and claiming listings on online directories.
Organic Social Media
Social media offers businesses an opportunity to create authentic and reliable brands. Just by creating your law firm’s account, sharing valuable content consistently, and engaging with leads, you can amass quite a following. These leads soon convert to clients because they are likely to consult you first when faced with a legal problem.
When starting with organic social media marketing, select just a few platforms where most of your clients are found. Research your competitors’ practices and do better. Do not forget to consult analytics data to find out which organic posts are doing well and which ones need revising.
