Marketing involves vastly different targeting for every industry. Retail in the modern era primarily involves marketing to particular niches; if you’re a snowboarding company that wants to sell your top of the line snowboards, you don’t care where in the world your clients come from - you’re going to be shipping to them anyway. With law firms, the whole process is rather different - your community is going to be your biggest source of clients. That means it’s important to market locally.

Develop a Niche

Look at the other law firms in your area, and your region’s demographics: what niches are being underserved by the firms that are already established in your community? Finding that niche, and becoming an expert in that area, will give you almost instant access to a plethora of clients. It’s practical when people are looking for lawyers online; if no one else deals with elder law, and your website is well optimized, you’ll be the first to pop up when they look up “elder law” or related terms.

Be Active in Your Community

You might not be surprised to learn that lawyers aren’t among the most trusted professionals; the Gallup poll places our practice lower than bankers, and just above CEOs and advertisers. That’s a problem: trust is absolutely essential in an attorney-client relationship. One of the best ways of building trust is by being an active member of your community. Go to community events; participate in charitable undertakings. Shake hands - be real. Host your own charitable events, offer pro bono services (when you can). The more well known you are in the community, the better your reputation will be, and the more word-of-mouth about you will spread in a positive way.

Hire a Local Marketing Firm

There’s a lot that goes into advertising locally. You’ll want to use locally targeted social media ads; better yet, locally targeted ads that leverage your niche to target particular demographics. You’ll want to optimize your webpage so that it shows up when people are making local searches; that’s difficult without a dedicated firm. There’s a number of other online strategies that you can use, from leveraging your social media page (show off those charitable events you frequented!), to partnering with local influencers - a marketing firm dedicated to your community will help you take advantage of every opportunity.

Get in Touch With Local Counsel Services

Your fellow attorneys are one of the best resources for local marketing - especially if you’re in a different niche. Develop strong relationships with them, and they can refer clients to you when those clients don’t fit their niche, or when they’re too busy to take on any more clients (a problem many attorneys are envious of). Better yet, these local attorneys can give you advice when you need it; it’s hard to name a resource that’s more valuable than strong friendships with your peers.