6 Ways to Humanize Your Efforts When Marketing Your Law Firm

Humanizing your law firm can do a lot for your bottom line. That is, ensuring that your firm comes across as relatable and approachable can attract more clients and secure more engagements. Remember that prospects considering a lawyer need a guide to help them through stressful times. The worst thing you could do is appear as an emotionless business entity. Showing your human side will increase potential clients’ confidence. Here’s what legal marketers should know about humanizing your efforts when marketing your law firm. 

6 Tactics for Humanizing Your Firm’s Marketing Efforts

The four main channels to focus on are video, social media, your law firm’s website, and online reviews. This is where you reach your target audience and each channel provides different ways of interacting with future, current, or new clients. Within each platform, make an effort to follow these best practices: 

1. Use Natural Language

Many firms make the mistake of using language specific to the legal industry or corporate jargon in an effort to show their expertise – but this can backfire. Speak in the way that people actually talk when marketing your law firm. How would you describe a scenario if you were sitting next to someone in a meeting? Try to use that language when writing for potential clients in items like blog posts or case studies. That doesn’t mean you should be overly informal, but it’s ok to create content for your law firm marketing strategy that reflects the way people speak naturally. 

2. Evoke Emotions Through Storytelling

The truth is that your firm’s “About me” content is more important than you might realize when it comes to marketing your law firm. People seek out this section of your firm’s website to understand what you stand for, and where you’re heading as a company. Even if your website is highly focused on information, you should make sure to be personable in some sections. When marketing your law firm, make sure to highlight:

1. Where and how your company began
2. Your staff (including a bit of information about your whole team)
3. Values and mission statement 
4. What the future holds 
5. Practice areas

3. Be Transparent and Admit to Mistakes

Potential clients are savvier than ever. It doesn’t take them long to figure out if a company they work with has made a mistake. If you ever make an error – from incorrect information in an email to a poorly received social media post – make sure to let your audience know that you realize your mistake and what you plan to do to make amends. It’s ok to let your followers know that you have some shortcomings as all people do. Humans aren’t perfect and allowing your contacts to see that side of your firm will help to gain trust and build relationships with your target audience. Public relations is an often forgotten but important thing for your law firm’s marketing plan.

4. Feature Real Clients

Many marketing channels provide the opportunity to mention real people. This is particularly important where clients are concerned. Seeing how current clients interact with your firm provides critical social proof for people choosing an attorney. Along with highlighting real positive reviews in multiple areas, make sure you interact with your contacts on social media. Repost and feature clients on your social media, tag them, ask them to post content and photos that pertain to your firm, etc. Equally important: don’t forget to reply or respond when people mention you on social media, ask a question, etc. Creating genuine conversations on social media shows that your firm is authentic. 

5. Highlight Staff

Featuring clients is important for social proof, but featuring your staff is critical in other ways when marketing your law firm. Showcase your team on your website, social media, and any other digital marketing channels you use to advertise your legal services. People gravitate to businesses that care about their employees. Make a point to show that you care about your staff as individuals, as well as their contributions to your firm. People also like to put faces with names and get a visual of who they might end up working with. Try creating a dedicated staff page on your law firm’s website and highlighting actual employees in firm videos. You can also use photos on social media that show your staff in their element – for example, working in their office, enjoying colleagues at firm events, or helping the community in charity efforts. 

6. Utilize Email

Throughout your email strategy, use tactics that make your firm appear more personable. Send emails from individuals (not just a marketing address- use real email addresses) and include relevant content pertinent to recipients. You can make additional efforts to interact with your audience by running various contests or sending surveys to get valuable feedback. 

Takeaway: 

Lawyers who simply state that they have expertise are at a significant disadvantage to those who show that they can apply that expertise and actually understand their clients. People who are deciding on an attorney want to feel as though they can truly trust their legal advisor. Humanizing efforts when marketing your law firm is a great way to build real relationships and cultivate trust that can ultimately impact your bottom line. To learn more about tactics that will help you get more clients, faster, reach out to us. We work with law firms and legal companies of all sizes to help them get more serious about growth. 

This post has been edited and republished from Nov. 12, 2021.