Digital PR is in demand now more than ever, with web-based promotional techniques being utilised within every sector, including legal. Digital PR agencies can provide the know-how and deliver impressive results when it comes to raising the profile of lawyers and solicitors – but does legal PR work? What are the best approaches to digital PR for law firms, and how can you implement them effectively?
What is Digital PR?
This phrase refers to a set of specialist techniques that harness the interconnected nature of the internet to direct the right attention to your brand. Effective PR campaigns for law firms can result in your organisation climbing to the top of the search engine results, and can also help to improve its image and level of public trust. Perhaps most importantly, it can help to increase the amount of relevant traffic that visits your site, making it more likely that you’ll regularly receive instructions from new clients.
Why Do Legal Firms Need Digital PR?
Legal PR techniques should be extended into the digital world wherever possible. Legal PR agencies will work with you to extend your reach across networks to which you previously had little to no access. Approaches will also help you to build trust in your brand and promote your practice across a variety of platforms. Here are just a few of the ways that digital PR for law firms can have a substantial impact:
COMPETITION
Using digital PR will help you to stand out from your competitors, whatever your field of practice. The more visible you are, the more well-known and trusted your name will be. Search Engine Optimisation and link building (which is explored in more detail below) will see your name appear above those of your rivals on search engines as a result of the use of relevant key terms.
The more mentions of your brand in relevant areas, the better. The more you are seen in the right places, the more likely it will be that the right visitors will find their way to your site, increasing your chances of receiving instruction.
INFLUENCE IN YOUR INDUSTRY
Networking with the right online industry press outlets will increase your chances of being featured as an expert on a variety of platforms. This will help to show that you’re an expert in your industry, with other professionals giving weight to your thoughts and opinions. This is known as “thought leadership”. The more those thoughts and opinions are shared, the wider your firm’s reach will be.
LINK BUILDING
Link building is a highly effective form of outreach that will make your firm far easier to find. It involves arranging for other companies with a strong online presence to include information about you and your firm within your content – and to cite you using a hyperlink to your site.
It’s important to try and appear in multiple pieces of coverage across various relevant and popular sites and platforms as part of a campaign. This can help your link rating – which will have a very positive effect on your visibility and levels of trust.
How Does Digital PR Differ For Legal Firms?
While firms in other sectors may be able to share content and create press releases that are more whimsical or that contain only loosely-related references, legal digital PR must be much more restricted in terms of what is sent out.
You need to focus on attracting traffic that is relevant to your area of practice, as this is the best way to influence a higher conversion rate. Vagueness or a departure from your main focus equates to the wasted effort here.
Showcasing your brand’s expertise and in-depth knowledge of its field of practice is vital. The main goal should be to build your name within that field. If somebody’s talking about your practice area in the press, you want to be the firm that is mentioned most.
You should carefully protect your brand’s reputation in every aspect of your PR campaign, ensuring that the tone of voice you use is consistent, concise and fitting and that your wording is sensitive and well thought through. Remember you operate within an incredibly sensitive industry. One wrong move can be very damaging.
To significantly increase your firm’s visibility, build public trust in its name and attract more clients as a result, investing in digital PR is highly recommended. In this way, you can stand head and shoulders above your competitors and carefully raise your reputation in a way that will ensure future success.
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