Digital marketing has revolutionized the way law firms offer their legal skills and services. The evolution of digital marketing has led to a wide range of strategies that law firms must understand and utilize in order to succeed in today’s marketplace.
Understanding this evolution ensures that your practice remains at the cutting-edge of online marketing. It helps you predict future developments as the behaviors of online users and the strategies used to reach them continue to change.
The Birth of Search
The birth of the search engine provided a way for online users to search for and find information related to any topic. Early search engines such as WebCralwer, InfoSeek, and Yahoo! Paved the way for what soon became the king of search engines: Google.
Google developed marketing tools such as AdWords, which provided a more structured approach to getting found online.
Search engines introduced advanced algorithms that enhanced their ability to provide accurate results to users. This became the foundation for targeting specific audiences based on their search behaviors.
This also made it necessary for law firms to acquire the skills needed to remain competitive in a new digital marketing landscape.
Getting Found Through SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) soon developed as a way to help law firms rank highly in the search engines. It gave them the opportunity to become more visible on a global scale and reach a larger pool of potential clients.
SEO became the foundation of digital marketing, and early SEO strategies included submitting to article directories and stuffing their site pages with keywords.
User experience wasn’t considered a priority as much as the need to rank highly as quickly as possible. However, as Google and other search engines improved their ability to provide high-quality results while filtering out spam, SEO methods began to evolve.
Search results began to consist of both paid advertisements and organic listings. This diversified the strategies needed for law firms to grow their practices through digital marketing.
The Internet Becomes Social
No other stage of this evolution has transformed how law firms market their services online than the advent of social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have developed alongside the changing behaviors of online users.
Social media created yet another way to reach potential clients. It provided a new way to engage with and receive feedback from your current and future clients. The growth of social media continues at an even faster rate than ever before.
Law firms that understand how to use social media reap the greatest rewards. Those who don’t utilize social media to demonstrate their expertise and meet the needs of their audiences miss a huge opportunity for the growth of their practices.
But it’s important to know how to utilize tools such as social media, which are now essential to your digital marketing strategy.
A Mobile World
The introduction of mobile devices (starting with the laptop) made it even easier for users to access information and for businesses to reach those users.
Smartphones and tablets have made the Internet even more accessible. As a result, businesses have had to adapt to the needs of mobile users.
Your website, advertisements, and content must be responsive to the various devices and platforms The user experience is now at the forefront of the strategies that businesses must use when marketing online.
The evolution of digital marketing has changed the ways your law firm can reach potential clients as well as the online behavior of your audience.
The ways in which you position yourself as an industry authority must include the latest SEO and social media strategies in order to achieve long-term results.
Let us know how your practice has adapted to the digital marketing evolution in the comments below. What areas have you struggled to keep up with as this evolution continues?
Understanding the evolution of digital marketing ensures that your practice continues to grow and increases the value it provides to your current and future clients.
