We are well and truly in to 2014 now so it’s time for me to put my Nostradamus hat on and come up with a few predictions of the key digital marketing trends for law firms in 2014.
Growth in importance of reviews
I discussed this subject at the end of 2013 and I certainly believe online reviews will continue to grow in importance. Review websites continue to grow in popularity and consumers will hold higher expectations of law firms than ever before. If you don’t have a strategy in place for managing your firm’s online reputation then now is the time to do so!
Welcome to the age of price comparison
Legal services have historically been characterised by a power imbalance between the consumer and the solicitor, where the consumer engages with the solicitor from a position of dependency. This asymmetry of power is beginning to shift with consumers having access to an increasing volume of transparency of price information on the internet.
Popular price comparison sites like Moneysupermarket.com have already included price comparison for services like conveyancing. While many still believe that the complicated nature of legal problems is enough cause to dismiss the significance of price comparison sites; there is no denying that the commoditisation of many legal services has increased in recent years.
Many people forget that price is an integral part of the marketing mix and for many law firms in 2014 price will be an element of the mix that cannot be ignored.
It is critical that law firms find a way to communicate the true value of the services they offer, when providing quotes to prospects.
Mobile growth
Globally over 1.2 billion people now access the internet from a mobile device. We are seeing across all of our clients that mobile visits to their sites are on the up. For 2014 it is imperative that you consider a mobile optimised website for your law firm.
Videos and visual content
Look at any digital marketing prediction blog for 2014 and you’re likely to find something about video and visual content.
To put it bluntly your firm’s content marketing strategy is underperforming if it does not include some form of visual content. 2014 is the year to dust of the office camera, get the partners and fee earners in front of the lens or better still get your clients to provide a video testimonial.
Social media advertising
In February 2014 Facebook celebrates its 10th birthday; but 2014 will be about far more than any one platform. Businesses including law firms will need to look further than the big three Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn to reach and engage with their potential clients.
I’m also going to go out on a limb and predict that 2014 is the year that social media advertising will become a mainstay of many law firms marketing mixes. We’ve already seen local businesses invade our Twitter streams with promoted local tweet towards the end of 2013 and I believe that the native ad formats of the various social networks will continue to develop and improve.
So there we have it, my top 5 digital marketing trends for 2014. If you have any questions on the above, or simply wish to have a discussion about you firms marketing plan for the year ahead then as ever get in touch.