New customers keep businesses afloat. Without them, it would be almost impossible to survive, no matter what field you're in. That’s why at the core of every successful business is a solid marketing strategy.

Law firms are no exception.

To be able to successfully grow your law firm, you must identify your ideal client, continuously engage with them, reach out to prospective clients, and maintain communication with previous clients, all while building a unique professional identity and experience that differentiates you from the competition. All of these consideration factor into a complete marketing strategy. And yet, there's still more to consider when it comes to promoting a law firm.

To avoid ethical issues and disciplinary measures, codes of conduct guide law firm marketing. Failure to comply with these rules can lead to serious consequences. That’s why many law firms choose to outsource their marketing needs to agencies like dNOVO Group, which specializes in law firm marketing. Since they have a solid understanding of how to properly advertise legal services across the United States and Canada, there is no need to worry about violating any marketing rule with dNOVO's methods.

Even if you outsource your marketing, it is important to have a good idea of what rules apply to your business so you can understand how to effectively promote your legal services and grow your law firm.

Here are some of the things you can do when marketing your law firm without violating legal advertising laws.

Do build an SEO website

One of the first steps towards promoting your law firm is to build a search engine optimized (SEO) website to help increase your online presence.

Having a website is important first of all to demonstrate to online audiences that you are a legitimate business. If a prospective client carries out an online search of your firm and discovers that you don’t own a corporate website, this can be flagged as suspicious. A fully functional and SEO compliant website generates more traffic, which can be converted to leads.

Do create a social media page

Owning a social media page for your law firm is a fantastic way to build and sustain your connection with clients, increase your brand awareness, and generate more leads for your business.

There are a few different social media marketing strategies that you can use. But to quickly build a large following for your brand, it helps to begin by sharing valuable and timely content on your page and constantly engaging your audience online.

Do create a blog

Your website must have a blog page where you can regularly share informative legal articles that shed light on your services.

Blog posts are great for organically improving your search engine visibility, but only so long as your content is being optimized for keywords that are relevant to your audience.

Do track your results

To ensure you get maximum return on your investment, you have to constantly measure the results of your marketing campaigns. Assessing your campaigns equips you with the right information to determine areas that need improvement and require more consistency.

Some of the metrics you should be tracking include bounce rate, SEO keyword ranking, backlinks, newsletter subscribers, click-through rate, and lead conversion rate.

Furthermore, there are certain things you must avoid doing when marketing your law firm to avoid backlash and penalties from governing bodies like the American Board Association. Here are a few of these advertising rules to strictly adhere to.

Don’t make false claims

In general, lying is counterproductive and can easily cast a dark light over any business. This is as true in advertising as it is on the stand. Under no circumstance should promotional material be found misleading, dishonest, or condescending.

For example, avoid saying things like clients are guaranteed to win every case or claiming to be the best lawyer in the city. It is important to stick to facts that can easily be backed up with evidence and statistics.  

Don’t claim to be an expert

Some states in America prohibit legal practitioners from claiming to be specialists or experts. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), a lawyer is prohibited from claiming to be a specialist in a particular legal field unless they have been officially certified or approved by an organization recognized by the state or the ABA.

Unless you have proof of certification, you must not call yourself an expert or specialist in a particular branch of law.  

Don’t create unrealistic expectations

Some businesses are fond of promoting bold statements from previous clients about their experience, but one person's experience may not be true for everyone. By constantly promoting exceptional narratives, it is easy to create a false sense of expectation in the mind of prospective clients.

For instance, imagine you have a customer review that claimed your legal service made them extremely rich after winning a difficult case. While this may be true, it is important to let people know that outcomes are never going to all be the same.

Don’t solicit your services directly

While the ABA allows law firms to advertise their services through billboards, search engine optimization, social media ads, and pay-per-click, it doesn’t permit law firms to specifically target individuals.

By following these rules while building an online marketing strategy for your law firm, you can easily generate more leads for your business, improve your online presence, and avoid any penalties that result from non-compliance.