How Can Observing the Competition Help Your Law Practice?

Competition is fierce in any industry, and the legal industry is no exception. While successful competition can be intimidating, it can also provide a great way to measure their marketing efforts against your own to figure out what works and what doesn’t. For example, if a certain law firm’s Youtube video is performing extremely well, consider the subject matter handled in the video as well as details like audio and visual quality; what can you and your firm emulate about this video? If one video of similar quality received more views than another, might that be because viewers are curious about that particular topic? If so, consider investing some time to write a blog article or create a high-quality attorney video addressing the issue to share on social media and your website.

Observing the competition can save time and brain power.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Just because someone else has figured out something that works does not mean that they are the only one allowed to do it. Staying up to date on what the competition is up to as well as their relative success is a great way to save both time and brainpower.

Instead of trying to squeeze a new idea for attorney marketing out of your already weary brain, look at what’s working for your competitors and find a way to do it better. If other successful law firms in your market offer videos, your firm might want to do the same. If they have an easy-to-use mobile website, mobile optimization might be something you want to emphasize with your website. Make note of the differences between your firm and your competitors and see if it inspires any new ideas for updating existing efforts or starting new ones entirely.

Observing the competition keeps you apprised of what your target market is or is not engaging with.

Done correctly, observing successful competing law firms and their marketing methods is a great way to check the metaphorical temperature of your target clients; what type of content are they engaging with and appreciating, and what type of content is falling flat? Learning from the public success as well as the mistakes of other firms can prevent you from doing the same, and may give you a good place to start if you know your firm needs a marketing boost.

One way to determine what kind of content your target market is engaging with is to surf the social media profiles of other successful law firms; what kind of content is receiving the most likes, comments, and shares? Is it videos, articles, short-form posts, or something else?

Observing the competition is a good way to determine the health of your own marketing strategy.

If the competition has a surplus of readily available reviews and testimonials on Google, followers on social media, or views and likes on Youtube compared to a measly few on your own, this could be a sign that your marketing strategy needs work. That said, if your engagement rate across the board is level with or exceeds your competitors, your marketing strategy might already be worth an A+.

However, marketing trends change with time based on what consumers are or are not seeking out or interacting with. This is why it’s important to keep tabs on the competition, their methods, and their success on a regular basis to make sure you don’t miss out when there’s a shift in the attorney marketing space or a new trend worth jumping on.

For more tips on attorney marketing, or for help assessing your firm’s current marketing strategy, reach out to a legal marketing expert.