One of the Biggest Marketing Mistakes Made by Attorneys

Any given marketing strategy has room for improvement, but one of the biggest mistakes made by attorneys and law firms is outdated web content. What is and is not considered acceptable or professional can change quickly, especially in the realm of the internet, media, and technology. It’s important to keep up with the trends and update your web content as necessary. This could entail updating your website themes, content, adding videos, or updating profile pictures to reflect how you currently look.

Clients expect up-to-date and engaging content.

In a world where internet and social media access is widespread, the competition in just about any industry is fierce. This competition applies to attorneys and law firms as well. If a potential client is seeking legal advice or representation, they are likely to select a website or social media profile that looks updated and professional based on the trends they are seeing everywhere else. Potential clients will look for what they are familiar with. Additionally, consistently updating a website helps increase your firm’s visibility by making it appear in more Google searches.

Simple themes with non-aggressive color schemes are a safe choice.

At this point in time, successful companies and their websites are generally expected to stick to a simple, user-friendly format that uses light or neutral colors to avoid overwhelming visitors. This means that if your website consists of bright orange pages littered with content, it stands less of a chance at engaging and retaining a potential client as another website with a simple, uncluttered theme. This rule applies to social media profiles and other web content as well. For some law firms that have not altered their websites since its creation, this could entail a major overhaul. If this describes your website or profile, it’s important to note that while a major overhaul might be a good idea, it’s important to refrain from making frequent sweeping changes to avoid disorienting returning clients.

Out-of-date profile pictures are a common faux-pas in the legal industry.

Although it can certainly be a hassle to organize for professional headshots to be taken, it’s a good idea to do so every few years or whenever your physical appearance has changed significantly. Additionally, photos that were taken a number of years ago typically have a different photo quality that immediately marks them as out of date. While it is not always necessary to pay for professional headshots, an attorney’s bio or profile photo should be high-resolution and professional without any strange shadows or illumination altering the attorney’s appearance. If a client expects their attorney to look one way, only to sign onto a video call or in-person meeting and find themselves facing a largely unrecognizable person, the result can be both jarring and unprofessional.

Video marketing is becoming the norm.

In a field that has always been based on professionalism and is fairly traditional, the legal industry appears to be one of the last to start catching onto the video marketing trend. Studies have shown that people would prefer to watch a video rather than read written content, and while it’s still a good idea to provide written content on your website, providing helpful videos can hugely boost your overall impression with potential clients. Even if a client does not watch the videos you have provided, simply having them there will help your practice come across as up-to-date, professional, and proactive. It should be noted that any videos posted on an attorney’s website or social media profile should be high quality in regard to its audio and visual elements as well as the actual content.

To learn more about how to keep your law practice up-to-date or for more ideas for improvement, reach out to a legal marketing expert.