When thinking of the legal industry many things come to mind: the justice system, contract writing, presenting a case in court, and textbooks of unfathomable size. However, one thing that may not spark to mind when thinking of law firms is cutting edge technology.
The legal industry is well known for its well-established practices and deep-seeded heritage over hundreds of years, however, those hundreds of years have brought us to now, and not much seems to have changed.
Needless to say, there are significant benefits to having longevity in your business model, but despite this, it is not something that can be relied upon entirely, and it’s certainly not something you can hide behind in the face of recent technological advancements.
Lack of Technology
It is no surprise to hear that the legal industry as a whole has a favouring towards the more traditional ways of working and communication methods. After all, this method has worked tremendously for decades, right? While paper contracts and a lack of advertising may have worked for numerous years, with digital technology evolving and the huge rise of globalisation, people can no longer rely on prestige or word of mouth to choose their next law partner, many will now use search engines to find the service they’re looking for. Using search engines is not only quicker for the user, but it allows them to see a range of services so they can choose for themself.
A website will also act as a portfolio, with client reviews and testimonials playing centre stage on many client-facing websites. Going digital is not only helpful for the client, but will save legal practices time and money. After all, billable hours don’t include time spent wrestling with the printer or trying to find a contract from 5 years ago that is subsequently buried amongst other papers. Digital marketing can help to revolutionise your brand and develop an online presence through SEO and PPC. Working with the right digital marketing agency is the first step in securing the results you desire in this fast-moving digital age.
What law firms may not be aware of is the number of clients finding their services through search, and with the huge law firm names out there, it’s more poignant than ever to compete in the digital landscape as well as the courtroom. With 81% of people using Google to find a product or service yet only spending less than a minute in the search engine results pages (on average), businesses need to be search engine ready for when someone searches a query relevant to your business. Take it from us, people are not going to scroll to page 10 of Google to find the service they’re looking for!
The Impact of Voice Search on Law Firms
It’s not only search that is being used to find reputable businesses with world-class legal services. Research shows that 50% of all searches are to be done through voice search by the end of 2020. This means that all industries, including the legal industry, need to be utilising the latest technologies for voice search and they need to be keeping their website up to date with search trend features. It is not by chance that voice search engines will recommend particular websites and content articles to a user, the results you hear through voice search have been optimised to be there. For instance, implementing short form content, location services, a Google My Business profile and sophisticated keyword research are all needed for an effective voice search strategy.
In order to resonate with the younger generation and compete online, businesses must make voice search a priority. After all, it’s those candidates you want to be applying for your job vacancies, talking about your company in the media, and choosing you as their law firm of choice in their future career.
Old-School Attitude
The legal system’s old school attitude may be seen favourably when it comes to the knowledge and expertise of the justice system, writing contracts and reciting trademarks back from hundreds of years ago. What isn’t seen so favourably, however, is the lack of diversity in the industry and the general skew towards a male-dominated industry as a whole. When this is compared to the likes of the big four firms, a bigger problem is revealed. The big four professional firms are making it their priority to make their workplace diverse and inclusive to show how equality of an opportunity can be achieved. This has not only resulted in better hires, but the big four professional firms are able to resonate with the younger generations much better, and it shows. The global reach and power of these firms is vast, employing 695,000 people with 37,000 partners, operating in over 770 locations and 157 countries, and diversity plays a huge role in their public perceptions.
This view not only needs to be instilled within the culture of the business, but it needs to be communicated with the outside world, showing candidates and clients alike that your firm is a step above the rest in this 21st-century era. This can be done through having a diversity statement or page on your website, thus when someone searches for diversity statements from your company, they are easily found by the user.
Transforming to The Digital Age
The legal sector may feel itself to be separate from various other industries online and may not feel the need to digitalise. This trend has been seen among various other industries such as the financial services industry, offline businesses, and notably, the pharmaceutical industry. However, we have now seen pharmaceutical industries thriving online and transforming their E-commerce presence when they believed it was against the odds to do so.
Patients now say they feel empowered by the vast amount of health information available online, and more than 85 percent of patients said they were confident in their ability to take responsibility for their own health and knew how to access online resources to help them do so. This is revolutionary since the pharmaceutical industry has been seen to be ‘late’ to the digital movement, yet we are starting to see major disruptors in the digital industry.
We believe the same can be the case for the legal sector with the right Digital Marketing strategy and a digital-first mindset in place. Over the last year, it has become clear just how significant the importance of digital is, and it is something that businesses will rely on for years to come for not only customer consideration but proven conversions through the web.
Lead the way in legal digital marketing and work with an agency with proven results and a passion for digital. Contact us at Digital Ethos today for a free consultation and skyrocket your digital marketing.