The State of Advertising for Legal: 2024

Law firm advertising continues to evolve in 2024, with lawyers adopting new technology to promote its services. As new tech makes its mark, traditional methods of lawyer marketing still have an essential role to play. Here’s what’s going on in the current landscape of legal marketing and how you can make the most of it. 

Interactive websites

One of the biggest trends for legal advertising has been around for some time: interactive websites. These sites capture the attention of people who express interest in retaining a firm. They do this primarily through AI-powered chatbots that offer quick engagement with visitors. After they spend a few minutes on a page, a chatbot pops up and asks the visitor if they have any questions.  

Chatbots might seem impersonal, but they serve an important function: getting the essentials of a person’s case. They make it easy for firms to screen clients and get back to them promptly for a conversation with a real person. 

Interactive sites can go a step further and offer more information about a firm. An example is a virtual tour so people can get an inside look at the team before they hire them. Virtual tours also let people know a little bit about the firm environment, so clients who might have little knowledge of the legal industry feel less intimidated getting in touch.

The future of interactive websites is bound to be driven by further advances in AI, which might offer tailored visitor experiences.

Podcasts

There’s no shortage of podcasts these days, and that’s for good reason: they are an effective marketing technique as well as a form of entertainment. Podcasts can increase brand awareness by 89%. 

There are a couple of options for law firms to use podcasts to advertise. They can purchase ad time on relevant podcasts, such as those who cater to the firm’s primary clientele. They can also start producing their own podcast episodes. 

While having a law firm podcast is an excellent way to introduce listeners to the personalities in the firm and to demonstrate legal competence, a podcast might be time-consuming. It can also be hard to build an audience. With paid ads, it’s critical to choose the right podcast; for example, a personal injury firm might partner with podcasters who support people managing critical illness.

Streaming services

Streaming is the new way people consume entertainment. It’s increasingly the go-to choice for people to watch series and movies. Those services also come with ads which law firms can purchase for a fee. Streaming advertising, also called O-T-T advertising, has enormous benefits for law firms compared to traditional tv ads.

Unlike with tv ads, you can target your ad placement according to demographics and viewer behavior. Targeted ads pair with the increased engagement of streaming audiences to result in greater receptivity to your ads. Not only have audiences chosen to turn on that specific program, meaning they’re more likely to be paying attention, but ads are typically short and non-intrusive. There’s less chance your audience will leave the room or otherwise ignore ad content.

You can get quick feedback on the success of your ad campaigns using advanced analytics. It’s also easier to make adjustments to your campaigns compared to traditional television ads. Perhaps best of all, streaming allows your law firm to target potential clients who no longer have access to broadcast television because they’ve cut the cable cord.  

Broadcast television

With all the talk of streaming, there’s still a huge role for broadcast television in legal marketing. One advantage of broadcast tv is the ability to appear as a legal expert on local newscasts to discuss events in the news. This is a free form of advertising. Over time, audiences come to see you and your firm as trustworthy on issues of community importance.

Law firms can also participate in paid advertising strategies where they collaborate with local news teams to discuss legal issues in-depth. This also elevates awareness of the law firm brand and gives audiences the opportunity to get to know members of the legal team. It showcases your firm’s knowledge and capabilities in front of an audience already tuned into the program.

Digital advertising

There’s no escaping the continuing importance of digital advertising in the legal space. Firms exist in a world where technology has usurped every aspect of doing business. It’s also impacting personal communications. As of 2024, well over half of the world’s population (62.6%) uses social media sites.

So, what’s new in digital marketing for law firms? Content marketing and paid advertisements on Google and social media sites like Facebook continue to be important. Increasingly, video has an important role to play. 

Video content includes legal analysis and explainer clips. These can populate your social networking sites and have a permanent home on your website. Remember a visual medium should look good in order to make an impact; giving a bit of forethought to who’s in your videos and how they’re presenting information can make all the difference.

Personal branding

A continuing theme of legal advertising is personal branding, for individual lawyers and for law firms. The idea of “branding” might feel cliche, but in oversaturated legal markets this is essential. It sets your practice apart from others. It gives potential clients a clear sense of what they’re getting when they choose to meet with you. 

You can develop your brand by identifying your unique selling point and then developing key messages that build upon that point. That’s stock advice for any business, but for law firms it should take on a personal touch. The lawyer-client relationship is a fiduciary one, based on responsibility and trust. Your branding should reflect who you are and how you approach the work you do, so potential clients know if you’re right for them.

Take your advertising to the next level

No matter how the legal advertising landscape evolves, partnering with the right marketing experts can help you build your law firm success. Talk to Martindale-Avvo today about the next steps you can take for your firm’s future.