Tis the season when many people put their legal issues on hold until the new year, concerning themselves more with family, turkey and football by the fire. For your law firm, that may mean a slight dip in calls to your office or visitors to your website. That doesn’t mean November and December are a bust. The attorneys that find the most success during this time embrace the festive season with a plan and a small budget to reach new consumers and drive traffic to their websites or social media accounts.
There are several ways to get noticed during the holiday season and generate more traffic even during the slow months. Below are just a few ways for you to get started.
Seasonal topics
Since
social media and
blog posts are constantly keeping up with what’s happening now, both platforms are a great way to
share seasonal topics. Assuming you regularly maintain a blog, all you have to do is tweak your content to how your practice area is affected by the holidays. Below is an example from a DUI attorney:
“Both traffic stops and DUIs increase this time of year, especially on Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Here’s what you need to know if you’re pulled over and you’re worried you’ve had too much to drink.”
While blog posts help you stay seasonal, organic social media is where you let your holiday spirit shine. As we’ve discussed many times before, social media was created to be just that—social. Consumers want to see
the side of your firm that holds ugly sweater contests or holiday parties. You can post pictures that show the personal side of your firm.
Spend a little on paid social
Here’s the place to combine the topical nature of blogs and the reach of social media. Those holiday pictures from your organic social be seen by the people who already know you, so what do you do about those who don’t? Facebook especially has an amazing reach and algorithms that target consumers with great precision no matter the time of year.
If you’re a family law firm who wants to spread the word about the tax implications of post-holiday divorce, Facebook will find the people who meet your ideal clients. The same goes for the DUI attorney above. She can promote her blog post with a little money to make sure it reaches her target audience like people who frequent craft beer breweries or who check in at college bars once a week.
Facebook's targeting is extremely precise given the amount of data it has its users and
the price for social advertising is currently low. So there is a pretty low barrier to entry in this space. And like most tools, the more you use paid social, the better you will become. Think about the amount of time most people spend on social media. Shouldn’t your firm speak directly to them when they’re captive and interested?
Rockin' Around the PPC
For the rest of the year, internet users are looking to search engines for gifts, turkey recipes or how to incorporate a new start-up their brother-in-law pitched over a little pumpkin pie and spiced rum.
Even if it may seem like everyone is putting off their legal troubles until January you should still get your campaign started right away so you can start collecting performance data and metrics. That way you can make beneficial adjustments to find your firm’s sweet spot before everyone wakes from a sugarplum haze and realizes their legal problems aren’t going anywhere.
See, it takes time to formulate a
successful PPC campaign, one that effectively drives traffic to your law firm while staying within your budget. You could start a new campaign today and get in front of thousands of consumers through the end of the year, but if they aren’t contacting your firm, you’ll want time to make adjustments well before traffic picks up again. Downtime is a great time to talk to your PPC provider about a reasonable year-round investment. Once you have a plan in place, you can increase your budget for a few months out of the year to capture a seasonal spike.
Don’t Go Overboard
The holidays are a time when no matter who you are or what you celebrate, indulgence is usually on the menu. That's great when you feel like you can't move from the dining room table to the recliner but not so great when you're marketing your law firm. You should certainly show off your holiday spirit, but if you go over the top (think tinsel on every desk or a giant Santa tracker on your website), consumers will see a law firm that’s trying too hard (legal consumers are smart) and turn the other way.
Everyone is ready to settle down for the rest of the year with family and friends. They still need attorneys, but it may take a little push and some precision marketing for them to call your firm.
