5 Legal Marketing Myths

Lawyers are still relatively new to marketing. While Sears and Coca-Cola have been reaching out to the public since the pioneer days, attorneys have had just a few decades to refine their marketing craft. Yet, even in such a short time, several marketing myths have developed.

Like all myths, they seek to explain something hard to understand. But don't get lost looking for El Dorado, or whatever certain riches marketing myths promise. To help you out, here's five common legal marketing myths that can take your marketing plan off track:

1. You Don't Need to Advertise

Some lawyers, apparently pining for the good old days when lawyer advertising was verboten, still think that having a good practice is enough. Sure, doing a good job is the bedrock of all lawyers' success (or failure), but oftentimes skill alone isn't enough.

Even the celebrated legal minds are dedicated self promoters. Why do you think there's so many books by Supreme Court justices? It's not because they're modest. The question, then, isn't should you advertise or not, but how to advertise in a way that's best for your practice.

2. Online Marketing isn't Effective

Even if most of your new clients come from word of mouth referrals, they will probably want to check out your practice before coming in for a consult. And most of that learning will take place online. Your firm's web presence isn't just for people searching you out by name, however. Internet marketing can bring in any of the millions of people who look for legal information online every day.

3. All Traffic Goes to the Number One Search Result

Many people think that having the top search ranking is the primary goal of online marketing. It's nice being on the top, but that's not the only valuable place to be. Since search results are based off of personal, highly variable algorithms, there's no silver bullet to getting the top result.

4. No One Reads Legal Blogs

Now, this is a myth that really hurts. Thankfully, it's wrong. Having a quality legal blog is a great way to share your general expertise and connect with current or future clients. It also helps build your reputation, which can be a powerful influence on whether a client decides to pick you for representation.

5. There's No Use in Analog Advertising

This myth is the evil stepmother to the "online marketing isn't effective" ridiculousness. Some marketing strategies are so intent on being digital and high tech that they forget there are simple, old fashioned, effective ways to reach your intended audiences -- whether it's setting up a booth at the county fair or running an ad in the local paper.

If you need to set up a marketing strategy, or just need to refine the one you already have, talk to the pros at FindLaw -- they can help.

Related Resources:

• Why Big Data is Not Truth (The New York Times)
• Show Me the Evidence: Making the Case for Lawyer Marketing (FindLaw's Strategist)
• How Do You Determine a Marketing Budget for Your Law Firm? (FindLaw's Strategist)
• 7 Legal Marketing Trends Every Lawyer Should Know (FindLaw's Strategist)