Growing Your Law Firm: Estate Planning Lead Generation
Growing your estate planning law firm (the sustainable way) takes time. It also takes a coordinated marketing effort and a strategy that works to position your firm as a trusted authority in the world of estate planning. Keep reading to learn more about the best methods of estate planning lead generation.
How to Grow a Law Firm
When an estate planning firm wants to grow, it needs to have a steady flow of clients. Getting that steady flow starts with identifying potential clients, or leads. Leads are the people who may be looking for an estate planning firm, who you might be able to convert into clients of your firm. Identifying leads can be done through lead generation.
What is Lead Generation?
Lead generation generally refers to the methods that firms use to identify possible clients and get them to submit their information to be contacted. Just like in any business, estate planning firms can use lead generation to grow their client base and build authority. Building your estate planning firm’s authority online will in turn build authority offline as long as your firm is providing something of value.
Difficulties of Estate Planning Lead Generation
Lead generation in estate planning has traditionally been accomplished through word of mouth and referrals. Newer firms have a disadvantage compared to established firms because they have few clients from which they can get referrals. The more established firms have generally built a reputation. Another reason it can be difficult to generate leads is because of the poor advice out there on DIY lead-generation methods or budget restrictions.
Estate Planning Lead Generation Methods
There are many different ways your firm can approach lead generation. Here are some of the most commonly used methods for estate planning lead generation, some of the pros and cons of each method, and the best practices for use. Several of these methods can be used together to complement one another. The methods discussed are great options for lead generation but not all of them produce immediate results. These methods take time to implement and to show a return, but the return will be worth the wait.
Build a website
Having an online presence is vital to nearly all brands today. Building a professional and well-designed website is important because you will want your website to display your expertise, and to gain your firm authority.
Content marketing
Once you have your site, you will add content that offers value to your potential leads. Content that answers client FAQs is a great place to start as it offers some free nuggets of your knowledge, and builds trust with potential clients.
Search engine optimization
Another way your site can build authority is by ranking on the first page of Google search results. This can be accomplished with search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. SEO involves researching high-ranking keywords and phrases and using those words and phrases strategically to get your content to rank in search results.
Backlinks build authority
Linking to quality content from your content also adds credibility. When content links back to your content, those are called backlinks. When high authority content links back to your site, it builds your site’s authority by association. High authority sites have a high domain authority score which comes from a variety of factors.
Call to action
Your content should not only inform your potential clients, but encourage them to take action. If your content explains why you should not wait to plan your estate later in life, then it should end with a call to action that instructs the lead to connect with your estate planning firm to get more information specific to their situation.
Lead generation forms and magnet downloads
Before your potential lead leaves your site, they should be encouraged to sign up for your newsletter, or download an offer, using a lead generation form that pops up before they go. Lead magnet downloads are another great way to get access to your lead’s contact information. These request the lead’s email address for access to downloadable content that will provide some value.
Email marketing
After your lead has signed up for a mailing list or to gain access to your download you can use the mailing list to engage your leads and make a soft sell.
Pay-per-click advertising
Another great way to gain high-value visibility in search engines is to invest in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. These ads put your firm’s information front and center before the generated search results immediately.
Build a social media presence
Social media platforms allow brands to connect with their clients and potential clients like they never have before. Having an active social media presence and posting regularly makes you more accessible to those who need your firm’s services. Estate planning firms have been especially successful in generating leads using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Choosing Estate Planning Lead Generation Methods for Your Firm
Before you begin lead generation you must set goals for your efforts and determine the target market you will be aiming for. This will give you an idea of which methods you should focus your efforts on. After evaluating your key performance indicators (KPI) you can see what is working and adjust as needed.
Using KPI to Measure ROI
KPI must be evaluated for each of your marketing efforts to determine the performance of your efforts. The KPI you track will depend on your goals. You invest money, time, and effort into your marketing activities and their success can be determined by the return on your investment (ROI). Your ROI is the value that you generate with your efforts compared to what you invested.
Alerio’s Professional Legal Marketing Experts
Lawyers have many skills they put to work for their clients, but marketing skills often don’t come naturally to all lawyers at an estate planning firm. If you want estate planning lead generation done right, then you want assistance from the professional legal marketing experts at Alerio.
Expert Lead Generation
Ensure the success of your estate planning firm by connecting with the estate planning firm lead generation experts at Alerio. We will help you generate leads that convert into clients by properly aligning your firm with the leads that are most likely to find value in what your firm has to offer. Take the guesswork out of your estate planning firm’s lead generation and marketing efforts and start generating real results. Contact us today!