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The personal injury law industry is one of the most competitive industries in the United States. In most states, it is not possible to turn on the television for more than 30 minutes without seeing an advert from a personal injury lawyer. Because the industry is so competitive, personal injury lawyer marketing can be incredibly expensive.
However, considering the return on investment (ROI) that personal injury lawyers may receive from marketing and search engine optimization, it is no wonder personal injury lawyers spend such a great deal on their marketing strategy.
What Is a Personal Injury Lawyer and Why Do People Need Their Services?
When a person has been involved in an accident that wasn't their fault, there are three things they can choose to do. The first is to take the money the insurance company offers them, or they could decide to negotiate with the insurance company themselves.
A third option is to hire an attorney to help them receive the compensation they deserve.
What Is a Personal Injury Attorney?
A personal injury attorney or lawyer is a person who represents and provides legal advice to people who have been physically hurt in an accident that happened as the result of the negligence of a third party. Personal injury attorneys practice tort law, including both negligent and intentional acts that led to the accident. They seek restitution for accident victims.
These personal injury attorneys can help victims receive compensation for their damages, including medical expenses, loss of income or wages, pain and suffering, and the mental anguish they experienced due to the accident.
The Types of Personal Injury Cases These Lawyers Take On
Personal injury cases commonly involve carelessness o negligent driving. This includes car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. Other types of transportation or road accidents that personal injury attorneys may handle include aviation incidents, bicycle accidents, public transit accidents, sailing accidents, and accidents involving pedestrians.
Other cases include property liability cases, such as slip and fall accidents, negligent security, and attacks from animals. They may also be involved in cases of medical malpractice or cases of neglect and abuse of the elderly in nursing homes and may be involved in construction accidents.
What Do Personal Injury Law Firms Do?
Personal injury firms investigate claims, gather evidence to support those claims, and negotiate with insurance companies to ensure that victims get a fair settlement. A personal injury lawyer also represents defendants in court should the guilty party be unwilling to offer a fair settlement.
They can help victims receive the compensation they are entitled to without being swayed by insurance companies to accept lower settlement amounts. Often, victims are offered low settlement amounts by insurance companies just to get them to close the case. These offers are often unfair and do not account for special damages such as emotional trauma and future medical expenses.
Hiring an experienced attorney can help victims get the compensation they are entitled to.
How Do Personal Injury Lawyers Get Compensation?
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means that no upfront fees are paid. They only receive money when they have successfully attained a settlement for their clients. This contingency fee is often 33 percent of the settlement amount and is agreed upon beforehand.
The higher the settlement amount, the larger the earnings for the attorney. Understanding how personal injury law firms work is essential as it indicates how difficult it can be to calculate a return on investment on a marketing campaign.
Because every personal injury case is unique, and income is calculated on a percentage basis, everything is subject to change. Another worrying factor is that it can take several years for a case to settle and for the attorney to receive the income generated by their marketing campaign years ago.
Case value is also determined by the insurance limits of both parties, preventing accurate revenue calculations.
Understanding Accountable and Unaccountable Marketing
Marketing, in general, falls into one of two categories:
• Accountable marketing
• Unaccountable marketing
Accountable Marketing
Accountable marketing generates a quantifiable return on investment. Whether the investment is monetary or in terms of time, a firm can be confident that they receive a certain amount in return if they do or spend a certain amount.
In order for a marketing strategy to be considered accountable, the activity that produces the outcomes must be specific, quantifiable, monitored, and reported.
Unaccountable Marketing
Anything that does not fall under accountable marketing is unaccountable marketing. Rather than being focused on results, it is instead a set of actions that are performed (often inconsistently) to "check the marketing box."
Unaccountable marketing occurs when a company generates business through referrals but does not have a set of specific marketing activities that are evaluated, monitored, and reported, and are known to create a referral after a certain level of effort.
It is easy to see that accountable marketing is much more desirable than unaccountable marketing for personal injury (PI) firms, but how can they achieve this?
Adopt a Modern Approach to Marketing
The notion that just doing good work and new business is on its way is a romantic notion and is no longer good business advice. There are some moderately successful referral-only law firms, usually family law, but their revenue tends to be unpredictable and lacks consistency.
Adopting a modern approach to marketing makes all the difference can help a personal injury firm stand out from the competition in the competitive personal injury market.
Establishing a good online presence is the best way to accomplish this, and there are ways to still create an online presence without spending a great deal. An example of this is setting up business social media accounts. Here is everything there is to know about personal injury marketing.
The Most Effective Marketing Strategies for Personal Injury Firms
Here are some of the most successful ways that PI firms can promote their businesses through online marketing:
Set cost per case goals
Assess marketing needs
Build an effective brand
Mobile-friendly advertising
Track leads
Search engine optimization
Social media marketing
Google advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC)
Email marketing
Other marketing methods
Many personal injury firms that excel at internet marketing employ all of the methods mentioned above. There is no perfect ratio that can be applied to all firms.
A ratio that can work effectively for a particular firm is dependent on the type of injury cases the firm is pursuing, their targeted locations, their marketing budget, and the time frame they have to yield cases.
The next section of this article deals with strategies personal law firms can adopt to improve their marketing efforts.
1. Set Cost per Case Goals
As already established, it can be difficult for a lawyer to determine how much to set their goal cost per case because a legal case can be worth $2,000 or $1,000,000.
The firm's practice area also plays a significant role, as a car accident attorney may only want to pay $500 per case. In contrast, a Mesothelioma attorney could be willing to spend a lot more per case.
Cost per Case is an excellent way to set expectations for the firm. It should be the first thing that is done before embarking on any marketing.
Even if it is a rough estimate, it can effectively guide all marketing decisions and dramatically reduces the significance of not calculating immediate ROI.
Tips for Determining Cost Per Case Goals
Determining the cost per case is straightforward and can be done in two simple steps.
1. Find the personal injury firm's average case settlement figure over the past two years.
2. Take this figure and multiply by 10, 20, and 30 percent to arrive at three figures.
These three figures are potential cost-per-case values. A law firm can decide whether they wish to spend 10, 20, or 30 percent of their cost per case on marketing.
2. Assess Marketing Needs
Once the cost-per-case has been determined, the firm can then begin assessing its marketing needs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for law firms.
Each law firm is different, has its own target market with its own cost-per-case and budget, so a marketing solution should be tailored to their specific needs. As the owner of a personal injury practice, it is essential to think like a businessman.
Determine what the goals for the law firm are, what marketing strategies would be effective, and what marketing tactics would yield a good return.
This can be done in a few easy steps:
Find an overall strategy
Determine what has worked for other similar law firms
Consider the law firm's current strategy
Determine the yield at different cost levels
Proceed to choose tactics
Avoid taking the help of a marketing vendor before completing the above steps, as it can help determine what the specific goals of the law firm are before commencing any marketing tactics.
3. Build an Effective Brand
The first step to developing an effective online brand is by building an effective website. A law practice with a poor online presence or an inconsistent brand is less likely to get more leads. In 2021, having a website is an essential component of any law firm's strategy.
A website can serve as a central contact point for brand awareness, thought leadership, and the conversion of visitors to potential leads. Making the most of a website is both a struggle and the desired goal for legal firms, as it is for other businesses.
Here are some important features that personal injury law firms can include in their websites to make them more effective.
A/B Split Testing Landing Pages
A/B testing, also referred to as "split testing", is a technique for comparing two different variants of a web page to determine which of the two performs best. With regard to landing pages, this entails putting two different versions of the same landing page against each other to decide on which one produces the highest conversion rate.
These types of landing pages are especially important for PPC strategies, and tools such as Unbounce can be used to create landing pages easily.
Include a Live Chat Feature on the Personal Injury Law Practice Website
A live chat feature can be a useful tool for generating leads. It also shows potential clients that help is readily available should they need it, which is especially helpful for a legal website. Tools such as ApexChat and Ngage Live Chat can be used to add live chat to a firm’s website.
Microsites
A microsite is a single web page or a small group of pages designed to function as a separate entity within an existing website or supplement an offline action.
Niche-specific microsites can be a valuable addition to an online marketing strategy.
Choose the Right Content Management System
A content management system (CMS) is software that enables users to build, manage, and adjust content on a site without requiring software development or programming knowledge.
Some examples of good content management systems for a personal injury practice to choose from are WordPress, Justia, FindLaw, and Scorpion.
Improve the Speed of the Website
A lagging website that takes a long time to load on a user’s browser is less likely to generate any business, so investing in an add-on to improve the speed of the website is a must. Tools such as Pagespeed Insights or Pingdom could help with this.
In addition, including a content delivery network (CDN) such as Cloud flare, code compression add-ons like Autoptimize, and image compression tools like WPSmushIt are also valuable.
4. Mobile-friendly Website
According to a new analysis, mobile usage accounts for roughly 60 percent of all website visits. Therefore, it is essential that websites include mobile-friendly sites.
Users are five times more likely to abandon a site that does not have a mobile-friendly version, so this should be of utmost importance. In fact, it may be more suitable to get the mobile site up and running first.
Here are some additional mobile-targeting advertising tools to use for a personal injury law firm:
Mobile Apps. Several law firms create their own mobile apps that can be downloaded from an app store. These include features such as dialing for emergency services, tools for finding local hospitals, and allowing the user easy access to the personal injury law firm.
Google Ads Call-only feature. This form of advertising charges the law firm per call rather than per click. This is very useful for giving mobile users access to the law firm.
5. Track and Manage Leads Effectively
Of what use is generating leads if they are not tracked and followed to be converted to clients? Google Analytics can help with tracking website-generated and live chat leads. Most personal injury law firms tend to push users to make phone calls rather than any other means, so monitoring phone calls are essential.
There are several services that can help with call tracking. These include Google Call Tracking, WordStream Call Tracking, Call Tracking Metrics, and CallRail.
6. Search Engine Optimization
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is more important than ever, with organic search accounting for more than 51 percent of all website traffic. It is a way to increase the amount of traffic a website or webpage receives from search engines.
This involves investigating what the target audience is searching for the most, producing content around those search phrases, and ensuring that those phrases are visible to Google.
What Are SEO Keywords and Why Are They Essential?
A keyword or key phrase is anything that a user types into a search engine such as Google. These keywords are essential because Google uses them to ascertain which pages should appear at the top of search results.
This means that if someone were to do a Google search for "car accidents attorney fees," Google looks for web pages on the internet that discuss this and related topics and displays them for the user to see in the search results.
To begin appearing in search queries related to personal injury law, it is essential to determine which keywords a particular audience is typing into Google the most and ensure those key phrases or keywords are found in the right places on the website.
Other Ways to Optimize Websites and Webpages
Here are a few other ways to make the most of search engine marketing:
Use Ad Extensions to Appear on Search Results. Ad Extensions are options provided by search advertising platforms to improve ads. When used correctly, they can both enhance ad performance and give the firm a competitive advantage. Some commonly used extensions are call extensions to add a phone number to the ad. Another is location extensions that add the business address to Google My Business and Sitelinks, allowing website owners to send users to various parts of their website.
Citations. These are online references to a law firm includes the personal injury law firm's name, physical address, and phone number. Popular services such as Yext, BrightLocal, and WhiteSpark can help with citations.
DBA Optimization. Including a keyword in the business name is against Google's terms of service, but some businesses have noticed that they can optimize their legally filed DBA by including keywords. This appears to be within acceptable limits.
Celebrity Endorsements. Another good way to improve search engine rankings is by getting celebrities to endorse the law firm. Personal injury clients are more inclined to work with firms that are associated with stars.
Add Online Reviews. Reviews can also help to build the credibility of personal injury law firms, as people are more likely to use a service that other people know and trust. GatherUp, Podium, and BirdEye can be used for this purpose.
Maintain a High Rating. Firms must have a high Google review rating to rank for superlative-based keyword phrases (such as "best car accident lawyer," "top auto accident attorney," and so on). Consider the following: would one expect a one-star beauty salon to appear in a search for "best beauty salons near me"? The answer is no. Similarly, maintaining a high rating is critical because it allows the firm to rank for superlatives and increases the likelihood of conversions.
Improve Online Presence. Including reviews on third-party websites such as TrustPilot, BBB, and Facebook all contribute to prominence to Google and could improve a personal injury law firm's ranking.
Google Images. Including photos in Google also contribute to online prominence and can help to boost a firm's ranking.
Office Locations. The user's proximity to a personal injury law firm is one of the most important aspects of local searches. Recent studies have reported the significance of range as a factor in local SEO rankings. As a law firm expands its practice locations, it casts a wider net for local searches and improves the chances that a potential client is nearby.
Directories. Local website directories are commonly known as a local search ranking factor. Because of their ranking position, some directories (for example, Avvo, FindLaw, Yelp, and Justia) can act as a direct source of leads, having already proven their worth as an important tool in an organic SEO strategy.
Content Marketing. Most people land on websites because they are in search of information rather than companies, so using content for digital marketing is an effective way to generate leads and pop up more on search results. Content should be relevant to prospective clients, providing insight into the legal industry. Including linked blogs to a website is an effective strategy for personal injury law firm marketing when it is used in conjunction with a pillar or cluster-style of linking, which drives consumers to a particular page.
7. Social Media Marketing Strategy
Social media can have negative connotations, particularly when it comes to marketing, and efforts have often been described as sporadic can be in terms of producing results and leads. However, this is possibly because too much is expected of social media marketing.
Just because others have not had much success with social media, it does not mean that a personal injury law firm cannot benefit from paid social media advertising.
The following are some of the most prominent social media platforms to use for marketing a personal injury law firm to improve brand awareness and reach potential clients.
Facebook Ads
Facebook ads are an effective way to advertise on social media because Facebook is currently the largest social media platform.
Retargeting ads are especially effective here but obtaining client reviews on the law firm's profile is an underrated use of time. It is also vital for the law firm's local SEO growth.
Twitter is a less effective option but could be important for influencer outreach.
LinkedIn Ads
This social media platform is an underrated, but effective tool to use for reaching potential clients. Law firms can use LinkedIn's native videos feature to reach more people than they would with Facebook. It is also a great platform for reaching potential referral partners.
Instagram Ads
This is the most popular and fastest-growing social media platform, particularly among millennials. It is extremely useful for developing a visual display of a firm's brand, and it is worth noting that the competition on Instagram is relatively low, making success through this platform very attainable.
8. Google Ads
Using Google Ads to advertise law firms is among the quickest ways to produce traffic and attract new prospective clients. As part of their strategy, several successful personal injury law firms employ a mix of Google Ads and SEO. These Google Ads are indeed costly, but that does not mean that law firms should not use them.
After all, marketing is all about return on investment, and the good thing about personal injury marketing is that one personal injury case can pay for a significant portion of marketing-related expenses.
When used correctly and efficiently, Google Ads are an effective and powerful tool for bringing in new clients.
A Google Ads campaign can also be directed toward a specific market. If a firm prefers to direct their personal injury law firm marketing toward a specific target market or practice area, such as auto accident leads, they can do so effectively with Google Ads.
9. Pay-per-click (PPC)
Pay-per-click, or PPC ads, are one of the quickest direct law firm marketing methods. However, because they are so efficient, they often come at a high price, particularly for members of a competitive industry like personal injury law.
Google AdWords' CPC costs more than $100 per click, so it is critical to track ROI and analytics when making use of this tool. This involves ensuring that case acquisition figures correspond to the cost of acquiring them via PPC.
In order for any PPC strategy to achieve maximum effectiveness, it should be coupled with a conversion rate optimization, or CRO, strategy.
The following are some of the most prominent search engines and platforms on which to include PPC ads to reach potential clients.
It is no secret that Google commands most of the market's search traffic. Google PPC ads have shown high success rates for personal injury law firms. While it is not technically PPC, personal injury lawyers could succeed with a pay-per-call or mobile call-only strategy as already described before.
Bing
Because Bing has a reduced consumer usage than Google, its ads are frequently undervalued. However, there is a significant benefit to using Bing. It has fewer competitors, so the CPC for such keyword phrases is usually lower.
While the volume of searches may be lower, the lower CPC offers solid value. Firms can also import their Google Ads campaigns straight to the Bing interface.
Yelp
Yelp is a directory rather than a search engine like Google and Bing, and in some locations, Yelp ranks highly. While it is a good option for personal injury law firm marketing, be careful not to invest too much, as the consumer targeting is not as focused as other options.
Social Media Platforms
Facebook also offers PPC advertising options, and its CPC rates are a lot lower than Google's, so it can be used effectively for law firm marketing. Firms can also choose PPC law firm marketing with social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram.
10. Email Marketing
Email marketing is still one of the most powerful strategies to get a business in front of its customers. Personal injury lawyers face some special challenges when it comes to email marketing because consumers are searching for these services in the hours or days following an incident.
As a result, a broadcast or newsletter approach can be especially effective. There is no telling when a consumer may require a firm's help, so all it can do is to ensure that users have the name of the firm at the back of their minds, so that should something happen, it is the first name to come to mind when they are in need of legal counsel or representation.
Funnel-based Email Marketing
This method employs logic-based scenarios, in which the data received is based on the actions taken. As a result, it provides more individualized targeting. There are several tools that can be used for funnel-based marketing, including ActiveCampaign, Keep, and ClickFunnels.
11. Other Marketing Methods
In addition to the online marketing methods already mentioned, law firms can also benefit from more traditional advertising. Here are a few other ways to get the word out about a personal injury firm:
TV advertising
Video marketing
Banner ads
Printed advertising in newspapers or magazines
Safety and awareness campaigns
Radio ad platforms
Phone number marketing through catchy phone numbers
Bench ads
Billboards
Signage
Referrals
Encouraging clients to leave online reviews
Podcasts
The Bottom Line
These marketing solutions are sure to up any law firm's marketing game, but it is important to note that legal marketing can take time before it can be effective. Most law firms that have successfully generated personal injury leads have done so after much patience, trial and error, and business development. If a firm is not seeing the immediate results of its advertising efforts, remember that all hope is not lost.
Marketing efforts can always be adjusted if they are ineffective, and new avenues can be explored before more clients can be seen bustling through the practice doors.
A key takeaway message is that every law firm is different and uses a unique approach to legal marketing. The most crucial step is determining what works for the firm before pursuing marketing initiatives and setting the appropriate goals and budgets for marketing campaigns is of utmost importance.