This new scenario created by the popularization of the Internet and social isolation due to COVID-19 requires law firms and independent lawyers to adopt legal marketing – not as a way to differentiate themselves, but as the only way out for these new times.
In this way, legal marketing executed with mastery will be able to generate credibility, build authority and influence , and consequently, bring your contacts closer to the firm until they become clients.
Ultimately, understanding legal marketing is undeniably a way to put the aspirations of legal entrepreneurship into practice and develop as a leading professional in your field.
So, let's start unraveling a little more about legal marketing now and how to attract more clients to your firm!
Legal Marketing and Code of Ethics
First, it's important to remember that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit professionals from using marketing, as can be seen:
"Article 28. Lawyers may advertise their professional services, individually or collectively , with discretion and moderation, for purely informational purposes, and may not advertise them in conjunction with any other activity."
Similarly, Article 39 of the OAB Code of Ethics stipulates that lawyers may publicize their work and, to do so, may use means to disseminate information.
"Article 39. Professional advertising by lawyers is purely informative and must be discreet and sober, and may not constitute client solicitation or commercialization of the profession."
Thus, ethical legal marketing prioritizes inbound marketing, which does not offend the client, but focuses first on generating connections with the target audience, and only then on gaining permission to communicate its work or service.
Therefore, their strategies are more subtle, indirect, and allow the customer to seek out the company, not the other way around.
What is inbound legal marketing and how do you do it?
This type of marketing is the ideal model for lawyers who want to expand their client network without violating the restrictions established by the Code of Ethics , since the inbound model attracts clients through information and not through the direct sale of proposals.
According to the esteemed scholar ASSAD , the goal of inbound marketing is precisely to capture people's interest through relevant content, building authority and subsequently converting them into customers.
"The central objective of Inbound Marketing is to transform users into leads, which are qualified contacts, that is, data given spontaneously by users, transforming leads into customers and customers into loyal brand advocates."
In practice:
Initially, you can begin using inbound legal marketing by attracting an audience through relevant content on blogs, printed articles, or social media.
Secondly, by using strategies to convert these contacts, such as e-books and webinars, you will build relationships to showcase your services and your competitive advantages in the market.
Eventually, these contacts will naturally transform into clients and promoters of your name.
It is a long, laborious process, but one that will represent not only a trend, but an essential measure for the new times in the legal profession.
Final thoughts on legal marketing
The search for information, the world, and customers have changed a lot.
Today, anyone can easily find information on Google in an instant. Therefore, legal marketing will truly work by attracting the right people through relevant information.
Therefore, lawyers who adopt inbound legal marketing strategies in their daily work have greater opportunities to generate connections and stand out through the credibility they build.
That is, with the advancement in new forms of technology and the transformations undergone within the legal profession itself, legal marketing will no longer be just a trend, but the only way out for "the new normal" in the legal field.
Also check out our article on Legal Entrepreneurship: stand out in the market!