2013 Predictions for Lawyer Marketing & Advertising

These predictions are based on my own experience in the New England market with primarily smaller law firms. Google Alerts and other research such as Pew Trends and Searchenglineland.com have also played a role.

1. Mobile search for criminal, divorce/family and criminal related attorneys will approach 50%.
2. Reputation management will become a key initiative for small law firms
3. Large law firms will focus their efforts on education-based marketing using information, social media and email as key tools.
4. Metropolitan-based law practices will find that 70-80% of all new referrals will be internet related
5. Rural-based law practices will continue to migrate from yellow pages and local newspaper advertising.
6. Yellow pages advertising will continue with its inexorable decline as references will drop another 20% to an all-time low.
7. Business and corporate based law practices will focus on "reversing the funnel" whereby existing client contacts will become the primary vehicle for generating new referrals.
8. IPTV (internet protocal televison) will attain critical penetration as more television manufacturers incorporate internet access directly into televisions.
9. Localized, best lawyer review sites will pop-up.
10. Sponsored (PPC) costs will soar for competitive keywords on Google and Yahoo/Bing.

Mark your calendars for 12/21/13 and let me know how I've done. Or weigh in now with your own predictions or comments relating to my list.

Joe Marotta, New England Lawyer Marketing
www.newenglandlawyermkt.com

New Lawyers Engage In Effective Online Marketing Strategies

With 14.5 lawyers for every 10,000 residents, Massachusetts has the fourth-highest concentration of lawyers in the country, trailing only the District of Columbia, New York, and Delaware. A soft economy is forcing many new law graduates into self-employed law practices. These newly minted lawyers are feverishly taking to marketing their services online since the cost is reasonable and barriers to entry are few. In several markets, Providence and Boston in particular, newer law practices are bootstrapping their law firm with new clients acquired via the internet. Many established firms are proving to be stubborn holdovers to more traditional media such as yellow pages , newspapers, and cable. Meanwhile, more entrepreneurial, newer firms take to social media and time-consuming, online link-building to more effectively interact with potential new clients and gain further visibility on Google and Yahoo. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont are all experiencing similar trends.

Mobile Lawyer Search Is Sizzling in New England

According to Google research, mobile searches have grown by 400% in the past two years. Most mobile searches are local in nature and over 80% of these queries are followed through.  A recent Pew Research Study revealed that a high number of urban area residents use their web-enabled phone for most of their search. Further, the likelihood of the mobile searcher forwarding his/her search results to a friend is high. Access to reviews and video on a mobile site is critical as is push to call/ email.

A cursory view of lawyers advertising in Providence Rhode Island uncovered very few using a mobile enabled site. Sort of like throwing money out the window.