The subject of a marketing campaign is not something that people connect to the practice of law. Yet, people continually come in contact with advertisements for personal injury legal services all the time. Even peripherally, advertisements can help establish the reputation of a law firm in the minds of potential clients.

That is why law firms need to take the deliberate steps to develop and implement an effective marketing strategy. This can be done with an in-house team or through procuring the services of a professional marketing firm. Prior to doing either of these steps, the firm’s management needs to become aware of a few of the basics of advertising as it relates to the promotion of a law firm.

Law Firm Advertising-Brief

Generally, advertisements appeared in the local Yellow Pages or in business-to-business directories. In time, certain law firms opted to expand into radio, television, and print advertising. Basically, all law firms require a website. Any law firm without a website will be at a serious disadvantage since many clients will look online for a practicing attorney in their area.

When publishing a website, search engine optimization of the website is a must. More importantly, the right approach to implementing a marketing campaign must be selected. Some firms may handle their advertising in-house while others will outsource such tasks to marketing professionals. First and foremost, the law firm needs to definitively decide on the size and scope of the marketing campaign they wish to undertake. Rather, the firm needs to decide on the scope of the advertising and then hire the appropriate personnel to handle the duties.

Law firms that opt to handle their own marketing in house will need to hire professionals that understand what is required to develop an effective marketing campaign. Amateurs should never handle such tasks or the advertising campaign will falter. In some instances, an in-house employee could be responsible for overseeing the work performed by freelancers. That is, if the firm is interested in an expansive online marketing campaign, then freelancers would be hired to perform the duties determined by the in-house person in charge of operations. The option for outsourcing to a marketing firm is preferred by many. Keep in mind, however, that when you procure the services of an outside firm, your input may be somewhat limited. Ultimately, you will have final say on what type of advertising campaign is performed but the marketing firm will have a great deal of leeway and creative license to devise the campaign. Generally, the law firm execs would sit down with representatives of the marketing firm and discuss goals, strategies, and budgets. The marketing firm would then come up with a plan of action, which the law firm would need to give the "go ahead" to be implemented.

Contracting out all duties to a marketing firm takes a tremendous amount of weight off the shoulders of the law firm. Whether in-house or outsourced, the goal is to raise the public’s awareness of the firm and draw the attention of potential clients. A quality marketing campaign may very well deliver on all expectations in this regard.