As the story of COVID continues to unfold, and certainties and social behaviors fluctuate, law firm marketers are faced with many challenges, one of which is striking the right tone with their marketing, advertising, messaging and PR.
There are, in fact, several ways law firms can market their practices in ways that positively impact the community and serve as a reminder of the firm in a tumultuous time.
In this article, we feature real-life examples of law firms focusing their legal marketing during COVID on three themes, all related to Community; In The Real World, Online Connections, and Content Marketing.
In The Real World
While the circumstances we face seem unprecedented and new, we believe successful legal marketers are focusing on connecting with their communities.
Hermann & Hermann, a Corpus Christi PI law firm, has been giving away masks and safety kits to their community, since March, and the turn-out and results have been truly inspiring. Yes, that’s the head partner in gloves and a bandana; talk about walking the walk!
Cesar Ornelas, another personal injury lawyer based in New Mexico, is doing something similar with mask giveaways in his community, with the same positive response.
Mask giveaways aren’t just for the lay folk. Edelson PC in Chicago and Saxena White PA in Boca Raton, Florida, teamed up to send almost 6,000 masks and other pieces of Personal Protective Equipment to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Dept. in Michigan,
Briding the gap between offline and online, the Law Offices of Michael Gopin and their “Pay It Forward” campaign, highlights local businesses in San Antonio, and individuals of merit in their community.
With a mix of digital, offline, and TV, this PI law firm is bringing attention to itself, and it’s community, for all the right reasons.
Donate Ad Space & Unblock COVID Keywords
One of the many negative side-effects of COVID, is that as searches and traffic on coronavirus-related topics are rising, digital advertisers are pulling back their spends and blocking COVID keywords, which has dealt a massive blow to revenue-strapped local news outlets, forcing some to even close local newspapers in a time when they’re needed most.
Law firm marketers that have digital advertising campaigns running and are targeting keywords, should make sure they are unblocking all COVID keywords.
The ad space is cheap, and you’ll be supporting local media outlets, which in turn support your clients and community with trusted content.
Another positive idea for digital advertising during COVID, borrowed from the financial industry, is to donate your display ad space to a local food bank.
Luckie, an ad agency working in the southwest US, partnered with Regions bank to create this “Bank 2 Bank” campaign, where they donated all of their digital ad space to raise money for local food banks.
Talk about a win-win, and a chance to do something inspiring with marketing! Interested in running a campaign like this for your law firm? Get In Touch.
Content Marketing
Advertising is good, giveaways are great, but during these chaotic times, there is a desire in the marketplace for content that is purely entertaining, something to escape into.
The St. Louis-based PI firm of Brown & Crouppen are Emmy-award winning masters at content, and their flagship series, Ed Versus, (which feature one of the partners, Ed Herman, comedically discussing mundane things like naps, airplane etiquette, cereal,) recently took COVID on in the hilarious, Ed vs Quarantine video.
We interviewed Ed on the LAWsome podcast about legal marketing and connecting with the audience, and why the law firm decided to pursue these “not-about-the-law” videos…
Another thing Brown & Crouppen have been doing is remote drops for their local TV station, plugging food banks and other local businesses that deserve highlighting, and the law firm’s social media has been chock-a-block full of legal advice and helpful videos.
Podcasts have been seeing a resurgence since COVID hit, because everyone now has time and needs a reason to escape into their closets for some “peace and quiet.”
Along with new ventures from legal media companies and solos, a ton of new podcasts are popping up on the legal landscape as of the last week of April.
As these podcasts heap themselves onto the millions-deep pile of choices for audio entertainment, one has to wonder at the odds being ever in anyone’s favor, the more people play the hunger games of attention with content.
Before you hide in your closet and record your law firm’s first podcast, read about our Podcast Production services here.
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