How to market your Practice Area with a Landing Page

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How to market your Practice Area with a Landing Page

So what is a landing page and why would your practice area ever consider one when your firm has a snazzy website? After all, your practice area is mentioned, right?

But that is the very issue; your information blends in with all the other site information and probably can’t stand out. The firm website has numerous pages and covers a lot of territory. It has a menu that bounces visitors all over the site. Compared to a landing page, a website is an unfocused jumble of confusion containing a variety of objectives.

A landing page, on the other hand, features one product or idea. It is designed as one continuous page so it needs no menu. When used by businesses as part of an online marketing program, a landing page has the singular focus of capturing visitor contact information, for which some landing pages offer a free downloadable item as thanks for filling out a form. Landing pages operate as the click-through destination from an online ad, from an email campaign, from social media pages, or from standard search results.

Here’s one that epitomises focus (mariemerrill.com):

Landing page example

The product is not even available yet. The only objective of the landing page is to build an list of prospects to contact when the product is ready. The sign-up button is prominent. The icon in the bottom corner leads to Instagram where you can see lots of photos and “follow” the product’s progress socially. That’s it.

Using a landing page in your law firm

So how can your law firm use a landing page? First, define the “product” you’re promoting. Keep it simple. The landing page, below, focuses solely on one law-related service: blog writing help. Other services are barely mentioned (below the fold). The focus is unmistakably on copywriting assistance for lawyers (www.ereadyconsulting.com).

Landing page example2

 

Notice the structure. The “product” is boldly stated at the top. The following two paragraphs agitate the reader by stating a problem aching for a solution. The third paragraph begins to build faith in the solution provider. The next section overcomes predictable objections with a, “Contact us even if…” list. The unseen lower portion of the page further assures the reader about ease and affordability. A clear call to action prods with, “So click ‘Contact Us’ to complete our brief form”. The “Contact Us” button is large and green so that it stands out. Words are used sparingly.

To promote a landing page, a link might be sent to clients in an email or within a newsletter they already receive. To attract new clients, the page could also be promoted on social media or advertised through a focused Adwords campaign. And referring a prospective client to a landing page may sometimes be preferable to sending them to a complex firm site.

Landing pages are easily produced. Whomever handles your firm website should be able to create an appropriate landing page that helps you and your practice area stand out.

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How to keep Millenials from escaping your law firm

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The future of law firms depends, whether you like it or not, on Millennials. The lawyers in your firm born after 1982 tend to have a unique vision of a professionally rewarding workplace that law firms need to appreciate in order to retain talent. And should your traditional firm be working under the illusion that the young hires will learn to behave, think again. Research shows that they’ll just walk.

A study by Deloitte conducted earlier this year shows that 46% of Australian Millennials expect to change employer within the next 2 years. Of those, 69% cited the lack of training for leadership as their reason, showing that a paycheque alone does not buy loyalty. Only 19% of Millennials said that they expect to stay in their current job for more than 5 years. Unlike previous generations that may have endured long hours for long years in the hope of promotion, Millennials prefer to shop their credentials around on an ongoing basis to advance career and to find the employment that best aligns with their personal values. Given that 75% of the global workforce will be comprised of Millennials by 2025, law firms need to pay attention to the Millennials take on an appealing workplace.

So what is a staid firm to do? Change, of course.

Consider the top 4 reasons, other than income, that Millennials cited for working at an organisation:

  1. Good lifework balance
  2. Opportunity to progress
  3. Flexible working; flexible hours, possible to work remotely
  4. Deriving a sense of meaning from work

and the bottom 4 reasons for choosing an organisation:

  1. A leading company that people admire
  2. Fast growing/dynamic
  3. Invests in and uses the latest technology
  4. The reputation of its leaders/senior executives

So an admired, cutting-edge, growing organisation with good leadership may well be rejected by Millennials if it is too rigid, too demanding, and fails to nurture. Law firms should be worried.

Are Millennials really expecting too much to be treated as more than billable hour units? Millennial’s demands won’t end legal practice, but might end some of its worst aspects. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to consider:

  • Talk to them. Millennials are the most tech-savvy, socially connected members of the firm and might just have some truly constructive thoughts on digital marketing or other innovations. They may also have a few opinions on how to make their job more meaningful and rewarding.
  • Institute a policy that allows lawyers to freely work from home from time to time or to alter their hours so they can meet family obligations.
  • Institute mentoring sessions by more senior lawyers and by other staff.
  • Create teams that provide a friendly support network rather than isolating young lawyers to slog through assignments alone.

None of this is pampering. It’s good business. In the digital age, a flexible, innovative, and supportive firm will quickly be recognised by Millennials. And then, they might just stick around.

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