What is Hyperlocal Marketing? How Can Lawyers Use It?
Lawyers can go far and wide with their marketing strategies – but as hyperlocal marketing proves, the best methods are often right under our nose.
As a global tool, the internet gives users a broad reach across continents to find the things we are looking for. More often than not though, legal buyers don’t want lawyers across the seas – they want legal advice a block away from them. For a fresh take to boost your business, look at the neighborhood you’re working in. It may have more to offer you—and your law firm—than you think.
What Is Hyperlocal Marketing?
Hyperlocal Marketing is a type of marketing that pinpoints a specific audience in a local area. Think about what happens when you search for a place to eat in a new city, or try to find a barber shop close to your apartment. Often, those searches are as much about finding a location near you as the quality of the service. In an age where time is valuable, the convenience of a close-by spot can make or break a lot of business decisions.
Does Location Matter for Law Firms?
You might be thinking: sure, Hyperlocal Marketing might be good for restaurants who want to boost their foot traffic, but how can that help my law practice? Though things like foot traffic and convenience might matter less to your business than to others that cater more towards commercial purchases, thinking local can make a big difference to legal buyers.
Often, customers trust businesses that are rooted in their communities. People want to feel a connection to the companies they patronize, and that connection can be strengthened if your messaging shows a palpable sense of local pride and tradition. Emphasizing that regional bond will help forge relationships not only with individual clients but with the community at large.
How large your legal practice is will determine the scope of your marketing campaigns. Smaller or medium-sized practices should consider their city or county – the length of legal proceedings dictates multiple visits to a location over an extended period of time, so legal buyers will care about having services nearby. Larger practices can extend their marketing reach, but still need to keep location in mind – even at the highest tiers of legal practice, people value convenience.
How It Works
Hyperlocal Marketing starts with localizing your message. This can easily be done in ads, blog posts, and SEO. For example, instead of running the ad “Protecting Your Financial Assets,” title it “Protecting Your Financial Assets in Houston,” or even “Protecting Your Financial Assets in Houston For Over a Decade.” This will emphasize both your regional connection and your experience, but more importantly, it helps Google’s algorithms calibrate around your business. Subsequently, when people type in “law firm in [your local area]” into a search engine, you become more and more likely to pop up as an option.
Creating a Google My Business listing for your law firm is essential for increasing your local profile. Making a listing makes you appear in any map searches – a legal buyer who searches for “law firm near me” will be able to immediately locate your business and see hours, reviews, and can access your website for easy conversions.
Things to Consider
If going the Hyperlocal Marketing route, it becomes essential that all business listings and location data are accurate. Make sure that all of your information available online is accurate and coherent. When a business has conflicting spellings or addresses shown online, search engines are less likely to show it in local results, as they don’t want to give searchers bad or outdated information. By keeping all of your data up-to-date and easily available, you are raising your likelihood of popping up first in a local search.
How Lawyers Can Benefit From Hyperlocal Marketing
Though Hyperlocal Marketing is primarily talked about in a commercial context, it is a valuable tool for any law firm, no matter how big or small. Figure out the audience you want to target, and use your regional knowledge to appeal to them. Whether trying to appeal to a small town or an entire state, localizing your message gives your brand a sense of familiarity and specificity. Adding a regional precision to your marketing gives you a leg up on a valuable market close to home.