Law firm public relations is an important component of brand or service promotion. A positive image and strong reputation sell better than any advertising: PR works in the long run, but its effect also lasts for many years.
Media coverage and recognition are key indicators of the authority of a lawyer or law firm. To consistently attract clients, you need to be visible, appear in the feed, collect mentions, and gradually build loyalty. To understand how to become a popular and sought-after lawyer, an assistant for attorneys shares the practical benefits of PR for lawyers.
Why does a Law Firm need Public Relations?
Before we move on to discussing specific PR tools, let’s look at the concept of “public relations”. In a broad sense, PR (public relations) is a set of methods aimed at strengthening relationships with individuals and legal entities that in one way or another influence the activities of an organization.
Traditional business PR involves working with the media and public opinion, i.e. positive coverage of the company’s actions in the media.
However, at the moment, PR information can also be distributed through other channels, such as social media – social networks, blogging platforms, instant messengers, video hosting sites, etc.
Law firms seek communications support not only to shape public opinion about a particular trial, but also to attract new clients. High competition forces market players to constantly make themselves known: to work on both the coverage of current cases and the company’s reputation as a whole.
Benefits of Public Relations for Law Firms
To understand how exactly a lawyer should manifest himself in the public space, let’s look at the main goals of PR activities.
1. Building a positive image and reputation
Many people still confuse these two concepts. In fact, image is the impression that a company creates and maintains about itself, while reputation is the audience’s assessment and perception of the subject’s specific actions. An image can be constructed, but a reputation can only be earned: to do this, you need to keep your promises, adhere to your own values, interact with the audience ethically and transparently, monitor reviews, etc.
2. Informing, strengthening publicity
Publicity in PR is a broad and, most importantly, positive awareness of the company. In order to attract the public’s attention to the subject, it is necessary to regularly inform it about its activities and their results: publish news, newsletter, press releases, cooperate with the media, etc.
3. Raising your expert status
Status in the professional community is an important goal of PR work. There is nothing more pleasant than a high assessment from authoritative colleagues. In order to actively participate in public life, influence the development of bills, and advance your career, you need to direct your PR to legal professionals as well.
Public Relations tools for promoting a lawyer
Public relations is an essential part of legal marketing. To create an image of a competent and confident specialist, it is necessary to invest resources in various PR activities and competently use all possible PR promotion tools.
Let’s list practical PR tools that lawyers and law firms use to form an image and sustain trust with the audience.
1. Creating a strong brand
A brand is how a person or company appears to the audience: a set of associations, emotions, values, and other attributes that resonate with the consumer.
To create a personal brand , you need to study your target audience and think about what public image you want to convey: choose distinctive features, positioning, character, communication style, and communication channels with potential clients. In addition to the above, a company must have a logo and corporate identity.
A well-known brand is created not only by advertising your legal services, but also by PR: in order to convey the brand identity to the audience, it is necessary to invest in long-term promotion. Yes, PR will not bring immediate results, but in 1-2 years you will thank yourself for these efforts.
2. Participation in professional communities and events
Exhibitions, conferences and professional associations will help strengthen your expert status, demonstrate your skills and earn the respect of your colleagues in the field. If a potential client learns that you are invited to communities and specialized events, they are more likely to contact you for a service.
In addition, participants in events and winners of competitions are often mentioned in the media, which increases media coverage and helps to regularly appear in the information space.
3. Press releases and public statements
As we said earlier, the public and the media need to be regularly informed about the activities of a company or specialist. Press releases will help you with this – messages with up-to-date information about news, events, services, achievements, etc.
They are usually published on the website and sent to the media. Remember that simply sending the material is not enough: it is important to interest the journalist so that he writes a story or an article. Convey to the media representative why the news is important and what benefit it will bring to the publication’s audience.
4. Media interviews and expert comments
To build public capital, you need to talk to journalists at least occasionally. Interesting and useful information about you, your industry or your services will increase your recognition and authority, which will have a positive effect on attracting clients, among other things.
If you are asked for an expert commentary and you are competent in the matter, agree without hesitation. The main thing is to prepare well: collect facts, arguments, and examples from practice in order to convey information to readers or viewers briefly and clearly.
5. Webinars and training materials
Free webinars, events, and materials are a great PR tool. They allow you to interact with your audience directly, which will help you form a closer relationship with them. Publishing interesting and useful information helps solve someone’s problem, demonstrate expertise, and, as a result, earn public loyalty.
What else will Public Relations for lawyers give you?
The most important thing that allows you to achieve PR is to earn more:
1. Increase in fees
Not only due to a larger number of clients, but also due to higher checks. The services of a popular lawyer always cost more: people see that you clearly understand the issue, understand that you are a busy person, so they are ready to pay large sums for a reasonably high quality of work.
2. Attracting and retaining clients
With competent PR, you will not sit without work and will be able to choose clients yourself. PR is not advertising, and here it is really difficult to track where exactly a person came from. But at least you will be sure that the material posted several years ago still works to attract clients.
PR plays a key role in the strategic development of a public lawyer or law firm. In order to create a positive image and strengthen reputation, it is necessary to regularly invest in PR activities and continuously interact with the public.