When chilly weather, pine wreathes, and holiday music arrive each year, it’s a great time for law firms to give back to their communities and get ready for a bright new year. There are several holiday marketing opportunities for lawyers that raise your firm’s brand visibility and bring joy to others.
First, start with your existing clients. The holidays are a great time to be in touch with current clients and recently settled cases by sending traditional holiday cards, email greetings, or other digital communications. You can thank clients for their business, remind them that you welcome referrals, and encourage them to leave a review of your firm on Google, Facebook, or other social platforms.
Holiday sales in the U.S. are predicted to reach up to $1.47 trillion in 2022, despite the uncertain economic outlook. Research shows that holiday marketing emails generate higher conversion rates than do business emails at other times of year. Writing subject lines that reflect a holiday mood causes readers to open emails more frequently, so lean into the holiday spirit. Following are a list of ideas for holiday marketing opportunities for lawyers.
Give Back to the Community
There are many community food banks, toy drives, and coat donation efforts that are looking for support during the holidays. These can be a great way for a law firm to give back to the community and even get your staff involved. You can partner with a non-profit in town to sponsor a holiday dinner for children or give your staff an afternoon off so they can volunteer with a local charity. If you’re a tax law firm, staff may want to volunteer in early 2023 with non-profits that provide free tax preparation services to senior citizens.
Attorney Referrals
Some small law firms and solo practitioners have more caseload than they can handle during the holidays, especially if their staff takes time off or attorneys want to go on vacation with their families. This can be a great time to publicize your attorney referral program via eblast. Let other attorneys know that you’ll pay a referral fee for any cases they bring to you, which can be a win-win for your firm and theirs.
Networking at Holiday Parties
Whether a neighborhood dinner party, a silent auction at the club, or a festive professional gathering, holiday parties are always a good opportunity to network, get the word out about your legal services, and meet potential clients. Despite all the digital bells and whistles available to law firms these days, there’s just no substitute for face-to-face greetings and networking.
Host a Giveaway
If your law firm distributes a monthly newsletter or eblast, you can host a holiday giveaway by providing readers an easy way to enter for a chance to win. Giveaways can include turkeys, gift certificates to local restaurants and stores, televisions and electronics, and travel opportunities. You can also promote your holiday giveaway on social media and your website. This is a great way to build community goodwill and highlight your law firm’s brand by creating a buzz.
Catch Up on Recent Marketing Trends
You know that stack of articles and trade magazines you’ve been meaning to read? The holidays – particularly the lull between Christmas and New Year’s – can be a great time to catch up on your reading and research about new marketing trends in the legal industry. Spend some time perusing the American Bar Association’s website, choose a legal conference to attend in 2023, and familiarize yourself with Google search updates. It’s important to work on your business as well as in your business, and that includes intervals of study and education about new trends in legal marketing.
Software Upgrades
If you’ve been considering installing new or upgrading existing client intake/case management software at your law firm, a quiet week during the holidays can be a good time to research various software products and schedule demos or sales calls in the new year. Clio, MyCase, Filevine, PracticePanther, Zola Suite, and others are some of the most recognized practice management software. These can significantly streamline your in-house tracking and management of clients and cases and boost your marketing efficiency.
Marketing Agency Review
If you employ a law firm marketing agency to handle all your marketing efforts, the holidays can be a good time to review the current year and study your performance analytics. A marketing agency should provide you with monthly and/or year-end analytical summaries of lead generation, call volume, website traffic, conversion rates, and other analytical data about your law firm that enables you to measure your marketing performance. If you’re looking for a new law firm marketing agency, this can be a good time to select potential candidates and set up pitch meetings in the new year.
Kickstart Your Marketing Plan for 2023
A law firm marketing plan is a living, breathing document that should be updated periodically. After putting in all the hours needed to create a marketing plan, you don’t want to leave it in a binder on a dusty shelf. Take a couple hours to review your plan and make notes about any changes needed for 2023. Perhaps this is the year to begin making marketing videos or start a billboard advertising campaign. Or maybe it’s time for a website redesign. Whatever changes or upgrades are needed, start 2023 with a fresh marketing strategy and a budget to support it.
2023 Can Be a Stellar Year
If your law firm is diligent and intentional about marketing during the holidays and for the 12 months that follow, you can produce positive and exciting results. Holiday marketing tips include:
- Give back to the community
- Ask for attorney referrals
- Network at holiday parties
- Host a giveaway
- Catch up on industry marketing trends
- Upgrade your software
- Assess your law firm marketing agency performance
- Kick-start your marketing plan for 2023
By following these steps, you’ll position your law firm for an outstanding New Year.
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