When a person is injured due to someone else’s negligence, they want effective and reputable legal representation. This is why personal injury lawyer marketing is critical for showing prospective clients that you’re the best option on the market.
Every personal injury marketing strategy looks different, depending on location, areas of specialization, and firm values. Below, we’ve outlined some of the best tactics to consider adding to your personal injury lawyer marketing strategy so you can be confident that you’re putting your best foot forward.
1. Know basic marketing terms
Personal injury lawyer marketing—or any type of marketing, for that matter—begins with education. Whether you’re planning to go it alone or hiring a legal marketing company to help you, understanding basic marketing principles will help you develop a marketing plan for your law firm.
2. Have a goal in mind
Successful business planning requires, well, planning! Creating strategies that align with your firm’s short and long-term goals is critical for success.
Create a law firm business plan if you haven’t done so already—and don’t forget about your marketing budget! Knowing how much money you will spend on marketing is an important first step when developing goals and marketing strategies.
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3. Track your marketing efforts and results
Part of a great marketing strategy involves trying out different things—but you can’t simply throw things at the wall and see what sticks. Many personal injury practices spend a not-insignificant amount on advertising to remain top-of-mind when their services are needed, and every dollar counts.
You need to track your marketing efforts and results to determine what’s working (and what isn’t serving you). Software like Clio Grow can help you track your marketing performance and determine why clients are hiring you, so you can tailor your strategy accordingly.
4. Ask for reviews
Did you know that, according to the Legal Trends Report, positive reviews are the most influential factor in lawyer hiring decisions? If you aren’t already thinking about reputation management strategies, like asking your personal injury clients for reviews, there’s never been a better time to prioritize them.
5. Meet your potential personal injury clients where they are
Understanding where potential clients are coming from is essential to a personal injury lawyer’s marketing strategy. Personal injury clients are usually stressed, dealing with a traumatic event, and want to find a lawyer quickly. That means you’ll want your firm to show up at the top of Google searches, and in real-world places like billboards.
6. Get active on social media
Social media is a great place to make your presence known. And, with so many thriving social media platforms in the digital age, it also gives you a chance to get creative! Anything from law firm updates to photographs and videos can help establish your brand’s presence on social media. Sharing general information about what to know when you have a personal injury claim can also bolster your reputation and build trust with potential clients. Learn more about using social media for lawyers.
7. Optimize your personal injury law firm website
Your personal injury law firm website is often the first place clients engage with your firm, so make sure you’re making a good first impression. It needs to be easy to use so that clients can contact you quickly about their personal injury issue. If you haven’t updated your website in a while, check out our post on the 20 best law firm websites for actionable inspiration.
Or, if you’re looking for a simple and effective option, you can create a website in minutes with Clio Grow’s law firm website builder!
8. Make yourself easy to contact
When thousands of personal injury law firms are only a Google search away, you need to make it as easy as possible for prospective clients to get in touch with you. Ensure that your contact information (including your phone number and email address, or a “Contact Us” form) is prominently displayed on your law firm website.
9. Follow SEO best practices
If you aren’t already familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) practices, now is the time to learn about them. SEO is crucial for personal injury attorneys in particular, because clients dealing with an injury may have less patience to do lots of research, and may simply go for the top result. SEO can help drive more visitors to your website by increasing your position in search engine results. Check out our guide on SEO for lawyers for more information.
10. Claim your Google Business Profile
Google Business can help customers find your firm, book a consultation, and leave reviews—all with a simple Google search. This is another, powerful way for personal injury clients to find you quickly—which is what they want.
11. Identify other places you can market online for free
There are plenty of ways to advertise your law firm online beyond Google Business. Check out our list of 10 places lawyers can advertise online for free! The more your firm’s name is out there, the more likely it is that personal injury clients will know to call you when something happens.
12. Use SEM Ads
If you’ve got money in your marketing budget for advertising, consider Search Engine Marketing (SEM) ads. SEM helps your business appear in search engine results even if you aren’t getting to the top page through SEO strategies. This is a worthwhile strategy to explore for many personal injury firms.
13. Use Local Services Ads
Local Services Ads (LSAs) are another great personal injury lawyer marketing tool. By leveraging this tool, your ads will show up for local customers. Even better, you only pay for the service if a customer contacts you directly through the ad!
And, with Google’s Local Services Ads for Clio, you can sign up for and manage a Local Services Ads account, set up and run ad campaigns, capture new leads, and measure campaign performance all within a single platform. Learn more here, or book a live demonstration with a Clio expert.
14. Try video marketing on personal injury subjects
Video content can be a great way to educate consumers on personal injury topics while promoting your law firm. These videos can take the form of educational videos (e.g., explaining the steps involved in a personal injury case), case updates (e.g., talking about interesting cases from the previous month), or even introductions (e.g., telling people about your firm and its lawyers). Video content is not just a great marketing strategy; it can also be pretty fun to make!
15. Tell people you’re a personal injury lawyer
Sometimes, it’s really that simple. This is a less trackable tactic, but it’s table stakes, and there’s nothing like word of mouth. If acquaintances don’t know you’re a personal injury lawyer, they can’t recommend your services.
16. Attend networking events
Networking can be a great way to meet potential clients—and lawyers in other practice areas who may be willing to refer personal injury clients to you. Not sure where to start? Try our blog post for tips on attorney networking.
17. Try public speaking
Public speaking might not be an obvious part of a personal injury lawyer marketing strategy, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. In addition to sharpening your advocacy skills, public speaking can be a great way to get your firm’s name out there.
Seek opportunities to speak at local educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and other community hubs—you never know who might show up! Plus, sharing information about how to handle a personal injury claim can build a lot of goodwill in your community.
18. Try traditional marketing
Yes, billboards get a bad rap, but for certain practice areas, such as personal injury, they can form part of a great marketing strategy. Simply building awareness of your firm’s name is helpful—just ensure there’s an easy-to-remember way to contact your firm on the advertisement.
19. Write helpful content on personal injury issues and give it away for free
Creating great personal injury content on a blog or other medium can not only boost your firm’s visibility through SEO—it’s also a great way to elevate your firm’s presence as an expert while providing helpful, relevant content for potential clients. Learn more about content marketing for lawyers in our helpful blog post.
20. Attend a conference for fresh ideas
Conferences are a great resource for new ideas—and with so many great legal conferences being held annually, you’re sure to find an option that will spark inspiration (not to mention a great excuse to get out of town for a few days!). The Clio Cloud Conference, our annual gathering for like-minded legal professionals, provides ample opportunities to network, gain valuable insights into the state of the profession, and engage with inspiring speakers. Register now—it’s already over 50% sold out!
21. Sponsor local events
Get your firm’s name out there. Participating in (or, better yet, sponsoring) local events can be a great way to connect with clients. Take, for example, Vela Wood, a past Reisman Award winner that focused on sponsoring startup and tech events to elevate brand recognition and win startup clients. Personal injury firms may find success sponsoring local community events to get to know individuals in their area.
22. Don’t lose clients once they find you
Making it easy for clients to find you is only one piece of the personal injury lawyer marketing puzzle—you must ensure you have a strategy to collect and follow up with prospective clients quickly. Email marketing software campaigns are a great way to stay in touch with prospective clients—and to ensure you’re top of mind when they need a lawyer’s assistance. And, with Clio Grow, you can automate your intake process and allow clients to schedule appointments remotely, ensuring no leads fall through the cracks.
Final notes on personal injury lawyer marketing
Finally, as part of your personal injury lawyer marketing strategy, consider how to best serve clients once you’ve retained them. After all, a successful marketing strategy will likely result in more clients—and, with the average case resolution exceeding 11 months, you’ll need to consider how to balance client acquisition and case management.
To make managing medical records and settlements easier, we’ve launched a new suite of features to help you:
- Manage medical records with ease
- Track and summarize damages
- Get settlement estimates at your fingertips
Let’s help you remove operational barriers, drive cases forward efficiently, and deliver client-centered experiences with ease. Schedule a demo today to get a tour of Clio’s Personal Injury Add-On.
We published this blog post in March 2023. Last updated: .
Categorized in: Marketing