When done strategically, estate planning digital marketing effectively attracts and retains clients who need the services of estate planning attorneys. The key to digital marketing success is defining your market, distributing your content to your audience through appropriate channels, and monitoring your results to determine how well things are working and where to make changes.
There is a general digital marketing strategy, but it’s in the details where success is won or lost. Conveying authority and trust are important, as is compassion and caring. Beyond that, each law firm must demonstrate what makes it unique and why it is the right fit for the clients it wants to work with.
Our co-founder, Victoria Lozano, is also an estate planning attorney. Blue Seven Content means business when it comes to your digital marketing strategy because we’ve been in the trenches with you.
You Need a Website, and it Needs to be Optimized Properly
Having a well-optimized law firm website is an essential marketing tool. It gives an estate planning law firm visibility and credibility. A law firm’s website is often one of the first things a potential client sees.
Yet, not all law firms have websites. The ABA’s 2024 Websites and Marketing TechReport found that about 10% of responding attorneys and law firms did not have websites.
Not having a website raises immediate doubts about legitimacy among many consumers. A competitor with a website is much more likely to earn their trust. Users also expect businesses to have websites. How frustrating is it to want more information about a company or product and be unable to find a website?
Think of your website as your marketing hub. All content roads lead back to it, so you want it to reward visitors with an enriching experience that keeps their attention.
Website Content: Does SEO Still Matter for Estate Planning Law Firms?
Visitors to estate planning websites are looking for information, so make sure your website has content and resources that comprehensively cover all relevant estate planning topics. Website content should include video content as well as text. Visual content is engaging and connects more quickly with viewers.
Find a video example on Plan Forward Legal’s Chicago Estate Planning Attorney page.
Text should be well-written using language that communicates with readers and search engines. It must be accurate and reliable to establish and maintain authority and credibility. Text pages should be formatted for easy readability using clear headlines and subheads, short paragraphs, bulleted lists, and ample white space.
The basic content components of a law firm website should include:
- Attorney bios that highlight credentials and experience
- Detailed practice area pages for every type of service offered
- An About Us page expressing the law firm’s back story and why you do what you do
- FAQ pages that answer common questions with brief answers
- A blog or news section for providing additional resources
- Client testimonials or reviews to demonstrate experience and build trust with visitors
Blue Seven Content’s estate lawyer SEO content maximizes search ranking potential while delivering a high-quality user experience that results in greater engagement and client conversion.
Website Page Accessibility
Good content won’t make an impact if it’s hard to access. A law firm website needs to load quickly, and its content must be readily viewable on any device a visitor uses to access it. Accessibility is critical for getting visitors to experience your content.
If page load time is more than 3 seconds, there is a 32% probability of bounce according to page load experts WP Rocket. If page load time exceeds 5 seconds, there is a 90% chance of bounce. The average web page load time is 2.5 seconds, but faster is better. The average page load speed of Google’s first page search results is 1.65 seconds.
Google’s Core Web Vitals include load speed and visual stability as search ranking factors to ensure users have a good experience. Visual stability is how well a page maintains its layout and doesn’t jump around as it loads. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is the measurement used to evaluate visual stability. Google recommends striving for a CLS of less than .01.
List Your Business with Google and Other Directories to Optimize for Local Visibility
Estate planning law firms serving specific local areas want to ensure their businesses are listed in available directories so local searchers can more easily find them. List your firm name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistently across all directories.
Listings in directories like Yelp, Better Business Bureau, Apple Maps, Bing Places, and Yellow Pages verify your law firm for search engines and help improve your ranking in ‘near me’ searches.
Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free tool that helps local Google searchers find local businesses. When you complete your GBP, your law firm will appear more prominently in local search results. A well-optimized Google Business Profile can appear in the following local search results:
- Google’s Local Pack (top 3 organic search results)
- Google Maps
- Knowledge Panel (to the right on desktop screens for relevant searches)
GBP offers additional features that can enhance local marketing. You can post directly to your business profile with text up to 1,500 words and upload images and brief video content. Posts will appear near the bottom of your business profile and can be used to share updates and event notices.
Users can also leave reviews or pose questions, providing opportunities for engagement. Consultations can be booked directly from the GBP.
Keep Marketing Content Consistent to Build Brand Identity
Consistency with marketing is foundational to successful brand building. Delivering content regularly and in a similar way increases brand recognition through repeated exposure and builds trust with users over time.
Use the same logos and graphics when preparing visual content. Stick to a defined color palette and use the same font for a cohesive, professional appearance. Decide on brand personality and maintain a consistent voice when creating content.
Taglines and core messaging should be used across marketing channels to instill brand awareness and develop loyalty.
Develop Both Long-term and Short-term Marketing Strategies
Organic SEO is a long-term client acquisition and retention strategy achieved by optimizing content to rank higher in search results without paying for advertising. Paid advertising is a short-term marketing strategy to get content placed at the top of search results without needing to rank.
Paid advertising is more likely to generate immediate traffic and convert clients, yet organic SEO produces sustainable results that are perceived as more authentic and, at times, more trusted by users.
Using a combination of both strategies can allow a law firm to appear in both paid ads and organic search results, maximizing visibility, reinforcing authority and dominance, and leading to a higher overall click-through rate.
Identify the Client Demographics and Behaviors You Want to Target
Identifying and effectively targeting the groups most likely to need or want your services is the best way to ensure your marketing efforts are successful. Reviewing data on beliefs and behaviors related to estate planning will help you target and focus your marketing.
According to Caring.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study, only about one-third of Americans have done any estate planning. Not surprisingly, persons aged 65+ are the most likely to have an estate plan.
However, since 2020, the number of Americans aged 18 to 34 with a will has increased by 50%.
The study revealed procrastination as the number one reason given by those who had no will. When asked what would motivate them to get a will, study participants gave the following responses:
- Medical diagnosis – 43%
- Home purchase – 24%
- Retirement – 23%
- Growing family – 21%
- Death of a loved one – 17%
The study also showed that the majority of Americans believe having an estate plan is important, even if they don’t yet have one. So the challenge for estate planning digital marketing is to connect law firms to the people who believe estate planning is important and persuade them to do it now.
Create Amazing Content and Mesmerize Viewers
What is it that makes the difference to people scrolling through search results? Why do they stop and click on one post and not another? The simple answer is that not all content is created equally. It’s not enough to offer a wall of informational text and hope something sticks.
Sure, you want to provide the information potential clients are looking for. That’s a given. Nevertheless, how the information is presented also contributes to its ability to connect with viewers and leave a lasting impression.
Did you know that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual? Visual content is processed 60,000 times faster than text. Visual content also increases information comprehension and retention. People are likely to remember 80% of what they see and only 20% of what they read.
Ideally, at a glance, your content grabs attention, invites a viewer to go deeper, and, when someone clicks, they are taken to a well-organized page that loads quickly, is visually appealing, and is easy to skim.
For the person who wants to really understand and read the text, they find that the topic is comprehensively covered, that the paragraphs are short, and that the sentences are concise. There are no misspellings or punctuation errors. The information is factually accurate.
A combination of law firm SEO content, including video, infographics, and well-written text, is the most effective way to get viewers engaged and on their way to becoming clients. Succeeding with content marketing is part science and part art. You need both to stand out from the competition.
Different Content for Different Platforms
When creating content, consider where and how it will be viewed, as well as viewers’ expectations. Content should be contextually relevant to the platform on which it will be published. That said, there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time. One idea or topic can be repurposed for use on different platforms.
For instance, LinkedIn is an essential platform for lawyers, but it focuses on professional relationships. Content should demonstrate thought leadership or share developments relevant to your practice or the legal community. Instagram is better suited for sharing visual content that is less formal and that shows a law firm’s culture and personality.
Use Social Media to Expand Reach and Build Brand Awareness
Social media marketing enables law firms to reach a broader audience and interact more with potential clients. Estate planning lawyers can use social media to share valuable tips and insights, as well as provide legal updates.
By regularly engaging on social media, estate planning attorneys can begin building trust and credibility with potential clients and help them understand how estate planning services can benefit them.
Choosing the appropriate social media platforms requires understanding the demographics and behavior of the people you want to reach and what platforms they use. For instance, according to the Pew Research Center, YouTube is the most used platform by US adults of all ages, followed by Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Of interest to estate planning attorneys is that 85% of 50 to 64-year-olds in the US and 64% of those 65+ are on YouTube. Facebook is also a good platform to reach users over 50. On the other hand, people aged 49 and under are more likely to be found on Instagram or TikTok.
Content format is also an important consideration when deciding which social media platforms to use. YouTube is all about visual content and offers an excellent opportunity to present educational or informational content in a way that helps viewers understand faster and connect more easily with the presenter.
Facebook is also a good platform for sharing video content, though Facebook videos are typically less than 2 minutes and designed to be consumed quickly as someone scrolls through their feed. Facebook is also a good place to post graphics and share stories or opinions that showcase a law firm’s personality and character.
Keep Clients and Prospects in the Loop by Email or Periodic Newsletter
Follow-up and client connection are essential aspects of law firm marketing that help maintain credibility and client loyalty. Digital law firm newsletters are a relatively simple and effective way to keep a law firm top of mind with its email community.
Sent monthly or quarterly, newsletters can provide updates, feature stories about law firm members, highlight community involvement, and offer practical tips readers find valuable. Much of the information presented in the newsletter can be short-form content that links to longer, published content on your website.
Well-done email newsletters help build strong brand recognition and trust within your email community. Layout is important. Be consistent with the brand’s color palette and logos. Don’t overcrowd pages with text and images. Keep the presentation concise, scannable, and mobile-friendly.
Key considerations for newsletters include how often to send them, what kinds of content to include, and how much content to include. Your newsletter won’t be effective if it’s sent too often or if the content isn’t of interest to recipients.
Keep the tone conversational and avoid being overly self-promotional. The focus of newsletters should be on adding value. Having regular features in every newsletter helps create habitual anticipation, so recipients will look forward to receiving your content.
How AI can Assist with Estate Planning Digital Marketing
AI is becoming incorporated in many areas of legal practice, including marketing. AI can streamline client outreach, analyze marketing data, and automate repetitive tasks. AI improves marketing efficiency, freeing up more time for estate planning attorneys and law firms to serve clients.
There is no question that AI can make marketing easier. AI tools can perform keyword research and identify content opportunities. AI can assist with audience targeting, content creation, and optimization. AI can monitor technical SEO. It can also improve client relations through automated messaging and monitoring client reviews. AI can make predictions from marketing data and help guide marketing decisions.
However, AI must be used with caution in content creation to avoid legal and ethical violations. AI-generated content must be carefully reviewed by law firm staff or attorneys for accuracy and to ensure appropriate confidentiality is maintained.
In addition, AI-generated content is generic and needs to be edited to maintain a consistent tone with brand identity and to include unique aspects that distinguish it from similar content for search ranking purposes.
Keep in mind that Google algorithms are searching for helpful, reliable, and people-first content. When content is original and provides “insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond the obvious,” it gets a thumbs up from Google. When content merely summarizes what others have said and adds little fresh value, it gets a thumbs down.
Work with a Marketing Agency that Knows How to Market Your Estate Planning Law Firm
Estate planning law firms face some unique challenges when marketing their services. The idea of preparing an estate plan can be very uncomfortable for people because they may not be ready to confront their mortality. There is also competition from non-lawyer, low-cost alternative estate planning services that promise to deliver solutions with a few online forms.
At Blue Seven Content, we understand that estate planning digital marketing must motivate and convince potential clients to see the value in getting an estate plan in place and in working with an experienced estate planning attorney. As a digital marketing agency specializing in content marketing, we help estate planning law firms create and implement robust marketing strategies for sustained client acquisition and retention.