10 Family Law Marketing Tips to Grow Your Firm

Marketing is crucial to any law firm’s success—but there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all law firm marketing strategy. Different practice areas have unique needs, so your marketing strategies should be tailored to serve your firm’s specific client base and branch of law.

This is particularly true with family law marketing.

Family law firm clients need help with matters related to their personal and family lives—which are often sensitive, challenging, and emotional. With this in mind, effective family law marketing should prioritize potential clients’ experiences from the start.

But how, practically, can you achieve this? From how (and where) to reach potential family law clients online to the importance of establishing a positive reputation in your community, we’ve got you covered with 10 of our best marketing tips for family law firms.

This could include marriage (from civil unions to prenuptial agreements), divorce (including spousal support and property division), parental and child-related issues (including child custody, support, and adoption), reproductive rights, international family matters, and measures countering domestic violence.

10 marketing tips for family law firms

When people seek the services of a family law firm, it’s typically for complex, often emotional, reasons. Whether they’re struggling through challenging times or celebrating a milestone, potential clients for family law firms require sensitivity, compassion, and clear communication.

This type of client experience starts via your marketing, before you even meet with new clients.

Empathetic messaging is essential for effective family law marketing. Regardless of what channels you use, consider what your clients are going through—and ensure that your messaging is consistent and attuned to their emotional needs.

For example, something as simple as using terms like “helpful” or “support” in your law firm marketing can offer a softer approach when attracting clients going through challenging situations.

Keep this empathetic approach in mind as you consider the following family law marketing tips.

Decide on your marketing budget

Before you dive into new marketing initiatives for your firm, first take a step back and establish a marketing budget. This budget serves as a useful framework when determining how to allocate your resources.

While there are many useful tactics you could use for your family law marketing endeavors, you’re not going to be able to do everything. Instead, determine your budget by balancing your available time commitment against the associated costs of marketing. Also consider factors like your geographical location and your firm’s existing brand recognition.

Not sure where to start? Our guide to creating a marketing budget for small law firms can help.

Create cohesive online channels

Today’s legal clients look for lawyers online (in fact, according to the 2021 Legal Trends Report, being searchable online has a positive influence on lawyer choice for 80% of consumers), so it’s critical that your digital messaging is clear.

Two areas to consider for consistent, cohesive messaging are your:

1. Law firm website

A cohesive online presence starts with your law firm website.

Family law clients want lawyers who can handle their cases effectively and sensitively. Your website is your opportunity to convey this to clients before they reach out, so make it easy to navigate, accessible, and consistent with your brand.

In addition to having a clear, descriptive, and easy-to-search domain name (you can learn more about how to find and acquire the right one here), your family law firm website should outline:

• Who you are
• What legal services you offer
• How to contact you

Consider additional elements that can further convey your brand, build trust, and showcase your credibility, like testimonials, trust badges, awards, or relevant accolades.

Creating a professional and secure law firm website doesn’t have to be complex. Clio’s law firm website builder makes it easy to set up your law firm website in just three steps, with no coding required. It also makes it easy to integrate Clio Grow’s client intake features, like online intake forms, to make it easier for potential clients to contact you.

2. Social media channels

Social media marketing for lawyers is an area that should be handled with care. However, when used appropriately, it can be another way for potential clients to find your law firm by driving them to your website.

When using any professional social media, be sure to maintain cohesive and consistent messaging with that of your website and other marketing.

Just be sure to know and abide by the social media rules for your jurisdiction and be vigilant in considering the sensitive nature of family law.

Improve your presence on Google

Having a website for your family law firm is important, but it’s only half the battle. In order for your potential clients to find you online, your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) is key.

The goal with SEO is to improve your presence on Google, so that your law firm’s website appears near the top of the results when potential clients search online for family lawyers in your area.

One relatively easy—and free—way to boost your SEO is to set up a Google Business Profile. This service improves your local search visibility and makes it easier to manage your website’s listings in Google search results. Using a Google Business profile is another way to establish consistency with your firm’s messaging, while also helping clients learn more about your firm.

You can personalize your Google Business profile with details like your firm’s:

• Name
• Address
• Contact information
• Business hours
• Website URL
• Photos
• Reviews

When it comes to reviews:

• Do: Ask for Google ratings and reviews from past clients (when allowed). Honest reviews can improve your search engine rankings and show potential clients that your business is trustworthy. However, it’s important to note that there may be rules related to client testimonials and reviews. It’s a good idea to check with your jurisdiction’s rules and ethical guidance for requesting and sharing client reviews to ensure you stay compliant.
• Don’t: Fake reviews. Never ask for false testimonials or write fake reviews.

Advertise online

For family law firms, digital advertising offers a flexible, cost-effective, and measurable way to build brand awareness and reach potential clients.

Consider using online ads on a variety of digital platforms, from search engines to social media. These could include:

• Google Ads. Google Ads are “pay-per-click,” so you pay whenever someone clicks on your ad. Because you only pay per click, these ads can be quite effective and targeted. However, because you pay for each click (whether or not you get a lead), they can also be expensive.
• Local Services Ads. These ads are “pay-per-lead,” so you pay whenever a lead contacts you through your ad. This leads to more qualified leads for your firm. However, Local Services Ads for lawyers are currently limited to lawyers in certain practice areas and geographic locations. You can check your eligibility through Google’s eligibility checker.
• Social media advertising. Social media advertising is an effective and cost-effective way to reach potential clients online. To learn more, read our guides to successful LinkedIn advertising and Facebook advertising advertising for law firms.

You don’t necessarily have to use all of these channels. Be sure to follow any rules for advertising that apply in your jurisdiction, and then find what works best for your budget, resources, and target audience, and go from there.

Build connections within your community

Building strong community relationships will not only grow your firm’s visibility, but it also helps create a positive reputation and build bonds with people who may need your legal services. Since family law can be emotional, your reputation and bonds are important.

Ways to build community connections include:

• Sponsoring or donating to local events. Whether or not the events you sponsor are directly related to your practice, sponsoring local causes builds your brand’s reputation and recognition in your area.
• Creating scholarship funds. Sponsoring scholarships is another way to get your law firm’s name out there for potential clients. You may consider creating scholarships for law students, or benefiting students impacted by matters related to family law, like divorce.
• Volunteer in your local community. You can build connections by volunteering to provide pro bono legal help, or you can volunteer for a local organization that you’re passionate about. Either way, you’re giving back while making community connections.

Create helpful content

Potential clients may start Googling questions about family law before they actually need a lawyer—and you want your law firm website to have the answers.

By making your law firm website a hub of helpful resources and content for potential clients, you can establish your firm’s credibility and get your name out there from the beginning of a potential client’s legal journey. Consider creating:

• Blog posts and articles
• eBooks
• Webinars
• Video marketing content

A few tips for creating helpful family law website content:

• Stay relevant. No matter what medium you use, create content that’s of specific interest to people who may be searching for family law firms.
• Optimize your SEO. From keywords to backlinks, make sure your content is SEO-optimized so that it shows up in Google search results.
• Prioritize privacy. Remember to always protect your client’s privacy and security, even when creating helpful marketing content. For example, be sure not to accidentally share sensitive client information as an example in a blog post or webinar.

Hire a marketing agency

Marketing a family law firm isn’t easy, and effective marketing can be a lot of work. If your budget allows for it, hiring a marketing agency can help you attract new clients and grow your business without investing so much of your own time.

Legal marketing agencies can take care of a variety of important marketing tasks for your firm, such as:

• Marketing for different channels
• Creating marketing content
• SEO optimization
• Customer research
• Brand messaging
• Tracking and measuring marketing results

Gather referrals and testimonials

While effective marketing campaigns and advertising make an impression on potential legal clients, people often look to others for recommendations. In fact, according to the 2021 Legal Trends Report, online reviews and personal recommendations are key when selecting a lawyer, with 82% and 81% of consumers, respectively, noting that these factors would positively influence their choice of lawyer.

Although the rules for how, where, and when you can ask for and share client reviews vary (so be sure to check what’s allowed in your jurisdiction and situation), honest positive reviews and testimonials let your clients vouch for you. This helps to build trust, reinforce credibility, and showcase your firm’s ability to deliver results for your family law clients.

With that said, it’s important to incorporate strategies to publicize positive feedback as part of your family law marketing plan, such as:

• Google reviews. As we discussed earlier in this post, establishing and maintaining your Google Business profile is an effective way to boost your firm’s presence online—and it can also be a useful way to easily gather and showcase positive reviews from past clients.
• Online testimonials. If it’s allowed in your jurisdiction and you can do so in an ethical way (for example, some jurisdictions may require you to include a disclaimer when posting past client reviews), consider asking for and sharing client testimonials on your website.
• Great client experience. Satisfied clients are more likely to recommend you to others. And, when it comes to sensitive legal matters involving family relationships, potential clients are likely to value those referrals. In this way, offering a positive client experience is a powerful way to encourage positive reviews and referrals.

Clio makes your clients’ experience smoother from the start. From easier appointment booking to simplified client intake to online payments, Clio Manage’s legal practice management and Clio Grow’s client intake & CRM tools help you provide a better client experience.

Learn more about how to build a solid referral marketing program at your firm.

Start a newsletter

Newsletters are powerful email marketing tools that can help you stay connected to your current and past clients (especially when you want to be top-of-mind for potential referrals), build your authority, and grow your email database.

Use your newsletter to periodically share information and messaging with subscribers, such as:

• Relevant legal news
• Valuable content (such as blog posts or eBooks)
• Updates on what your firm is up to
• Wishing clients a happy holiday season

Where can you find your newsletter subscribers? You may offer newsletter sign-up opportunities on blog landing pages, when providing quotes to potential clients, and via intake forms.

Of course, always be sure to check and abide by any rules for email marketing and stay compliant with any anti-spam laws that apply to your situation and jurisdiction.

Get on firm directories

Your potential family law clients aren’t just looking up law firms one by one when they’re browsing online. Many potential clients turn to lawyer directories—websites that catalog lawyer and law firm listings—as a starting point when initially seeking law firms.

Listing your firm on lawyer directories can:

• Make your firm easier to find in your local geographical area
• Establish your firm’s credibility
• Boost your overall marketing strategy by helping your firm rank higher in local search results

You don’t need to list your firm on every single law firm directory, but rather choose a mix of directories that are relevant to your practice area and geographical location, and that fit your marketing plan and budget.

In addition to listings on sites like Yelp and Facebook, potential directories for family law lawyers include:

• Avvo
• Nolo
• Expertise.com
• FindLaw
• Lawyers.com
• Lawyer.com
• LegalZoom
• HG.org
• Superlawyers.com
• Martindale.com
• Divorcemag.com

Final notes on family law marketing

When it comes to family law marketing, a client-first approach is essential. From empathetic messaging to using digital marketing strategies to ensure potential clients can find you online with ease, it’s important to think about your clients’ experience from the start.

While the tips in this article can help you make the most of your family law marketing efforts, you also need to find the time to devote to marketing.

Clio Grow not only helps you provide a better experience for clients (which, in turn, can help you build a positive reputation and encourage referrals), but it also saves you time—which you can plug back into your clients and your marketing efforts.

What is family law with examples?

Family law refers to the broad spectrum of legal matters and issues related to family and domestic relationships and dynamics. It offers a legal framework for a range of issues related to family life. This could include matters related to marriage, divorce, parental and child-related issues, reproductive rights, international family matters, and measures countering domestic violence.

We published this blog post in August 2023. Last updated: August 22, 2023.

Categorized in: Marketing