Eleven Essential Job Duties of a Law Firm Marketing Director

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This blog post will be the third and final post in a series of three posts covering:

(1) How to hire a law firm marketing director (directed to law firm partners),

(2) How to train your law firm marketing director (directed to law firm administrators), and

(3) How to be a good law firm marketing director (directed to the actual marketer).

Now that you have been hired as the marketing director of a law firm, you will need to prove yourself valuable to the company and perform your job duties well.

ELEVEN ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES OF A LAW FIRM MARKETING DIRECTOR (WITH TIPS)

Social media community management

Law firms engaged in digital marketing should have and use social media channels. You must manage them – posting content, engaging with users, and managing the firm’s brand, all while being mindful of the ethical rules associated with the practice of law.

Law firm website modifications

Law firms change, sometimes overnight. You must be able to change the digital face of the firm on a moment’s notice – removing lawyers, adding new locations, changing biography photographs as well as biographical content, and more.

Content marketing

In order for any social media channel, website, or other digital asset to perform well, you must be engaged in content marketing. You should implement a strategy that includes online press releases, blog posts, whitepapers, digital renderings of speech presentations, and more.

Event planning and/or event management

Lawyers and law firms host, sponsor, attend, and speak at events. You must be able to come up with event ideas, evaluate which sponsorships are worthwhile, and manage events from the invitation and RSVP to the post-event follow-up.

Competitive landscape monitoring and analysis

The best law firm marketers know what their competitors are doing in real time. Watch what established firms are doing online, on television, in print, and do it better.

Promoting lawyers through speaking engagements

Build relationships with the professional association staff that book speakers for continuing legal education seminars and other events. Promoting your firm’s lawyers on the speaking circuit will make you invaluable to its continued success, especially in the B2B world (where law firms are marketing to other businesses, including other law firms).

Interacting with the media

If your lawyers have cases receiving media attention, you will often serve as the point of contact for press inquiries. Familiarize yourself with the matter before taking any media calls. Try to get one of the handling attorneys to brief you or to be on the call with you. Also, if you present a client for a media interview, do not be afraid to step up and shut down reporter questions that paint the case in an unfavorable light.

Planning, executing, and monitoring marketing campaigns on channels including paid search, television, direct mail, and more

Law firm marketing’s bottom line is bringing in business. You need to plan, run, and execute campaigns that deliver new leads and new cases.  This includes continually researching new emerging torts, and communicating those opportunities to your attorneys.

Referral attorney management

Almost every law firm receives cases, or at least leads, from other law firms. Keep a running list of your referral sources and thank them by hosting dinners or sending holiday gifts. Ensure that your law firm has a program designed to provide regular status updates to its lawyer customers.

E-mail newsletters and e-marketing

If your law firm has a database, mine it.  If it does not, assemble a list of contacts from every staff member and every lawyer. Segment your contacts by their relationship to your practice (i.e. referral lawyer, former client, local counsel).  Market to each segment appropriately, mining your database and lists for new cases.

Metrics and reporting

No law firm marketing director can escape the duty to report. In answering to those who pay your salary, provide them with detailed metrics on how things are going across all channels. Show them your value in numbers. Track the metrics all the way through to estimated fee revenue and really knock their socks off.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Call me at (713) 714-8446. I have worked in-house as both a lawyer and law firm marketing director, hired and fired for positions including marketing and intake, and served as an outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for law firms across the country. Contact me if your law firm wants to hire someone in-house to manage marketing, or if your law firm wants to outsource the management of your legal marketing.

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