When talking about various marketing methods, people often times neglect everything that isn’t considered to be mainstream marketing. Different ads (TV, newspaper, online), billboards, gift cards, stationery items, among other things are all very popular in today’s day and age, but what about some of the more unconventional marketing strategies and techniques out there?
So, what exactly is Guerilla Marketing?
While ’traditional’ marketing clearly does the trick (when done the right way, obviously), there’s also a constant need for the so-called ’guerilla marketing’, especially for smaller businesses. The term guerilla marketing encompasses the strategy that involves the surprise element, resourcefulness, uniqueness of approach, creativity, changing brand perception; it’s also strongly connected to virality and creating that much sought-out ’wow’ effect, which also means that guerilla marketing is deeply location-oriented. So, what exactly are the pros and cons of this approach?
Examples of this unconventional marketing technique
Before we try to sum up the (dis)advantages of guerilla marketing, let’s give you some concrete examples of this method.
Guerilla marketing involves a lot of budget and DIY strategies like graffiti, stickers, and undercover marketing, which adds up to the element of surprise and shock. The idea behind guerilla marketing is to get people’s attention in a more unconventional way.
These ideas may revolve around things like cleverly put stencils or stickers around the city, or things that flat out demand the heed and expectancy. For instance, a large group of people may just start running out of blue. Naturally, people around are going to get confused and curious, so they’ll try to find out what’s going on. After some research, they eventually find out that the whole stunt was intended to promote new running shoes, for example.
The Pros Of Guerilla Marketing
If you play your cards right, guerilla marketing can be an awesome strategy. It can generate amazing results without costing a fortune. When speaking about costs, we should also mention that guerilla marketing is often times considered to be a low budget form, but this really doesn’t have to be the case. Most people associate this method with creativity and relying on word-of-mouth strategy. And while this is true in most instances, there are also examples where it’s so clear that the company invested a lot of money in something which can be considered to be guerilla marketing.
This technique involves high(er) levels of creativity and appeals to people this way. Guerilla marketing tries to speak to the audience in a more unconventional way and isn’t obsessed with ’selling’ something so blatantly. Instead, it tries to bring in the element of play by creating some kind of a stunt, performance, or a gimmick. Simply put, guerilla marketing tries to get under people’s skin.
That kind of approach can be rather risky as well. In case you fail to create that atmosphere, things can get very wrong and you may end up hurting your business much more than you think. That’s why guerilla marketing needs to be carefully planned, step by step. And even if you do that, there’s no guarantee that people will like it and that it will go viral.
The least damaging thing would be to create a strategy that no one notices. But even then, you’re the one who’s essentially at loss. It doesn’t matter if you’ve invested any money in it or not, you’ve still put a significant effort into this, and to no avail. Like we’ve mentioned, it’s a hit-or-miss strategy, so you need to ready yourself that it can turn out to be a complete failure. If this concerns you too much, or you don’t have enough time to gamble with this unconventional marketing technique , maybe you should consider some of the more traditional approaches after all.
Is this form of marketing Really For You And What’s Wrong With The Traditional Marketing?
You may still be wondering ’What’s so special about this guerilla marketing?’, and rightfully so. While guerilla marketing may sound interesting to some, it can be a total waste of time, energy, and money when it’s all said and done. The best thing you can do marketing-wise is to try to correctly asses the situation you’re currently in. Like we’ve said, guerilla marketing is mainly designed to create that buzz and pzaz.
But if you’re more of a conventional company, you might want to stick to the standard and regular ways of advertising your business or a product. Stuff like billboards, newspaper and TV ads, brochures or acrylic stands are all great choices, and shouldn’t be disregarded by any means. But if you’re a start-up company that’s just trying to make it to the top, you can try your luck with this guerilla ’hit-or-miss’ strategy.
Weighing In On Guerilla Marketing Some More
The risk that is usually connected to guerilla marketing can also leave a huge space for misinterpretation. That’s something you always want to avoid, in any form. One good (bad) example would be the Boston Mooninite Panic, in 2007. The Boston Police Department and the Boston Fire Department mistakenly identified LED placards as improvised explosive devices.
Even though these are extreme cases that don’t happen very often, the general advice would be to be very cautious with these guerilla marketing strategies. On the other hand, there are numerous other examples out there, which prove that guerilla marketing can be a great option and something that’s definitely worth looking into.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to unconventional marketing techniques, no one can give you an unambiguous and unequivocal answer to the question of whether you should go for it or not.
As we’ve tried to emphasize throughout this article, the most important thing is to try to assess the situation the right way in advance. No one can tell you if the action is going to be a success, going viral and reaching the audience all around the globe, or is it going to be a complete failure and a waste of everyone’s time.
If you strongly feel like you have a good idea and a plan, we’d encourage and recommend you to go for it. If not, maybe you should stick with some of the more regular marketing strategies, that have proven to be working well in the past.
Before we get into details about guerrilla marketing for lawyers, a quick note about what this marketing actually is!
The term ‘Guerilla Marketing’ was first coined by the American business writer and author, Jay Conrad Levinson in 1984. He came up with the idea of having a marketing and advertising strategy that was not only creative and witty, but also cost effective.
His book, also named Guerrilla Marketing, has been so influential, it is required to be read in MBA programs across the world.
Guerrilla marketing is all about coming up with new and interesting ideas for marketing your law firm and the services/products you offer.
Creativity is at the heart of guerilla marketing, utilizing humor, imagination, and unconventional methods to target customers/clients.
The plan is to always come at your target clientele in the most unexpected ways, leaving them curious and interested. This form of engagement creates more buzz and excitement as compared to conventional law firm marketing, making guerilla marketing more effective.
Does Guerilla Marketing Work for Lawyers?
You will be surprised to know that the most effective marketing campaigns in history were initiated and completed with very little funds. Guerilla marketing is all about marketing on little to no budget. What you lack in finances, you make up for it with ingenuity.
The goal is to surprise the audience in a way that generates word of mouth; something that gets them talking. Thanks to social media, this can be done much more easily and quickly than before.
So, does guerilla marketing work for lawyers, the answer is a resounding YES!
Even though most advertising campaigns focus on products rather than services, guerilla marketing can be shaped to cater to law firms.
Even lawyers need to market themselves to spread awareness of how they can offer advice and representation in legal matters, and by now you’re probably sick of being bombarded by all the legal seo companies sending you an endless wave of emails touting search engine optimization as the only way to grow your firm.
So why not utilize the most powerful form of marketing there is?!
Marketing for lawyers does not have to be expensive. Even though you can throw as much money as you want at your firm’s marketing campaign, there’s really no need to.
With the world going digital and the power of social media within your grasp, you can get a lot more outreach with much less money.
It has become crucial to harness the power of the internet into guerilla marketing so as to target your specific audience.
How to Start Your Guerrilla Marketing Initiative
In order to get started with guerilla marketing, the first step is not to worry about your finances. As mentioned before, you don’t need a huge budget. All you need is to prep your mind and let your imagination go wild so you come up with the most creative marketing ideas.
The most successful guerilla marketing campaigns require thinking outside of the box. You need to do something that sets you apart from the rest. Of course you have to stay within the confines of the law and make sure it’s not something offensive.
So, if you want the world to know about how good a lawyer you are, here are some ideas to get you started:
Visit Community Events, Conferences & Workshops
Get Involved Locally
Create a Referral Program
Leverage Social Media Marketing
Partner with Law Firms Complementing Your Practice
Capitalize On Your Travels
1. Visit Community Events, Conferences & Workshops
One of the best ways to get people’s attention is to give them your time. By volunteering at events, workshops and conferences, you can give the attendees an idea of your expertise.
Depending on the type of event, you can share strategies and offer helpful information. Let them know that you have an active online presence such as a website, Facebook page complete with pictures and information related to your law firm.
You can also give out media kits to the attendees containing your credentials, bio and your law firm’s mission. This info can be vital for them to understand what you specialize in and whether you can help them with their specific legal issue.
2. Get Involved Locally
Build your network by getting yourself involved in local events. If there are no events coming up, why don’t you host one of your own!
Getting a fundraiser campaign for a good cause or having a canopy at the county fair, this is the best way for you to get the attention of the local ‘movers and shakers’.
By being a part of such organizations and boards, you will be assisting them with your knowledge and skills as a lawyer. This is something that is greatly treasured by everyone.
Remember NOT to give a sales pitch during these events as people respond more positively to valuable information.
3. Referral Programs
Quite similar to affiliate marketing, you pay someone for sending business your way. You have an arrangement with referrers who know about your work and when they meet someone who needs your specific services, they send them your way.
This does not cost you money as you only pay the referrer when you actually get paid from that particular business.
The ideal people to get referrals from are your fellow attorneys at law.
For instance, you work with criminal law cases but don’t handle divorce law. However, there are times when criminal cases require divorce attorneys.
You can take advantage of this by making an arrangement with another lawyer to send referrals your way and vice versa.
Create a guide and send it to your local attorneys so they can send those referrals your way.
4. Leverage Social Media Marketing
Even though you will hear how a lot of people are opting to leave social media behind, there is no denying that it is the largest guerilla marketing platform today. By riding the social media bandwagon, you can reach more people than any other platform.
There are always people on Facebook and Twitter looking for lawyers to handle their legal battles. There might be someone on Twitter right now who was charged with DUI and is looking for an attorney who can take on his/her case.
If you are a divorce attorney you can get the attention of someone who might be going through a tough marriage. This results in that person instantly becoming your potential client.
With more than 2 billion social media users, it would be foolish to not take advantage of this medium for marketing your law firm.
You can create your profiles for free, followed by posting information on various legal issues where you and your fellow lawyers can help.
5. Partner with Law Firms Complementing Your Practice
This is a great way to save money while connecting with more clients. Think about other law firms whose services complement yours in your area.
For instance, while you specialize in Family Law, you might know some firms in other practice areas such as Estate Planning, Bankruptcy, Criminal etc.
By collaborating with such firms, you can avoid considerable printing and mailing costs. And by sharing your own network with them, your law firm also emanates a sense of involvement in the legal community.
6. Capitalize On Your Travels
If your legal business has you traveling a lot, capitalize on it. Get a white box and put a couple of non essential items in it. Put your firm’s branding on the box’s outside, with your name, contact number and website.
Better yet, also add a tagline, like “Having trouble with a business deal? Maybe we can help!”. When the box comes out on the conveyor, let it go around a few times before you collect it.
Let People Find You Online
Nowadays, almost everyone goes online to search for people, brands, products, you name it!
By having an online profile, you can let potential clients view your achievements, both educational and career wise. This also gives a sense of trust to the potential client as they know where and how to reach you.
With social media, you have the chance to not only stay connected with your clients, but also gain new ones by being available online for some Q & A.
If you are willing to spend some money, you can also post ads on various social media platforms. These ads will be shown to your target audience to capture their attention towards you regarding their legal issue.
What Else Can You Do?
If you wish to succeed in this competitive world, you need to consistently focus on marketing your services. Whether you have a budget for marketing your law firm or not, you need to be consistent in finding ways to grow.
It is crucial to keep up with the changes and advances in the world of guerilla marketing. This is the key to not only ensure your survival, but also to give you a competitive edge.
Here are some of the things you can do:
Have a great search engine ranking
Post interesting content
Create informative online videos
Show-off your reviews
Lawyers and law firms need to utilize each and every technological tool available to reach their target clientele. Let’s get into the details a bit.
Have a Great Search Engine Ranking
As you are aware, if your website is not listed on the first page of the search results, it will not be seen by the majority of the users. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the most important aspect of having an online presence via a website, as it ensures that you can be easily found on Google searches.
Your website needs to be optimized so your website loads faster and has links on other websites leading back to your website.
You also need to ensure that you have a web design that is not only on par with today’s standards, but also captivates the visitor into staying and exploring more about your law firm.
Post Interesting Content
Believe it or not but great quality content is what sets your law firm’s website apart in the vast ocean that is the world wide web.
By providing valuable and relevant information, you can let your target clients know about your expertise and skills on handling legal issues.
Post informative blogs and articles to drive scores of potential clients toward the firm. You can also post as a guest on other law firm websites and have others do the same.
This will greatly help in expanding your reach towards new clientele.
Create Informative Online Videos
The days of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive video and audio equipment are long gone. Today, all this can be accomplished with a smartphone, or much cheaper than before professional audio/video equipment.
Create a short video where you discuss the most common legal issues faced by your community. Expand on that and cover other topics.
Make sure to keep things simple by not going into details. People are more likely to watch videos that are to-the-point and short rather than going on and on about all the legal mumbo jumbo!
You can post these videos on your law firm’s website, YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Connect all your accounts so it is easy for users to share and tag your videos across several social media platforms.
You can also create simple yet elegant graphics to work within your video to interest the viewers.
Most importantly, do not forget to smile!
Show-off Your Reviews
Reviews can make or break your game!
Nowadays, it’s all about going online and searching for reviews. People hardly ask each other about referrals or their experiences as now they are more likely to read reviews online.
Even anonymous ones are given weight and credibility, so having them posted on your social media pages and website can really boost traffic towards your law firm.
Make sure to feature the most positive reviews as they will naturally have a positive impact on the potential client. You can also ask your local community members to write testimonials which you can showcase as well.
Legal Guerrilla Marketing: Sustained!
If you have reached this part of the article it means you have a basic understanding of guerilla marketing for lawyers. Note that there is still a lot more to this form of marketing technique than what has been discussed here. For now you have a solid grasp of what it entails.
There is no one way to utilize guerrilla marketing for your law firm. You have to stay on your toes and wait for the most opportune moments to come up with something that is interesting and engaging.
There are chances you’ll probably end up using all of these, or perhaps some of these methods. The best way to go forward is to personalize your guerilla marketing campaigns to suit the needs of your law firm.