Podcast Guest Spot: Differentiating Your Solo or Small Law Firm with Marketing

When launching a law firm, standing out can be a challenge. You may say you specialize in litigation, but there are likely dozens of other litigators in your immediate area. How can you make a name for yourself? 

Our owner + founder, Michele Correnti, was recently a guest on Stephen Seckler’s legal podcast, Counsel to Counsel, to discuss just that. She and Stephen dug into why marketing is a non-negotiable for small law firms just launching, and how to stand out in a crowded market. Stephen also asked her where marketing agencies fit in the age of AI, and Michele didn’t hold back. 

Listen below or on your favorite podcast listening platform, and scroll for highlights from Michele + Stephen’s conversation. 

How should new firms approach branding and marketing? 

“Consider what your messaging and ideal client are going to be. Because everything will revolve around that ideal client. You want to make sure you have a really clear message, preferably some kind of niche, because you’ll get more clients if you have a focus rather than being too general. 

It’s the equivalent of casting a wide net versus spearfishing.” 

How can small law firms stand out? 

“We recently worked with a woman who was going out on her own, and she does employment law. But she defined her ideal client profile as a very strong, successful career woman.

And she created all of her messaging around this ideal client. Now she can attract that person and get that kind of client work coming in, as opposed to if she just said ‘employment law’ and used a lot of general language. She would be getting a lot of caseload that she’s not necessarily interested in or passionate about. 

We actually find — and the research shows —  that when you have a niche, you’ll get more work outside of that niche as well, in addition to the work within that niche.” 

What about Correnti Marketing? What’s its niche?

“I think the way that we do marketing for law firms is different. We really try to make it holistic, caring about the firm as a whole and asking them questions about other things that are going on. 

We don’t make our marketing so pared down that it's missing the bigger picture. We’re constantly having big-picture check-ins with them to make sure it's aligned with the company’s goals.” 

How has AI changed marketing and organic search? 

“The foundational practices for traditional SEO are actually quite similar to what you would do for generative AI. Things like figuring out ‘frequently asked questions’ for your clients, being more concise or conversational, using bullet points, and creating readable content. 

A lot of what you’re hearing about generative AI is similar. I think we’re still in this transition phase to see how it’s actually going to pan out, as far as being on Google versus ChatGPT. 

Either way, it comes down to: are you providing thoughtful, genuinely interesting, and valuable content? Are you trying to create something that gets people to engage and stay on the platform? And that goes for any platform that you're trying to optimize.

We try to remind people that we're constantly monitoring and adjusting what we're doing, but we're always bringing it back to what's actually quality versus trying to chase that algorithm.” 

What are common online presence mistakes? 

“Not having anything. Having an old or non-existent website, or not having a Google Business profile. That one's huge and generally very easy to set up. Having a LinkedIn profile that isn't updated. Maybe it has your old law firm still attached to it. Maybe you don't even have a headshot. Maybe your headshot’s from 20 years ago. 

Basically, anything that makes you either non-existent online or look really outdated or confusing. 

I just had a call yesterday with a prospect, and she’s concerned about her maiden name versus her married name and balancing working for a firm and having her own practice. It was an awesome conversation and a nice challenge to talk about her goals and make it clear to people online so they’re not confused. 

Those are some of our favorite challenges to work through.” 

How can attorneys carry relationships to their new practice? 

“The key is making sure the launch is a campaign that covers all the bases. So you don’t want to just update your experience on your LinkedIn profile and tell people, ‘I started a new position; I launched my own firm.’ That’s great. But that’s one out of a million other pieces you can do. 

At the very least, we always encourage setting up a brand, maybe a basic logo and website to start, and later revisiting to put more investment in. Having a Google Business profile, having your LinkedIn profile updated, doing that LinkedIn update, but then doing other things as well — like preparing an email list, having an email announcement going out, and actually reaching out one-by-one to your referral sources, your clients, and your prospects to let them know about this change.

You really have to spend those first three to six months just constantly dripping and letting people know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re losing valuable momentum. It’s exciting that you’re doing this. There’s a reason behind it. Usually there’s a niche that you’re focusing on. And you really can take advantage of that if you’re thoughtful.” 

Hear the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or watch the conversation on YouTube. 

And if you’re an attorney who’s establishing your own practice or needs help with marketing? Explore our brand messaging services and contact us to help your firm stand out.