I think one of the most difficult parts of marketing a law firm is crafting your marketing to connect with people on an emotional level.  It's the balance of achieving this while maintaining a level of professionalism and of course remaining ethical with your marketing.  Unfortunately, most of the law firm marketing I see out there is plain, boring, "do what the other guy is doing" type of stuff.  A mediocre marketing message will bring back mediocre results.

The art of marketing is creating a message that allows people to connect to your service on an emotional level.  No one does this better than Apple. 

The iPhone 4 Commercials

What Apple taps into is the experience you'll have with their product.  The commercial expresses how you'll feel when you use the iPhone.  This is a far cry from simply gloating about the phone's specs or even just addressing what the phone does.  It paints real life scenarios and uses for the technology that anyone can relate to.  The phone is there, almost like a friend, during important times in these people's lives.  It touches us on an emotional level.  It will also help sell a ton of iPhones.

Looks Like Apple Knows What They're Doing....How Does This Help Me Again?

I know what you're thinking....great story Jeff.  That's very touching but I'm not Apple and neither is my law firm.  While that's true, the point of the story is to show how effective marketing can be when it's personal to people and when they can develop a relationship with a product or service.  Which brings me to my point.  

When you are marketing your legal services, you really are marketing yourself.  People want to purchase products and services from other people, not faceless firms.  It all comes down to relationship building and allowing a potential client to connect with you on a level beyond just a monetary transaction.  

A Few Examples Of How To Do This

Blogging - The great thing about blogging is that it allows you to express yourself, in your own voice, in ways that a static website would never allow.  You can pour out your thoughts, feelings, and ideas.  This gives you a vehicle to connect with people on a deeper level than an about us page.

Talk to the client about their issues, not about what you do - Too often, I read content on a firm's site that goes on and on about what they do and how many awards they have won.  This is the equivalent of Apple scrolling a list of features of their new phone on the screen for 30 seconds.  Legal issues are often times emotionally charged issues.  Speak to the client about their issues.  Talk about how your services can help them achieve their goals, solve their legal problems, etc.  Don't simply discuss what it is that you do.

Be a person, not a faceless firm - As I mentioned above, people want to connect with and ultimately buy from other people, not a faceless firm.  Express how you will be able to help with a client's legal issues, not just what the firm can do for them.  The long-term value will be in the relationship you personally build.