Social media integration, blogs, and other types of curated content are incredibly important for almost every industry, including law. Your firm has likely spent a lot of time and money paying for ads on Facebook, Google, and other platforms in an attempt to generate leads.
Though utilizing social media to your advantage is a great place to start, it’s only half of the equation. Millennials, adults ages 18-29 use the Internet — more than anyone else. They tend to favor social media, but that doesn’t mean they ignore websites. Thanks to smartphones, it only takes a few seconds for someone to look at your website and instantly learn more about you.
If your site is poorly optimized with a subpar user experience, you could be missing out on turning potential leads into clients.
So, what can you do to optimize your website for a younger generation? How can you let millennials and Gen Z individuals who need legal help know you’re the right fit through your website?
Understanding the Target Audience
The best way to optimize your site for a younger generation is to start by understanding that generation. First, take a look at the online habits of millennials and Gen Z. Depending on the type of law you practice, you might need to shift your strategy slightly, or even shift your practices. Some firms are starting to provide services such as digital estate planning because younger generations are accumulating intangible wealth like cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens. This audience need can play into your marketing strategy and tactics.
Regardless of the services you provide, there are a few key things that a younger generation expects when experiencing anything online:
- Faster load times
- Easy communication
- Social interaction
- Clear language
Your marketing strategy should be quick, agile, and empathetic. This should show on your website since it’s the first impression so many people will have about your firm. Nowadays, people are inundated with thousands of advertisements and jargon that make it far too easy for websites to rank high in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), and law firms often fall back on jargon to make their points. But, what really stands out for younger people are websites that reach out to them, understand them, and take them seriously. They don’t want to waste their time.
Improving User Experience
Once you understand more about your audience, how can you improve upon their user experience (UX) with your website?
To build a user experience from the ground up, consider the expectations of a younger generation, as stated above. Things like load times and easy navigation are incredibly important, but one of the main things you should be focusing on to improve UX is content. Your content should be:
- Engaging
- Valuable
- Easily-shareable
- Professional, yet relatable
- Personal
There are also a few important “don’ts” to consider when revamping your website. One of the worst things you can do is make your site hard to use. Attorneys can be intimidating to some people, to begin with. You want your firm’s website to be approachable. Again, try to avoid using too much legal jargon. If someone is coming to your website to learn more about you and what you can offer, they are likely in need of some kind of help. If they feel overwhelmed or taken aback by the wording and overload of information on your site, they might end up looking for someone who feels more personable.
It’s a fine line when you’re trying to cater to different generations. You need to remain professional and appear knowledgeable on your site, but you don’t want to come across as stiff or cold. Striking that balance is a major key in optimizing your site for multiple generations.
Your Firm, On the Go
Although trends often come and go, some stand the test of time. That includes mobile usage. It’s estimated that over half the population only uses their phone for the internet, and by 2025, that number should reach over 70%. The younger generations are a big reason for that.
Most young adults have grown up with smartphones, so they’ve known how to use them from a young age. Phones are necessary tools for everyday tasks and information. Future generations will rely even more on their smartphones.
So, if your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’re instantly missing out on a huge potential audience that could be helping your firm to grow.
As an attorney, you may not have the skills or knowledge necessary to create or restructure your website, and that’s okay. It’s worth it to invest in a company or individual who knows how to build and design user-friendly websites, optimizing them for mobile and computers. Once your site is built and it’s functioning as it should, it’s much easier to go in and make little changes or add fresh content to keep people interested. It’s also worth the effort to engage your employees in your digital transformation. If you are creating a fresh website or moving into digital services, these changes are going to be more effective if your employees buy in. It’s up to you as the firm owner or manager to encourage this buy-in.
If you’re not investing in your marketing techniques in the future, your firm could quickly fall behind. Optimizing your website is a great place to start, and will offer the right first impression to members of a younger generation looking for legal help.
