Transcript:
Hi, it’s Dan here from Practice Proof.com and www.lawfirmmarketingstrategy.com My agency Practice Proof does every piece of marketing execution, and I do strategy. I want to talk to you about something that’s going to make a massive difference to your law firm this year.
If you’re still marketing your law firm like it’s 2024, I’ve got some bad news for you – you’re already behind. The marketing landscape is shifting at breakneck speed, particularly for professional services like law firms, and the old playbook simply won’t cut it anymore.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the six marketing trends that every law firm absolutely needs to understand in 2025. And I’m not just pulling these out of thin air – these insights reflect the significant shifts we’re seeing across the marketing landscape.
1. AI Isn’t Optional Anymore
Let’s start with the elephant in the room – AI. Listen, if your law firm isn’t using AI in its marketing, you might as well be drafting briefs with a quill pen.
AI isn’t just about generating content anymore. It’s changing how we approach marketing fundamentals. Law firms can use AI tools to streamline content creation, improve client communications, and analyse marketing performance data more effectively.
What does this mean for your law firm marketing? Stop manually adjusting campaigns, testing subject lines, and writing every single piece of content from scratch. Use AI tools to generate first drafts of blog posts, email subject lines, and social media content. Then have your legal experts review and refine them.
The smart firms are letting AI handle the repetitive tasks while their legal professionals add the expertise and nuance that only they can provide. This combination of technology and human expertise creates a powerful marketing advantage.
2. Long-Form Content Is Making a Comeback
Yes, I know everyone’s banging on about short-form video, but here’s something interesting – for complex services like legal advice, long-form content is making a resurgence, especially when it’s packaged properly.
Law firms that produce in-depth content like detailed guides, comprehensive case studies, and thoughtful podcast discussions are creating opportunities to demonstrate their expertise in ways that short-form content simply cannot match.
Why does this matter? Because legal services are complex. Your clients aren’t impulse-purchasing a pair of shoes – they’re making significant decisions that affect their lives, businesses, and futures. They need depth to build trust.
The most successful law firms are creating valuable long-form content and then breaking it down into digestible short-form pieces for social platforms. They’re not choosing between short and long – they’re doing both strategically.
3. First-Party Data Is More Valuable Than Gold
Third-party cookies are disappearing, privacy laws are tightening, and tracking clients across the web is getting harder by the day. For law firms, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
The firms that own their audience data – email lists, webinar attendees, newsletter subscribers – have a distinct advantage over those relying solely on paid advertising and general awareness campaigns.
Every consultation, every download, every webinar registration is an opportunity to build your first-party data. Start capturing this information ethically, be transparent about how you’ll use it, and leverage it for more targeted communication.
This isn’t just about marketing efficiency – it’s about building direct relationships with potential clients that don’t depend on third-party platforms.
4. Thought Leadership Beats Traditional Advertising
Your potential clients don’t want to see generic ads about how you’ll “fight for their rights” or “your law firm is client-focused.” They want to see that you understand their specific problems and have solved them before.
Law firms that position themselves as educators and thought leaders are building deeper connections with potential clients than those relying on traditional advertising approaches.
This doesn’t mean becoming a full-blown media company, but it does mean thinking like a publisher. What questions are your ideal clients asking? What keeps them up at night? Create content that answers these questions, and you’ll build trust long before they ever need your services.
5. AI-Powered Ad Targeting (But Strategy First)
AI-powered ad targeting is transforming how legal services are marketed online, but here’s the critical point – AI optimization must be led by clear strategy.
The technology itself isn’t a strategy; it’s a tool. Before you let the machines optimize your campaigns, you need to be crystal clear about your target audience, positioning, and objectives. Without strategic direction, AI will simply optimize toward the wrong goals more efficiently.
Platforms like Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max offer powerful optimization capabilities, but they need human strategic guidance. Define your ideal client profiles, understand their decision journey, and establish clear campaign objectives before letting AI take the wheel.
The most successful law firms are combining strategic human insight with AI’s optimization capabilities, not simply delegating their marketing to algorithms.
6. The Shift from Google Search to AI-Powered Answers
Here’s a transformative shift: people are increasingly turning to AI tools rather than Google for answers to their questions, including legal questions.
With the rise of AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and others, potential clients are getting quick answers without ever visiting a search engine or clicking on a search result. This fundamentally changes how your firm needs to be discovered.
Law firms need to adapt by ensuring their expertise is captured in these new discovery channels. This means creating content specifically designed for AI consumption, partnering with legal technology platforms, and understanding how to optimize for this new paradigm.
The firms that understand and adapt to this shift from traditional search to AI-powered answers will have a significant advantage in client acquisition over the next few years.
So those are the six marketing trends that law firms need to be across in 2025. Remember, marketing isn’t just about awareness anymore – it’s about creating value and building trust before clients even know they need you.
The firms that adapt fastest will have an advantage, while those clinging to outdated marketing approaches will find themselves working harder to achieve the same results. The choice is yours.
