Voice Search to Bring Major Disruption to Law Firm Marketing

With reports of 40% of adults using it at least once per day, Managing Director of Marketing Lawyers explains how this trend is about to hit law firms.

“Voice search is ready to change how law firms market themselves online, because it’s already changed the way consumers and businesses search for information. Global Web Index reports around 1 in 5 adults use mobile voice search at least once a month and Location World reports that 40% of adults use voice search at least once per day.”

So how does this actually impact the marketing aspect in a law firm?

For those responsible for marketing law firms, whether this is in-house or in partnership with an agency – it may feel as though there is always some new ‘game changer’ coming into the market and it can be hard to keep up or even get around to implementing such changes. This time however, it’s different because of the rate of adoption by consumers and how it’s being integrated into our everyday lives. In a matter of months, ComScore predicts that 50% of all searches will not require a screen.

By 2020, Alexa device installations could reach 128 million

Why are we using voice search?

A couple of reasons but fundamentally and perhaps most obviously, it’s quick – we speak three times faster than we can type, not to mention the fact that it’s free to do and via a device that we generally have with us all the time. We know the main platforms include Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana and the Google Digital Assistant, each with their variations and levels of sophistication. Apple reports more than 500 million people use Siri on a monthly basis and RBC Capital Markets suggests there could be 128 million Alexa-installed devices by 2020. With the ‘on demand’ culture we’re living in, voice search saves people time and delivers the same result for less effort.

Ben Trott, Managing Director at Marketing Lawyers explains, “Voice search will be the next major marketing force in the legal industry. It’s not expensive for firms to start getting on board with the changes and adapting their marketing strategies now to stay ahead of the game on a trend that certainly looks like it is here to stay.”

How will it be used in relation to law firms?

By way of example, Trott commented that, “It’s easy to imagine potential clients asking their chosen voice search device – What do I need to do to update my will? How do I claim compensation for an injury at work? What’s the best way to negotiate a commercial lease? Or how do I decide whether I can fire someone for gross misconduct?”.

The difference with voice search is that searches are more natural in language which is different to traditional keyboard-based searches and people tend to search for more local service providers. Essentially, they will say what is on their mind and act in the moment.

With the ‘on demand’ culture we’re living in, voice search saves people time and delivers the same result for less effort.

Furthermore, in relation to voice search from the legal industry to date, Trott said, ‘Law firms traditionally haven’t got banks of this type of information available online or if they do it might not be accessible by various platforms. With voice search on the rise, it makes sense that firms should be looking ahead and adapting their strategies accordingly. Those who move the quickest will inevitably benefit from getting to grips with voice search marketing as it will majorly disrupt the market.’

Estimates by Alpine AI in early 2018 stated that the number of voice searches per month to be over one billion and Trott believes that it’s only a matter of time before search engines and devices will monetarise this area, potentially introducing voice adverts in the near future.

About 1 in 5 adults use mobile voice search at least once monthly

Ben Trott is the MD of Law Firm Marketing Agency, Marketing Lawyers.

About Marketing Lawyers:

Marketing Lawyers are full-service marketing agency specifically working with Law Firms & Lawyers, specialising in digital marketing (SEO & PPC), social media, copywriting, sales training, PR and graphic design. They also offer other complementary services to the legal sector with their partnerships. The founder, Ben Trott, worked for a large national law firm in the UK taking their marketing department from turning over £250,000 pa in legal work to well over £2,000,000 pa. Further details available at Marketing Lawyers.

Statistics:

• “50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020” –  comscore
• “40% of adults now use voice search once per day” –  Location World
• “Apples reports more than 500 million people use Siri on a monthly basis” – Apple
• “By 2020, Alexa device installations could reach 128 million” – RBC Capital Markets
• “About 1 in 5 adults use mobile voice search at least once monthly” – Global Web Index.
• “As of January 2018, there were an estimated one billion voice searches per month” – AI.

Further Statistics Available Directly from Google