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Imagine the position of a typical consumer: they are online, searching for a business that offers a specific service that they need. Perhaps they are joining a gym and are curious about the facilities before taking the time to visit the physical location. Or maybe they are searching online for a recipe to prepare for dinner that night. In these cases, the visual materials that are showcased on a website undoubtedly matter.
People do not want to go to a drab and dreary gym, nor do they want to cook a recipe that looks messy and unappetizing.
The same is true of attorney photos. Understanding why attorney photos matter is a key aspect to creating an effective legal marketing strategy. Without this piece of the puzzle, law firms risk being outperformed by others online who understand how to leverage visual content more effectively.
Top 4 Reasons Why Attorney Photos Matter
Choosing to take high-quality and effective attorney photos is an intentional decision that is made to elevate a law firm’s branding and website content. This decision often requires an investment of time, money, or both. For this reason, it is important to understand the motivations for including high-quality lawyer photos on your law firm website and social media content.
Photos Attract Clients
At the most basic level, consumers like looking at photos. Not only do pictures help to break up large portions of text, but they offer a chance to attract a prospective client’s attention by offering a visual representation of your firm’s values or the legal matter that you are discussing in your written content. If your law firm shares high-quality, stimulating pictures when engaging your online audience and includes images that tell your story, you are more likely to attract the eye of your clientele and sustain their attention.
Moreover, featuring high-quality pictures can build a sense of trust and security between your firm and your prospective client. This is particularly true as it relates to personal pictures of your law firm’s team. Photos add a personal touch that draws clients in and adds character to your practice. Individual attorney biography pages are often very highly trafficked on a law firm’s website, making it important to showcase professional, high-resolution photos specifically on these webpages.
Attorney Photos Are Good for SEO
Not only do people like attorney photos, but search engines do as well. When photos are optimized for Google and other search engines, they can provide an effective boost in the rankings of a law firm website. Google uses image metadata to assess the visual content on a webpage. This metadata information, which includes alt text, captions, and image titles, factors into the ranking of a webpage on Google and other search engines.
For example, a personal injury law firm may publish a blog post on rear end car crashes. Including images and relevant metadata related to vehicles and accidents will be used by Google and other search engines to confirm that the webpage is actually discussing what the title claims. This, in turn, suggests that your website is reliable and accurate, and is therefore ranked higher in search engine results.
Images Establish Brand Identity
When building a website, it is important to make design choices that set your law firm apart from the competition and establish a unique business identity for your law firm. This makes your law firm recognizable to potential clients who are searching for an attorney. The colors that appear in your images and the type of visual content that you chose to include on your website are important and send a specific message to your clientele. Attorney photos are a way for a law firm to appear professional and memorable to potential clients, making you stand out from the rest of the law firm websites that are competing for a piece of the pie.
Shareability
Finally, when it comes to the question of why attorney photos matter, it is essential to acknowledge the aspect of shareability. Lawyer photos are a major part of a law firm’s social media strategy. To be most effective, images should be compelling and should be accompanied by a caption that includes valuable information, an interesting story, or other pertinent details of your practice.
When your attorney photos are shared, your law firm marketing content is being shown to more and more potential clients, therefore generating a greater amount of leads. Shareability is an important consideration when it comes to attorney photos. What works on Instagram, however, may not work as effectively on Facebook. Be sure to be sensitive to the trends of different social media platforms, as this impacts which photos you chose to share and how you chose to share them.
5 Ways to Improve Your Attorney Photos
Not all attorney photos are equal. Some are undoubtedly more effective than others, based largely on quality and composition. Making careful and intentional choices when it comes to your visual content is key. Showcasing low quality or uninviting images can have a detrimental impact on a law firm website’s traffic and its ability to generate leads for the firm. The following are five ways to improve your attorney photos and improve your visual content.
Fully Utilize Your Environment
A great deal of professional attorney pictures are taken indoors, against a plain office background or in a photographer’s studio. Scheduling the time to go outside and take pictures in the warm, natural light can improve the quality of your photos by making them more vibrant and active. If your firm is located in a city with a notable landmark, consider taking photos against that backdrop. This can help you connect to potential clients through shared experience and relatability.
Consider Body Language and Pose
A major reason why attorney photos matter is that they convey a message. Pictures provide an opportunity to visually showcase qualities that you are proud of and want to exude in your practice. The body language and poses that an attorney uses in photos matters a great deal. Standing up and facing the camera are considered powerful poses whereas sitting down and/or looking away from the camera indicate passivity. Similarly, it is often beneficial to look active in attorney photos. Perhaps you are interacting with a client or you are in-action on the job.
Seek Out a Professional Photographer
The quality of professional attorney photographs is unrivaled. Professional photographers are able to capture the essence of a moment and produce perfect images for the platform of your choosing. High-quality images help your firm stand out from the competition and make your business look as professional as possible. This can indicate to a potential client that you are serious and dedicated to providing a high-quality service. This, in turn, can make the difference between a client hiring your law firm or continuing the search for representation elsewhere.
Abide By Your State Bar’s Advertising Rules
Each state bar maintains a different set of rules that are used to dictate what can be showcased in attorney photos. In some states, for example, lawyers are prohibited from using stock photos that contain the faces of people who potential clients may believe are attorneys or clients at your law firm. Be sure to consult your state bar’s advertising rules before including attorney photos in your law firm marketing content.
Be Strategic With Color Choices
To compose an attractive, high-quality image that reflects your law firm’s ethos and identity, it is important to consider color. Choose clothing and backgrounds that compliment your physical features and symbolize the values of your firm. Cool blue tones, for instance, typically indicate trustworthiness, dependability, and financial security. Deeper greens, alternatively, are associated with wealth and prestige.
Additionally, color is an important part of brand identity. Selecting a color scheme and repeating the palette across your law firm website can help you stand apart from the rest and create a memorable impression on potential clients. Having a focused and effective brand identity is a valuable component of any law firm marketing strategy. Showcasing your brand colors throughout your visual content is an effective way to practice this.
How Law Quill Can Help
Effectively using attorney photos is an ideal way for law firms to establish rapport and trust with potential clients, attract visitors to their websites, and solidify their brand identity. As is true of any marketing approach, it is necessary to consider your law firm’s goals in order to create a strategy that works for your specific business.
If you are looking to take your marketing strategy to the next level, Law Quill can help.
We are here to help and would welcome the opportunity to visit with you for free regarding your law firm website’s content, and how we can take these tasks off your plate! Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or zoom call at your convenience on our calendar today. You can also email us at support@lawquill.com.
