Millennials (people aged between 18-34) get blamed for a lot. From stagnating the economy through their declining homeownership rates or lack of retirement saving to making Hillary Clinton lose the election to tanking the Olympics to leaking information in the Trump administration to killing the soap bar industry to killing the light yogurt industry to killing the golfing industry to killing the fabric softener industry to ruining the workforce in general to liking food… the list goes on and on.
For all the blame that they take, the reality is that millennials do things differently than prior generations. Despite having more education, they compete with more people for fewer jobs that offer lower wages and have fewer benefits. In light of this economic adversity that millennials go through, it’s understandable why they do things differently.
Among the many things that millennials do differently is find legal services. Compared to other generations, millennials use the internet more than other potential clients, trust reviews and social media far more, and will try to sort the problem out on their own for longer than others will.
How to Target Millennials With Your Law Firm Marketing Efforts
A recent study by FindLaw came up with some important numbers that shed light on how millennials seek out legal help. Of special note were five of the study’s findings:
- 63% of millennials surveyed use the internet to find an attorney, compared with 33% of all potential clients,
- When they realize that a legal need has arisen, 47% of millennials contact an attorney first, compared with 72% of all potential clients,
- 23% of millennials pay attention to an attorney’s online reviews, compared to only 12% of all potential clients,
- 60% of millennials downloaded legal forms to fill out themselves, compared to 41% of all potential clients, and
- 43% of millennials found legal blogs essential material, while only 19% of all potential clients did.
The repercussions of these findings are obvious: If you want to attract millennial customers to your law firm, you need to be active on social media, run a strong website and a helpful legal blog, and do all you can to keep your online reviews positive..
But these suggestions only go so far. As an application of the rule, they help you understand the particulars of marketing your law firm to millennials. However, by going deeper and understanding why these numbers exist and what has brought them about, you can take a huge step towards going above and beyond, and attracting millennials to your firm in unique ways that are a part of your firm’s culture.
Why Millennials Want What They Want
Like all adults before them, millennials are largely a product of their environment. How they think and act depend a lot on individual characteristics like where they grew up, their parents’ income, their race, and where they went to school. A key factor, though, is the economic climate of the U.S. when they first hit the workforce. With so few opportunities surrounding the Great Recession, and with the existing opportunities being less certain or lucrative, many millennials have learned to scrape by with non-traditional employment, like “side hustles” that require technological savvy, talent, and creativity.
A key phrase, though, is “scrape by.” With less income but exponentially more in student debt, many millennials (not all, of course – each person comes with their own unique background, especially when it comes to millennials) are poor. It’s why they struggle to save for retirement and use alternative products that “kill” entire industries.
It’s also why they turn to online reviews and try solving their own legal problems before hiring an attorney. Getting burned with an expensive attorney who can’t solve their legal problem can ruin many millennials. That’s why they take to social media and scour customer reviews before making a well-researched decision on who to hire. If they can avoid the situation entirely – even if that means spending days learning the applicable law and procedure on their own – then that’s even better. That’s why millennials read legal blogs, cases and statutes on their own to research their legal problem and try to find a way out of it, on their own.
Professional Legal Blogging at Myers Freelance
Millennials are nearly a quarter of the population in the United States. Ignoring them is to alienate a whole swath of potential clients, tainting your firm in their eyes both now and in the future.
The professional legal bloggers at Myers Freelance can help target millennials with their legal blogging ability. Additionally, the majority of our bloggers are, themselves, millennials, giving us a leg up on the competition in talking to our peers. Contact us online to get started. The initial consultation is free of charge.