Inside the World of Legal Marketing with Prim Law Firm’s Cameron Collins
In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I’m at Meet-Up 64 and I am talking to Cameron Collins. Cameron works for Prim Law Firm is their PR coordinator and intake specialist. PR stands for public relations. Cameron’s goal is to interact with the public, the media, and at events. Her job is to get their name out to the public and create relationships with their audience and potential clients. Cameron also does a lot of marketing and advertising for the firm. She designs billboards, picks billboards, and makes brochures.
Prim Law Firm specializes in personal injury law, particularly asbestos exposure cases. The personal injury market is a difficult one with many attorneys in the field. There are a lot of national firms that advertise locally, making it hard for smaller firms to compete. These big firms have more money for advertising and PR, but they don’t care about the cases like local small firms do. The big firms want money and may not get as much compensation for their clients because they don’t work as hard on the cases. Clients can be just a number to these large firms.
In the world of modern advertising, the attorney market is very saturated, especially in Putnam County where Cameron works. There are many personal injury attorneys in the area, making it challenging to target audiences effectively. People usually don’t look into attorneys until they need one, which makes it hard to reach potential clients directly.
To stay top of mind, Cameron focuses on social media, a task that requires a lot of work. She also drops off brochures to local chiropractic offices, doctor’s offices, and auto shops. They are running a billboard campaign with the slogans “Local Offices, Local Values.” Transitioning from product marketing to service marketing has been a learning experience for her, especially since legal services are not elective and are only needed when necessary.
When people need an attorney, they often Google “attorneys near me” and call the first person with a good rating. This makes it challenging for smaller firms to stand out. However, attorney Prim is very involved in the community, which helps with word-of-mouth referrals. Legal marketing is competitive.
It’s important for entrepreneurs and small business owners to understand the difference between types of marketing. Search engine marketing targets a different audience than billboards. The difference is between top-of-mind awareness and reaching people who are actively searching for content. Cameron, who is only 22 years old and recently graduated from Marshall, is constantly learning and connecting with more experienced peers to navigate her role.
Specializing in a position at work is crucial. Entrepreneurs often try to do everything themselves, but it’s better to find specialists to help. Different types of marketing require different strategies, and small business owners should focus on one area before expanding to others. Prim Law Firm uses an outside marketing team, but Cameron believes in supporting local businesses, which can be more impactful because they care about their work and their community.
Cameron emphasizes the importance of local businesses and the value they bring to the community. Supporting local businesses can have a significant impact, and they are more invested in their work because their families depend on it. If anyone wants to learn more about Cameron or Prim Law Firm, they can contact her via email at ccollins@primlaw.com or call her office at (304) 201-2425 and ask for Cameron.