Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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Law firm marketing is tough, challenging, and demanding – especially today. But if there’s one thing you need to focus on above all else, it’s content. For Law Firms, Content is Currency. Without a robust content marketing strategy, the rest of our marketing initiatives will fall flat.
Why Content?
We live in a marketplace where consumers are, to a large extent, in charge of their own experiences. They know how powerful Google, social media, and other internet-based tools and platforms are. If they want to find something, they have the resources and wherewithal to go do it.
As a law firm, you have to consider whether you’re prepared to intersect them at this point. And the only way to do it with any consistency or effectiveness is to have a robust content strategy.
Content is how you educate clients (meaning both current and prospective ones). It’s also how you encourage, persuade, convince, and convert. Whether it’s in written form, video, podcasts, or some blended combination, you need content. More specifically, you need a content strategy.
You aren’t in the content business – we get that. But it doesn’t matter what your primary service offering is, every law firm needs a content strategy. This means regularly developing, publishing, and distributing quality content that engages your audience in meaningful ways. Here are four ways to help get the proverbial ball rolling:
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Keep Your Blog Stocked and Loaded
A blog is probably the first thing most people think of when they consider digital content – and rightly so. A blog often serves as the foundation for a law firm content strategy. If you want to succeed, you need to keep your blog updated on a regular basis.
Quality is far more important than quantity – but you should be publishing a minimum of one blog post per week. In the early days of blogging, you probably need to publish more like two or three. Once you have 100 or more posts, you can pare back.
According to The Rainmaker Institute, every good blog shares four factors. You need to make sure your blog is linkable, scannable, sociable, and searchable. You can find a perfect example of this in the Kans Law Firm, LLC blog. Bookmark this one as a great example worth keeping tabs on.
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Invest in Link Building
Think of your onsite blog content as bait. Yes, it informs your readers, but it’s ultimately bait that you can use to attract links from other outside websites and blogs. In turn, these links boost the credibility and SEO of your site. This leads to better Google rankings, more traffic, and a larger pool of prospective clients.
Link building is very much a science, but it’s one that you’d do well to invest in. This guide is a good basic primer. Use it to brush up on the basics so that you can develop a strategy that’s specific to your firm.
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Contribute Content Elsewhere
You have a very limited audience on your website. Whether you have 100 unique monthly visitors or 10,000, you can only reach so many people. By contributing content to other blogs and websites, you instantly increase this number and improve your chances of reaching prospective clients. Search for blogs and websites that accept “guest blog posts.”
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Develop Resources for Your Audience
It’s not all about blogging and SEO. Remember, content is just as much about education. Consider investing in resources for your clients and prospective clients. Whether it’s PDFs, guides, or eBooks, these tools allow you to teach your audience and communicate high-level ideas that help you procure leads and grow your revenues. These resources will also assist in positioning you as a thought leader within your community.
Are You Prioritizing Growth?
Don’t have time to develop your own content internally? That shouldn’t be an excuse. There are plenty of marketing firms, content agencies, and freelance copywriters out there who would be more than happy to take the lead on this aspect of your marketing strategy.
If you’re serious about growing as a firm, you need to invest in content. Let this be the time when you sit down and come up with a forward-thinking plan that helps you move from where you currently are to where you need to be.
