Content Marketing For Law Firms
Internet culture has become so heavily integrated into our daily lives. This isn’t the era from twenty or ten years ago, where DSL access was less common (and not as fast!) and internet culture hasn’t encroached into our mainstream vocabulary. These days, it’s more common to see people getting on their phones when they need something.
And in this new internet culture, everything you need can be provided by the internet. Whether you’re looking for interesting trivia or a complicated recipe, you’re probably going to find it quickly with a quick search. Someone’s needs can be sufficed by a quick search around Wikipedia, while others need suggestions on the best course of action for a current problem—for example, a possible lawsuit.
Imagine this: you recently slipped within the premises of a restaurant. You stepped on recently mopped floors that didn’t have a “Wet Floor” sign to warn you. You suffered a monetary loss from paying medical bills and not being able to go to work while you recover. You’re not a lawyer, nor do you know anyone who knows anything about the law.
What do you do?
You’ll probably get on a search engine.
You might find some information on both state and federal laws that might be relevant to your situation, but that’s just a yes or no answer to your question. The real answer here is: yes, you have a personal injury claim—and you might need a lawyer.
This is how content marketing works. It walks a potential client through a journey (a fairly common thing because of the internet) and it leads them towards availing your offered legal service. Content marketing is neither new nor suspect; it is a product of changing times.
People are now more likely to “Google It”. Whatever they need, they tend to look for it online first. And why shouldn’t they? It’s convenient. You don’t have to set out to the nearest mall for that one specific shampoo a friend recommended and risk wasting time when it’s unavailable.
You only need to get on a search engine, find a store near you, and then decide whether to get it yourself or order it to be sent to your doorstep. Even better, you don’t have to ask a friend; you ask a search engine for a list of shampoos recommended by professionals.
In this guide, we’ll look into the basic principles of content marketing and how you can apply them to your law firm.
The Customer's Journey
As mentioned earlier, people go on a journey when they look for products and services online. They have a specific need, they go look for it, they get suggestions on how to satisfy the need, and then they decide whether to take the suggestion.
To simplify this process, let’s look at the three stages:
Awareness
During this stage, potential clients are simply made aware of what you do and what you can offer. They aren't willing to subscribe to your email list or newsletter just yet. However, they now know who you are as a result of the content you made.
People can't enter your audience or recruit you if they don't know who you are. People must first become acquainted with you. This is the basic principle of marketing in general—whether it's a poster on the streets on a paid Youtube ad—getting your name out there is a starting point.
The user searching for a yes or no answer regarding their possible personal injury claim now knows they might have a shot at a lawsuit. They now know there are lawyers in their area that specialize in that practice.
Ever wonder how strange, relatively obscure products sometimes get customers? It could be that the people who did not know they needed it have been made aware of it. If you set up your law firm's office on an unnamed building without a sign or an indicator of who you are and what you do, potential clients might just walk by and never look twice.
This is where SEO becomes a huge part of content marketing strategies—if your page ranks very low and gets buried among other similar content, the searchers might not find you. Optimizing your pages so you rank higher on the Google Searches is the best way to (at the very least) get your name out there.
Consideration
Although content marketing is great for letting people know about your business, it's also great for guiding them through the decision-making process. It's one thing to inform someone your law firm exists; it's another thing for them to start thinking about needing the services you offer.
An Example:
Using the first example with the lack of a "Wet Floor" sign, the potential client now knows they have a personal injury case. However, they still need to be convinced that they need to go through with their claim.
In most cases, this happens when they read up content that explains what happens in litigation. Input the payable damages they might be able to claim when they're successful, add FAQs that might be relevant to more specific cases, use easy to digest and positive language to get your message through what might otherwise be a client who doesn't know much about the law.
Other law firms will sometimes show proof of their effectiveness—a list of cases they won, relevant qualities someone might be looking for in a legal counsel, the number of years they are in practice, etc.
Like that strange, very obscure product we mentioned on the first section of this list, people didn't just find out about it and immediately went to order one for themselves. They probably read descriptions, specifications, common uses, and customer reviews.
SEO can also help by using appropriate keywords that might be relevant to what the searcher is looking for.
Decision
This is the end of the consumer journey. You’ve made them aware of your law firm, convinced them during their consideration stage, and now they’ve decided whether or not to click on your contact information and set up an appointment.
If the client finally comes to the decision to hire your firm, you have to make sure that it’s going to be easy for them to do so. Your contact information or appointment forms should be easily accessed. It shouldn’t take too long for a potential client to click around your page.
If you don’t get them to the correct landing page, then all that work would have been futile. And since they’re already convinced they need legal services, they’ll just click off your site in frustration and find a new firm.
Creating Content
We now know how important content marketing is. The customer journey shows you just how well-executed content (and largely helped by SEO) can turn a searcher looking for answers to a client.
The next thing that needs tackling is how to produce effective content that attracts and converts readers to paying customers.
Whether it's a blog post or a new website page, the content you produce should be highly important to your client persona and authoritative for your firm. It's also crucial to try out a variety of content styles to see what works best for your target audience. Find the following types:
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Articles
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Blog posts
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Pages on a website
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Videos
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Visuals and Infographics
Don't just put content up for the sake of putting something up. Check to see if your content can attract clients, and if so, what kind of clients.
Here are things you should remember when you’re creating content:
Transparency
It should go without saying, but don't deceive your potential clients. They'll see right through any underhanded or deceptive sales tactics.
Don't feign your experience or achievements. You are a professional—and it's especially important you appear as such to anyone reading your legal blog.
Also, remember legal ethics. You should know when to put disclaimers when you need them.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
While significant, the number of words, blog posts, or pages you publish each month has no bearing on the quality of your material. Say what needs to be said, and don't forget to proofread. Several pointless, fluff-filled blog posts are not going to make up for one high-quality and insightful blog post.
In addition to being straightforward and quality-oriented, the content should be:
It's easy to understand.
Make sure you use proper spacing, formatting, and breaks. Use headers to organize your post. For faster reading, keep paragraphs and sentences short and concise. Check the readability of your content using writing software (a simple grammar check on a word processor will go a long way).
It's doable.
After reading your material, your customers should be able to take action. After being aware of a possible case, suggest steps on how they might go about taking it to court. You could also give the readers tips on how to collect and preserve evidence of the incident.
Your content should make a positive difference in your client's life in some way.
Be Accurate
Any references you use, as well as any quotes you use, should be correct (with proper citations!). Make sure the legal advice you provide is correct and safe for your clients. Make sure you're clear about which state laws you handle and which of them you're discussing in the post.
Editing and Proofreading
Edit your content to ensure that it is consistent with your chosen tone. Make sure it doesn't shift mid-way through, so it's more comfortable to read. Make sure there are no typos or incomplete punctuation. Material that has authority is written with proper grammar in mind.
Where To Promote Your Content
While SEO done right could get your audiences to read or consume your content, you should also take advantage of the speed at which information can be shared online. It’s easy for anyone (not just you) to share links to articles in blog posts.
So, where do you usually find them? Here are a few places:
Social Media
A quick link to your latest blog post, along with an interesting tidbit to attract attention, works well for getting the word out. For law firms, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can each be a good place to start. Tweets are known to easily go viral—or, at the very least, get a few people to see them—so you should take advantage of that. Instagram also gets a lot of traffic when you know how to use the right hashtags.
Emails and Newsletters
For potential clients who don't use social media or who have clogged feeds, an email list is a great way to go about it. One of the law firm's most important assets is its email list. Social media can alter or even vanish at any moment, while an email list is a won and owned audience. Start making a list if you don't already have one.
Online Forums
To assist with future client issues, answer questions stay active on Reddit. Consumers interested in learning more about you can return to your website as a result of this alone.
If you don't want to actively participate in it, you can also use forums to gauge popular topics. This might help you find ideas on what to write about next.
Paid Advertising
While it requires you to shell out money, paid advertising is also a good way to reach potential clients. Remember, people just need to be made aware that your service exists, so it's a great starting point.
Well executed paid ads might also convince a user enough to click on a link to your content. Here are a few suggestions:
Social Media Advertising
All social media sites offer paid ads. They also tend to filter the demographics to make sure the people who see are the ones most likely to be interested in your content or services.
Google Ads
A Google Ads campaign would increase the visibility of your content through Google, making it easier for potential clients to find you.
How You Convert A “Considering” Client
We now know that the considering stage is the point where a reader considers becoming a client—but how do you convince them? You can integrate some methods into how you write, word, or create your content, but there’s more you can do.
We now know that the considering stage is the point where a reader considers becoming a client—but how do you convince them? You can integrate some methods into how you write, word, or create your content, but there’s more you can do.
Landing Pages
If you buy a paid advertisement for your content, it has to go somewhere. Ad clicks are captured on landing pages. Furthermore, Google looks favorably on them, considering them to be markers of interest.
Calls to Action
You should make sure that each page on your website has a call-to-action, regardless of how your potential client finds you. Let your CTAs stand out from the rest of your content by formatting them differently. Make it clear to the audience what you want them to do. You can try “Contact Us for a Free Case Review” or “Hire a Professional Personal Injury Lawyer”.
Content Upgrades
In some cases, visitors can download bonus content as part of a content upgrade. Checklists, one-sheets, whitepapers, infographics, webinars, and even eBooks are available as upgrades. The key is to hold their attention as long as possible and be there when they finally come to the decision stage.
Track Your Progress
While you're doing all you can to maximize visibility and content quality, remember to check on how you're doing. Are users rarely clicking on your paid ads? Are you getting less traffic on certain pages? Which blog posts are doing great?
Here are a few things to help you gauge your current progress:
Lead Quality
Your content is producing eligible leads; whether your ideal clients are installing content updates or calling your firm with questions. To keep track, ask all leads who call how they found you and take note. Tools like Google Analytics can help you see which pages your visitors are visiting.
Sales or Appointments
You will be able to see how your content marketing plan is going by looking at your revenue. You can also use Google Analytics to monitor visitor conversion rates from your content to the landing page you've set.
Website Traffic
If you keep adding new content to your website on a regular basis, your traffic numbers should continue to rise. Look for the best-performing pages or blog posts on your website and try to replicate them in your future content.
If done correctly, law firm content marketing will result in game-changing leads for your firm. You'll be well on your way to content marketing success if you write content with your client in mind.
You’re Ready To Create Content
With enough practice, anyone could use content marketing strategies for their law firm. It’s important to just be mindful of the quality of the content you create, who you create it for, and how you promote it.
There’s always going to be a space for specialized legal information on the internet. Legal services are constantly in demand, so new people are going to keep using their search engines, share articles, and click on ads.
Paired with well-executed SEO strategies, your high-quality content will come a long way. Page rankings change as better content is put out, so don’t worry about just starting right now and not a little earlier.
Consult guides and educational materials like this as much as you need.
Good luck!
