Start using these 4 types of content in your law firm marketing strategy and watch your practice grow!
In today’s digital world there is one marketing truth that remains unchanged. Content is king.
Your potential clients want information, no, they need it. They are not going to hire a lawyer without doing their research first. You can expect they will have already studied up on not only the legal matter at hand but also on you, your firm and the competition around town as well.
That is why your firm needs to be putting out relevant content that not only showcases your expertise as a lawyer but who you are as a person as well. That is the real goal of content marketing. People want to work with the best lawyer, but they also want to work with people they like too. If you can use content to cover these two points, then you are well on your way to convert those leads into paying clients well before they even call you.
But another large piece of this content marketing puzzle is deciding which forms of content are best. Well lucky for you, there are several different forms of content that work well for a law firm content marketing. The real secret is using them all in conjunction with one another to accomplish the goals in the paragraph above.
So take a look at these different forms of content below. Study up and start to put a content marketing plan together that uses each form of content. Then get to creating, easily convert those new leads and watch your law firm grow!
1. Podcast
Probably the fastest growing form of content right now are podcasts. According to an article by the New York Times, more than half of the people in the United States listen to at least one podcast a month. So why not take advantage of this fat and hop on the podcast bandwagon? With the pace that people live their lives today, it makes sense that podcast popularity is booming.
Plus creating a podcast is a lot simpler than you’d think. You most likely already have some audio recording software on your computer and all you need is a topic and place to publish the blog. Free platforms like Anchor or Spotify are a great way to get your content out there. Plus both of these platforms will connect your podcast with Apple Music and iTunes for a higher reach.
All you need to do now is come up with some topics that will engage and educate your potential clients. Remember, the better you can provide the information that they are looking for when searching for a lawyer to hire, the easier it will be for you to convert them into paying clients. And don’t forget the other bonuses that come with podcasting, such as ad revenue and expert interviews once your podcast gets a bit of a following.
2. Blogging
Who says publishing written content in yesterday’s news? Publishing articles online to your website or social profiles is still an integral part of any great strategy.
Blogging gives you the opportunity to accomplish several goals. First, it’s another tool you should use to display your knowledge on a specific subject. You can use this form of content to dig deeper into subjects, pulling in other helpful sources or opinions from other blogs, opinions, news articles, etc. Giving leads the detailed information they are desperate for while showing yourself off at the same time. It’s a win-win.
Blogging can also have another massively important impact on your firm and its content marketing strategy. Use blogging to feed your content strategy by focusing on specific keywords. This will go a long way towards helping your potential clients find you online. Google and other search engines love blogs and written content that is filled with relevant keywords and links. So if you want to help rank your firm higher in search engines, then starting an informative and well-written blog is a great place to start!
3. Guides or Checklists
Comprehensive guides or checklists are a goldmine when it comes to creating content that will impact your firm’s growth. Both are examples of evergreen content that will engage and convert leads for years to come. When planning to create a guide or checklist, you first have to do a little research to see what is already out there. See what others have already come up with to learn if 1. You are going to be able to compete with the content that is already out there and 2. See what opportunities there are that your competition is missing.
When creating the guide or checklist, it is important that you provide real helpful and actionable advice, but at the same time, you don’t want to give all the information away. You still want them to hire you at the end of all this remember!
Also, since this content is so helpful and valuable to people, you shouldn’t give it away for free. Instead, ask for the lead’s email in exchange for the content. This will serve two purposes. First, it shows the lead that this guide is very desirable and that you have put a lot of time and effort into creating something that is going to be really informative. Otherwise, you would have just given it away to anyone and everyone. Second, it allows you to remarket and nurture them down the sales process towards becoming a client. Now you can send the lead emails with relevant content, check-in periodically, or ask for feedback on the checklist or guide. Essentially, it helps you to stay at the forefront of your lead’s mind for when the time comes that they are ready to hire a lawyer.
4. Testimonials
Testimonials (or case studies) are content that’s going to go a very long way towards converting leads into clients. They show your potential clients that you can deliver results for them just as you have for others. They’re third-party proof that you can be trusted and that your track record is legit.
The key to great testimonial content is obviously getting your clients to say great things about you in their own words, and guess what, we have some tips to help you do just that. The first tip is to ask the right people and at the right time. If the client has been unhappy about something or going tough a particularly rough patch, then it might be best to wait until later to ask for the testimonial. It would be much better to ask them after the client’s work is done and there has been a successful outcome. For example, you could wait a few days after the case has finished and then reach out to check-in and ask for the testimonial.
Another great thing to do is to have a template for your clients to follow. That way when you reach out a few days later to ask for the testimonial, you can then send the template over right away, making it quicker and easier for them to say great things about you! Plus this template helps ensure you get good responses. You want them to say nice things about you in their own words, but you still need to steer the conversation so it matches other testimonials and limit unusable responses.
