Before the internet age, most people found a lawyer through personal recommendations. They’d ask a friend or family member who they’d suggest. While referrals are still important, today’s client usually finds an attorney online. Content marketing helps law firms get in front of customers digitally. By creating content like blogs, videos, and podcasts, your law firm can build brand awareness and help people find the right representation. To optimize your content strategy, here are some tips for content marketing for law firms:
Content marketing tips for law firms
Content marketing for law firms is different from marketing a product. You’re trying to sell a service to people who are often vulnerable. Here’s a look at several tips to ensure your content is as professional as it is relevant.
Create content categories
Rather than brainstorming a bunch of “legal ideas” to write about or talk about on video, consider segmenting your content to reach the right audience.
To start, think about how a client becomes a client. They often go through these phases:
- Awareness
- Research
- Conversion
Now, segment those categories even further based on the type of law your firm practices. For example, if your firm focuses on family law, content that falls into the ‘research’ category will likely cover topics like What to Look For in a Divorce Attorney or Questions to Ask A Divorce Attorney Before Hiring.
Segment one step further by examining your ideal client. If your firm only handles high-end divorces, for example, you could define your audience by location, age, education, and income and adjust your content titles to include keywords like “high-net-worth divorce attorney.”
Educate your audience
One of the best ways to promote your law firm is to educate your audience. Help them understand complicated legal terms, explain what a hearing looks like, and offer advice on improving outcomes.
This type of content can take many forms, from blog posts to videos, but its focus should be educating people, not promoting your firm.
Consider an FAQ on your service pages
Your website should contain a list of services, but consider adding a “frequently asked questions” section to each service page. Why? FAQs are helpful to readers, keep visitors on your page longer, and are favored by Google searches.
Promote your content beyond your own social channels
Sharing your recent video or guide on your social channel is important, but your distribution plans shouldn’t stop there. Leverage other channels to maximize your content exposure. Consider putting the content into a newsletter, email guides to warm leads, and share links in industry Facebook groups or on forums.
Ask your employees to share content on their personal social channels, too.
Ask for reviews
Research shows 75% of people look for a lawyer online, and online reviews sway 65%. Reviews have become a powerful marketing tool for many brands, including law firms.
Consider asking satisfied clients to provide reviews or include them in content. Consider asking a handful of clients to share their stories via video, for example, and use them as a marketing tool. You can also put client reviews on your homepage, so they’re one of the first things visitors see when they reach your site.
Examples of content marketing for law firms
If you’re interested in what other law firms are doing, take a look at these content types that go beyond basic blog posts:
Newsroom
It’s one thing to provide educational content that’s written internally, but Slater and Gordon curates relevant articles for clients in its Newsroom. For example, the firm practices medical negligence law, so they share articles from media outlets that expose issues at local hospitals. The Newsroom offers a combination of expert-written content and third-party content that educates the public.
Press releases
When your firm works with a big client, wins a notable case, or earns an award or achievement, write a press release to share the news. Kirkland & Ellis, for example, draft short press releases highlighting clients they work with, like advising a client on acquiring another company.
Case studies
Case studies are informative pieces of content that provide clear outcomes to the reader. In the legal world, they’re an extremely valuable way to cut through the “legalese” and showcase the human side of the law. Hogan Lovells, for example, shared a case study that shared a recent legal effort to protect reindeer in Finland.
Video content
Many law firms use video content to explain legal situations to potential clients.
The topics are related to the type of law you practice and can be shared on social media and embedded in blog posts. In this video from Ayo & Iken, a lawyer explains what happens when you’re arrested for DUI.
Podcasts
If your law firm has the resources, a podcast can be an educational marketing tool. Like video content, it’s often used to explain complex legal issues. However, a podcast usually includes several people and is often conducted as a candid conversation. While videos can be shot in an interview style, most legal videos are “talking heads,” which means one person speaks to a camera. While they’re effective, the conversational approach to a podcast is sometimes more effective, given the complex subject matter that lawyers discuss.
@thebar, for example, is a podcast that weighs in on legal issues in the news.
If your law firm wants to elevate its content marketing strategy, these tips and examples can help.
