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Law firm content marketing is a strategy that involves creating and distributing valuable content to engage potential clients. This powerful digital marketing technique encompasses blog posts, articles, social media posts, videos, and more.
As a cost-effective alternative to traditional marketing, law firm content marketing aims to establish your practice as a trusted authority, generate leads, and build relationships with prospective clients.
Read this post to discover how to unlock the power of legal content marketing and explore more strategic marketing ideas!
Why Law Firms Need Content Marketing
Content marketing helps law firms establish themselves as reliable resources for potential clients. By providing valuable and informative content, firms build two crucial elements to attract clients: trust and credibility. Content marketing for law also:
- Allows firms to showcase their expertise in specific practice areas
- Helps improve search engine visibility, making it easier for potential clients to contact your firm
- Generates leads and conversions more effectively than traditional advertising methods
8 Powerful Content Marketing Strategies for Law Firms
Before diving into law firm content marketing, it’s essential to have a game plan. Check out these key strategies for creating successful content marketing for law firms!
1. Understand Your Target Client
Before creating content, law firms should conduct research to gain insights into their ideal clients‘ unique characteristics, concerns, and goals.
By getting to know your target client, your content can address their pain points and provide the solutions they need. This research-driven approach ensures that your content resonates with your audience and increases the chances of influencing potential clients.
2. Create Valuable Content
Once you know more about your ideal client, you’ll have a greater understanding of their fears, wants, and needs, which is the most valuable information you can have when crafting content.
Instead of developing content on the topics you think you should cover, consider your prospective clients’ priorities and questions when creating material.
Remember: Creating content for your clients is significantly different than writing for your legal colleagues. Rather than aiming to impress your colleagues, be sure to cover the material that will answer more clients’ questions and make them feel comfortable with you.
3. Embrace Keyword Research
Keyword research is crucial in digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). It helps law firms understand what words or phrases their ideal client is using to search for legal services. By identifying relevant and high-traffic keywords, law practices can optimize all content marketing efforts to align with their potential client’s language usage.
Effective keyword research enables firms to create targeted, relevant content, ultimately driving organic traffic, increasing conversion rates, and boosting the overall success of their online presence.
Here are a few ways to conduct keyword and topic research:
- Review Your Competitors. One of the easiest ways to find compelling topics is to look at what’s already out there!
- SEO Tools. Software tools like Ahrefs, Moz, Semush, and Keywords Everywhere give you access to a vast amount of data, which can help you find high-quality keywords and information about how frequently they are searched.
- Client Calls. This “old school” tactic may be the best approach yet. Questions come up naturally when conversing with potential and current clients. As they do, write them down to use for future content production. If you are asked the same question repeatedly, consider creating helpful content to answer that question.
4. Comprehensively Cover Your Practice Areas
Covering your practice areas is a crucial content marketing strategy for law firms. By providing a wealth of information on the various practice areas your law firm specializes in, you establish yourself as an expert and gain credibility in the eyes of potential clients.
This strategy is essential for SEO because search engines like Google value topic area experts and tend to elevate their content in search results. Covering all aspects of a subject increases your chances of being seen as a topical authority, which leads to higher visibility and organic traffic to your website.
Additionally, comprehensive coverage of practice areas helps prospective clients find the information they need, positioning your firm as a valuable resource and increasing the likelihood of attracting and retaining clients.
5. Incorporate Google’s E-E-A-T Principles
SEO changes daily. This is evident in the legal space, which demands higher-quality content than other industries. Google has consistently updated its search algorithm in recent years to require higher quality content from the legal writing in its search rankings.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, it’s become easier than ever to generate large amounts of content for lawyer SEO. As a deterrent, Google added more scrutiny to the quality of the writing with their E-E-A-T principles.
E-E-A-T stands for “experience, expertise, authority, and trust,” and Google has a scoring system to determine if your web page meets its guidelines.
Search engines want to know if you are qualified to write about the topic on your website. Be sure to integrate crucial details, including any advanced training, certifications, or practical experience you have. These details demonstrate that you are a trusted source and deserve elevation within the rankings.
6. Don’t Bury the Leads
The most essential aspect of any content marketing effort is ensuring that it’s easy to convert a person into a lead. Hence, law firms should include numerous calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout their content, providing several contact options such as calling, emailing, or chatting.
Suppose you ask people to sign up for a newsletter or content upgrade. In that case, it is crucial to monitor those entries so you can take advantage of warm leads and provide prospects with their desired information.
By implementing effective CTAs and monitoring lead conversions, law firms can maximize the value of their content marketing efforts and nurture potential clients effectively.
7. Track Your Efforts
Law firms, whether through lawyer advertising or content marketing, must measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts to understand what’s working and what’s not.
Google Analytics is one of the most common—and effective—tools for tracking your marketing efforts. By utilizing it, along with Google Tag Manager, law firms can track their website traffic and gain valuable insights into the performance of their content.
Here are a few more benefits of using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager:
- Firms can monitor which pages receive views and which don’t, allowing them to identify areas needing improvement. This data helps optimize content and website structure to attract more visitors and engage them effectively.
- Setting up tracking and conversions in Google Analytics enables law firms to measure the impact of their content on revenue generation. Law firms can determine which content is driving actual business results by tracking conversions (such as form submissions, phone calls, or other actions).
- The combination of Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager gives law firms a comprehensive understanding of their content’s performance. It allows them to make data-driven decisions, refine their content marketing strategies, and allocate resources to maximize their return on investment (ROI).
By leveraging these tools, law firms can continue to improve their law firm content marketing efforts and drive revenue growth.
Expert tip: At Constellation, we use the WhatConverts tool to de-anonymize incoming data and identify the people are behind the conversions. It provides a powerful way to get an accurate ROI reconciliation on your contact marketing strategy. (When using only Google Analytics and Tag Manager, you only see meta data, making it difficult to track conversions and assess the success of specific content.)
8. Hire a Content Marketing Agency
Delegating content creation to professionals allows attorneys to focus on running their practice while reaping the benefits of an agency’s expertise.
Busy attorneys may struggle to consistently write content, especially considering that content marketing requires a different style than traditional legal writing.
By working with a reputable content marketing agency, law firms ensure that high-quality content is produced that aligns with their goals and standards. This collaboration helps achieve marketing objectives while maintaining the firm’s professional image.
Types of Content Worth Creating
Now, let’s discuss two types of content for your law firm website: direct response and deliberative content.
Direct Response Content for Law Firms
Direct response content refers to material that is valuable to people in an active buying mode. This content is typically considered bottom-of-the-funnel, as it aims to provide specific solutions to generate leads in the form of potential clients ready to take action.
Direct response content typically includes:
- Criminal law
- Bankruptcy law
- Family law
- Immigration law
- Personal injury law
Here are four crucial ways to implement direct response content marketing:
1. Service pages highlight the services your law firm offers. They provide detailed information about the firm’s expertise, practice areas, and how they can help potential clients.
2. Resource pages serve as a comprehensive resource hub for potential clients looking to take action soon. They may include FAQs, legal guides, industry insights, and other valuable resources that address common questions and concerns.
3. Checklists are practical tools that help prospective clients navigate legal processes or tasks. They provide step-by-step instructions, ensuring that all important details are covered.
4. How-to guides offer detailed instructions on legal procedures and actionable guidance for people seeking to handle specific legal matters on their own.
Deliberative Content for Law Firms
In contrast, deliberative content is useful when people want to make a calculated, non-urgent decision. This type of content is suitable for potential clients taking their time to learn about topics and the professionals they may work with.
Deliberative content often includes:
- Estate planning
- Business law
- Immigration law
- Family law
Here are five ways to implement deliberative content marketing:
1. eBooks are long-form content pieces that explore specific legal topics in-depth. They provide comprehensive information, analysis, and insights to educate potential clients and help them make more informed decisions.
2. Graphics are visually appealing content pieces that often present complex legal information. They are excellent for simplifying complex concepts.
3. Videos may provide educational content, showcase testimonials, explain legal processes, or introduce your law firm and its attorneys.
4. Podcasts allow law firms to share valuable insights, interviews, discussions, and expert opinions on various legal topics. Audio-based content is a convenient way for people to consume information.
5. White papers are authoritative reports or guides that provide in-depth research on legal issues. They demonstrate thought leadership and expertise, positioning your law firm as a trusted resource.
By creating a mix of direct response and deliberative content, law firms can cater to the needs of potential clients at all stages of their decision-making process, whether they require immediate legal services or are engaging in a more thoughtful evaluation.
6 Content Distribution Strategies for Law Firms
Having a well-planned distribution strategy is crucial to maximize your content’s impact. Delve into six effective ways to share your content.
1. Your Law Firm Blog
Your blog serves as the foundation of your content marketing strategy. Attorneys should regularly update their law firm’s website with informative articles addressing common legal questions and concerns. By consistently providing valuable blog content, you attract potential clients, share your unique insights, and improve search engine rankings.
2. LinkedIn
By sharing your blog posts and other content with your professional followers, you educate your network, highlight your expertise, and build credibility among your peers.
3. Facebook
While Facebook may not be suitable for every law firm, it should be considered as a possible content distribution channel. Sharing new blog posts on Facebook increases your content’s exposure and helps you connect with a broader audience. Remember to engage with comments and add captions to your posts to encourage interaction and improve visibility.
4. X
X (formerly known as Twitter) is a massive online platform that reaches millions of users. Adding links in your posts drives additional traffic to your blog posts and other online content. Use relevant hashtags and engage with your audience to expand your reach and establish your presence in the legal community.
5. YouTube
Create and upload informative videos about your legal practice on your YouTube channel. Share these videos through your social media channels to increase visibility and attract potential clients who prefer to consume content in video format.
6. Newsletters
Newsletters are an effective way to expand your potential client list and nurture relationships with existing clients. Capture email addresses through lead generation strategies and use email marketing to distribute your content directly to your target audience.
By employing these content distribution strategies, you can amplify the reach of your content, establish your authority, and engage with potential clients across various platforms. Tailor your content to each platform, and remember to engage with your audience to foster meaningful connections.
Repurposing Past Content
Repurposing content is a valuable tactic that many leading marketers incorporate into their content marketing strategies. By repurposing content, you maximize the value of the time and effort invested in creating the original piece.
This is particularly beneficial when you have “evergreen content,” which can be easily adapted and repurposed. There are several ways to repurpose your original content into different mediums:
1. Transform Written Content. Repurpose your existing blog posts into engaging video content or graphics, allowing you to reach a wider audience and cater to different preferences.
2. Repurpose Webinars. If you have conducted webinars, repurpose the valuable information covered by writing a blog post summarizing the key takeaways. This approach helps you extend the lifespan of the webinar content and reach those who prefer reading over watching videos.
3. Create Social Media Posts. Extract short facts, quotes, or snippets from past articles and repurpose them as engaging social media posts. This allows you to share bite-sized content that captures attention and drives traffic back to your original content.
4. Update Older Blog Posts. Review your old blog posts and identify critical takeaways or essential updates. Highlight these in an email campaign or newsletter series to bring attention to the helpful information in your existing content.
Everyone consumes content differently, and preferences will vary among your current and prospective clients. Therefore, testing and adapting your content format to meet their preferences is crucial.
By repurposing your original content, you can reach a wider audience, reinforce your expertise, and increase engagement with your law firm’s content.
Invest in Law Firm Content Marketing Today
Why do we love content marketing? Because it’s scalable, cost-effective, and provides long-term value!
If you need to integrate a content marketing strategy into your law firm marketing plan, now is the time to dive in and begin establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
Do you need help determining where to begin? Drop us a line! At Constellation, we are ready to help you meet your law firm’s marketing goals.
