To gain new business a decade ago, you’d find some law firms relying mostly on their reputation and word-of-mouth referrals. But more recently, with the emergence of so many digital strategies to attract new business, focusing solely on the old way means you’re missing opportunities.
That’s where law firm content marketing tactics come in.
From social media to podcasts and from audio to video, there are lots of avenues for lawyers to share content that will increase their visibility and build relationships with clients and referrals alike. Sharing on social media, content marketing, PR-placed articles, drip campaigns, SEO-friendly content, pay-per-click ads, retargeting—the list goes on.
But not all strategies or tactics deliver the same value, and for busy law firms, it’s important to get the most out of your time and energy.
In this post, we’ll focus on written content—on three important tactics where your law firm should focus its content marketing to build inbound leads and credibility. They are:
- Blogs
- Thought leadership guest posts
- Practice area pages
If you put consistent and quality effort into all three content marketing tactics at once (especially with the help of an experienced marketing firm that measures results), over time, you’ll see the benefits in leads, conversions, and new clients.
Why content marketing matters for law firms
Content marketing is a staple of marketing strategies, and it’s easy to see why when you look at the data behind it.
Here are some statistics to get you motivated to implement content marketing in your law firm:
- 73% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers rely on content marketing in their overall marketing strategy.
- Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to have a positive ROI on their efforts.
- Approximately 60% of companies have gained new customers through content marketing.
- 77% of internet users research (i.e., reading content online) before making a purchase-related decision.
- Approximately 35% of customers make purchase decisions after reading engaging content that provides valuable insights about a good/service.
Three content marketing tactics for law firms (that deliver big results)
Law firms looking to start or upgrade your content marketing: It’s time to make a plan. And the place to start? Focusing on written content for now and building up your three pillars—practice area pages, blogging, and thought leadership.
1. Practice area pages
You may not think of a practice area page as an opportunity for content marketing. However, it’s likely that this is the page your ideal client is visiting. And if they’re visiting it, it’s likely they’re a higher-intent lead.
This is your opportunity to convert them by speaking directly to their pain points.
How do you do this? Instead of a laundry list of your sub-practice areas, use a practice area page to show how your firm has impacted clients and solved problems—and impress leads with your expertise, insights, and past wins. Consider the following ways to accomplish this.
Design matters
Dry lists of bullet points and plain gray paragraphs on a white background, if that’s all you have on the page, are out.
Mix it up. Vary the page.
Use design to attract visitors to the most relevant information and your biggest differentiators (which could be a partner with specific legal experience, your level of client service, or track record of cases won). You can add dropdowns, call-out boxes, testimonials, and clickability. Don’t shy away from some color and creativity while keeping it professional.
Think of your practice area page as telling a story—or making an argument, if you will—with the goal of impressing the reader and getting them to take action.
One bonus tip: Instead of a laundry list of sub-practice areas cluttering the page, include a dropdown “+” sign next to Sub-Practices so a visitor can explore all of those areas if they wish.
Include a testimonial
Did you receive a testimonial from a delighted client in a particular practice area? Was your firm’s success highlighted in the media?
Include these resources under a prominent heading with a link to the article or your News/Blog page to boost your credibility with new leads.
Highlight people
Why do you do what you do? Why does it matter to you?
When visitors can see that there are real people behind your practice with expertise and empathy, it goes much further than a basic list of sub-practices. You should highlight some of the people leading this practice, including their bio photos, backgrounds, the journey that led them to your firm. Also include selected thought leadership articles and blog posts relevant to the kinds of cases they take on.
Add calls to action (CTA)
If a visitor is already on your practice page about, for instance, health insurance regulation, there’s a good chance this person is looking for a lawyer, more information, or a consultation.
This is your hot opportunity to give them their chance to engage (aka a “call to action”).
This clickable copy should always be more interesting than “Click Here” but doesn’t always have to be “schedule a consultation.” Getting the visitor to take any kind of action (and thus capturing their email) counts as a CTA. It could be a link to download an ebook or subscribe to your newsletter.
2. Blogs
As a law firm content marketing tactic, blogs dovetail with practice area pages.
Many successful law firms include links on practice area pages to recent blog posts and thought leadership pieces written by the partners and associates in that area. (Of course, your firm’s blog should also have its own separate page, too.)
You might think—how can I convince our firm’s lawyers to spend their precious time blogging when they should be working with clients? However, not only are there ways to minimize that time commitment, but if done consistently, your blog can be part of a set of tactics that bring you more leads and clients.
Broadly, blogs show off your expertise and how “on the ball” your firm is. If a prospective client of your copyright practice is concerned about how a recent Supreme Court case could affect the movies they have in production and they see you’ve just written a fresh blog post on that very topic, your credibility rises.
Blogging is also key because it feeds your organic search ranking.
Consistent, authoritative, and linked-to content is great for SEO. For example, if your firm has a growing copyright practice, you may want to blog about specific keywords you are targeting—such as “AI lawyer”—and blog about them frequently.
With the right SEO blogging strategy, over time, you’ll appear higher up when someone is searching for a copyright lawyer.
Looking for a way to build a better strategy? Factor in the following considerations:
Keep it relevant
Whether from the High Court or in pop culture, there are likely issues in the zeitgeist that fall within your practice areas.
Again, if you run a copyright practice in 2023, your prospective clients might want to know how the rise of AI will affect them. You could explain an AI lawsuit in the news and analyze where the chips may fall and what it means for the entertainment industry.
No need to write 3,000 words
Folks have a short attention span and a limited amount of time to invest. Building credibility doesn’t mean your writing has to be long or flowery. A post under 1,000 words is better than no post at all—and sometimes, it’s the best approach.
While there are times and reasons to write an opus on a topic, consider how the reader might use the information. By focusing on providing value rather than volume, you’ll provide a better experience and build more trust with them.
Stay professional in tone
People are looking for a level of authority from lawyers. Luckily, that means you don’t have to wow the reader with your flair for prose or sense of humor.
While showing your personality helps, if you don’t feel like letting loose or it seems antithetical to your brand, stick to the facts. If you want to improve your writing, you can always work with an experienced attorney copywriting agency.
Make a calendar
For blogging to be an effective law firm marketing tactic, it has to be consistent—that means making a calendar and sticking to it.
Again, a marketing agency can help here. Whether it’s one a week or twice a month, your firm should keep that blog populated with interesting, relevant content that your readers want to click on.
Marketing strategy bonus: you can pull your best blog posts into your monthly or quarterly newsletter or email drip campaigns to get the most value out of them.
3. Thought leadership guest posts
The most common way to find brand new business probably isn’t from people you don’t know deciding to peruse your website for the latest news. But people working in your field of experience—let’s say entertainment law—often read the trade magazines in their industry. And all sorts of potential clients will read national publications like Bloomberg or Forbes.
Developing a publication strategy offers significant benefits. If your byline appears in a reputable publication, you’ve been given a stamp of approval and are seen as an authority. It also feeds your website’s SEO to be linked from an authoritative source.
Get the most out of your law firm’s thought leadership strategy with these techniques:
Don’t aim too high
It would be great to publish an op-ed in the New York Times, but a byline with the Gray Lady is not such an easy get.
Luckily, it’s also great to contribute a piece to a trade publication—if you run an HR practice, there are plenty of websites and magazines to target. You have to start somewhere, and if your article is relevant and interesting, you will gain credibility.
Look beyond legal publications
Let’s face it: your potential clients probably aren’t always reading the law journals. But movie makers and producers—all potential clients if you work in entertainment law—likely follow the popular magazine Variety.
If you have an important take on an issue affecting the industry, such as how AI will affect the business of documentary filmmaking, that’s crucial information that potential clients may even bookmark for years to come.
Partner up
Get it, lawyers? If you’re too busy to take on writing multiple pieces in the coming months, partner up with another associate at your firm and split the writing.
That way, you both get your names out there and share your expertise while sharing the workload.
Focus on a platform
Thought leadership is not just about placement in third-party publications—you can lead right on your social media page, such as LinkedIn, which has a “write article” option right from where you publish a post. You see professionals across industries build their reputations with regular, relevant insights on a platform like LinkedIn.
If you’d like to talk about how to get started with social media thought leadership, get in touch with us.
Time to get started
To focus on what you do best, turn to marketing experts who know the legal industry to help you put these content marketing tactics to work. Experts can identify your target audience, build an informed digital marketing strategy, draft and revise your content, plan your calendar, automate your marketing, and more.
If you’re ready to grow your law firm, schedule a call with our team at FocusWorks so we can help you stand out from the crowd with your content marketing strategy.
