How to Use Content Marketing for Law Firms

Legal content marketing is a key component of any strategic law firm marketing initiative. Content marketing is the creation and consistent distribution of helpful, valuable, and relevant information. While there are varieties of legal content marketing and a wealth of benefits, legal content marketing’s main goal is to attract and retain a target audience’s attention and, ultimately, develop business from that audience.

In any form, legal content marketing shows the law firm’s expertise and knowledge in the field being promoted. The content can be about a wide range of topics such as relevant court decisions or new laws, case studies that are relatable and include valuable lessons, trends in the area of law, firm news, or how a current event impacts the law and people.

A main benefit of legal content marketing is that it brings awareness of a law firm to its target audience. This is done through repeated exposure of the brand, like in billboard advertisements or emails to previous clients who make good repeat clients or referral sources. The largest benefit of legal content marketing is better search engine rankings. Legal content that answers common questions and contains keywords is one of the best ways to support an SEO strategy.

Legal Content Marketing Strategy

It’s tempting to put your fingers on the keyboard and start creating content. It’s better, though, to first create a legal content marketing strategy. Doing so ensures a better ROI on the legal content marketing investment. Legal content costs can include, among others, the time it takes a professional to create the content and, in some cases, to distribute it if using advertising, a paid email marketing system, or boosted social media posts.

Begin by incorporating details from the firm’s overarching legal marketing strategy by answering these questions:

• What is being promoted? This can include the whole law firm or a specific practice or service.
• Who is the target audience?
• How does the law firm or its specific services help clients?
• Who are the firm’s competitors? Understand how they market themselves.
• What the target audience should know about the firm or service being marketed.

The legal content marketing strategy builds from the above and includes:

• Goals for what success looks like. Legal content marketing goals can include increased website traffic, more social media engagement, higher email marketing interest, or new client leads or retention in a defined period of time.
• A baseline from which to measure. Review website analytics, social media insights, and intake data from phone calls, emails, surveys, reviews, and/or online forms to get an accurate snapshot of current marketing and business development efforts.
• An editorial calendar to ensure a consistent flow of content. An editorial calendar defines due dates and responsibilities and serves as a singular repository for upcoming content topics and types.
• A distribution plan for the content. Research how the target audience best receives information and distribute the content appropriately. See the below list of legal content marketing types for dissemination ideas.
• Quality control mechanisms to ensure content is catchy, consistent, and mistake-free. The content should be easy to understand and free of legalese. All content should support the legal marketing strategy by using consistent messaging and branding and follow the governing rules on attorney advertising.

Types of Legal Content Marketing

In this digital marketing age, there are numerous ways to create and distribute content. Which type of legal content is used depends on the information being shared, the audience it’s intended for, resources, etc. Importantly, most content can be repackaged or repurposed to be used in more than one way. The below list is the most common types of marketing content that law firms create:

• Blogs – post on the law firm website and share via social media, email, and/or a newsletter.
• Legal or client alerts – also post on the law firm website and share on social media or in marketing emails.
• Articles in external publications – publish content in media read by the target audience and link to it from the firm website.
• Emails – share content in alerts, newsletters, and directly to contacts who could benefit from the information.
• Images – graphics and photos are content and an important component of all content sharing, as they enhance the story and catch attention on websites, social media, and in emails.
• Videos – including recordings of presentations, video bios, article introductions, and “about us” mini-documentaries.
• Press releases – firm news, from great client outcomes to new attorneys, count as content and should all be posted to the firm website.
• Pitches – writing a pitch to a reporter at a media outlet used by the target audience is content, too.
• Social media posts – any and all law firm content can and should be shared by the firm’s social media profiles and by individual professionals within the firm.
• Presentations – webinars, virtual or in-person presentations, and lunch and learn seminars are all based on content.
• Presentation promotions – from gaining registrants to sharing a recording after the fact, every presentation that can be promoted should be listed on the firm website, in social media, in emails, etc.
• All website content – attorney bios, practice area descriptions, and website pages about the firm’s history or mission are all part of legal content marketing.
• Infographics – telling stories visually is a catchy and creative way to convey a message and look especially great in social media and emails.
• Case studies – these can be created like blogs, alerts, or press releases and shared on social media and in emails.
• Checklists – information that is helpful and keyword rich is good for both client and website traffic attraction.
• FAQs – like checklists, a frequently asked questions page related to a practice is valuable to people looking for help and supports SEO.
• Firm news – information that doesn’t warrant a press release but is still worth sharing, like a recognition for the firm or an attorney, is content that should be posted to the website and shared on social media.
• White papers – like articles in external publications, white papers or legal journal entries should be promoted and accessible whenever possible.
• Podcasts – like presentations or videos, a good podcast is predicated on content that is on point, helpful, organized, and easily understood.
• Advertorials and advertisements – even short ads count as content
• Internal communications – information that helps cross-market and creates referrals from within the firm.

Of course, be sure to use website, social media, and email marketing analytics to watch for what works – and what doesn’t – with your audience. Replicate types of content that get the most engagement and be consistent with posting and sharing to optimize the legal content marketing strategy.

If you’re looking for help with your content marketing, Scorpion can help. Contact us today.