There’s a reason law firm content marketing and blogs have increased by 4X over the past 5 years (according to Marketing Insider Group)—content marketing and blogging work—period.

As confirmed by Lawyerist “Law firm content marketing gets three times the leads brought in by paid search. Small businesses—including small or solo law practices—with blogs get 126% more lead growth than those without. Moreover, law firm content marketing generates conversion rates six times higher than other methods.”

Said differently, an effective law firm content marketing strategy can increase lead generation, boost conversions, push buyer personas through your client sales funnel, increase profits and build trust in your legal brand arguably better than another other.

CREATE AN EFFECTIVE BLOG TO WIN NEW LEADS AND CLIENTS

Imagine you need to hire a divorce lawyer.  Like most consumers, you scour the internet, perhaps with the search term, “divorce lawyer (your town).”

The first 2 organic results you click on take you to attractive webpages with catchy slogans and listings of practice areas.  Not much help there.

The third takes you to an article, “How to Choose the Right Divorce Lawyer—And Get Everything You Deserve.”   Now, that’s something you’d like to read.  And when the author asks for your contact information in exchange for access to the article, you’re willing to provide it.

The article is professionally researched and written and gives you the pragmatic advice you need to start a more informed search for the right lawyer for your circumstance.  So, when it comes time to make the big decision, which firm are you more likely to trust—the one that helped you, or the one that didn’t?  Which are you more likely to choose?  That’s the essence of law firm content marketing, a strategy which, when effectively executed, can push your firm to the top of the heap and help you achieve your principal marketing objectives.

CREATE ENGAGING TOPICS THAT RESONATE WITH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Spoiler alert:  most lawyers are busy.  That means you might not have time to create a continual stream of new blogs without some help.  You can get that help from a wide spectrum of highly qualified digital marketing consultants who can give you the advice and guidance you need to succeed at law firm content marketing and blogging.

Regarding some tips to create engaging blogging topics, every law firm is different, of course, with clients, different business goals and different marketing challenges.  That said, in general, the most successful at digital and inbound share a common set of best practices for creating powerful blogs that build trust among clients and prospective clients, including the following 7:

1. CONDUCT A SURVEY OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS

One of the best ways to define your target audience—and what they care about—is to learn as much as you can about your current clients.  Why did they choose your firm over those of your competitors?  What issues were of greatest concern to them during their search for a lawyer?  What do they want to know more about?

You could, for example, include survey questions in which respondents can check off which topics are of greatest interest to them.  You might discover, for example, that current clients wanted to know more than you realized about how your firm gets paid, or what they can do to prepare for a case.  The point is, the more you understand who your current clients are and what they want to know, the better equipped you’ll be to create topics that build trust in your firm.

2. TELL ENGAGING STORIES

Have you ever seen a prospective client’s face light up when you regaled them with the story of a former client, one whose situation is like their own?  If you have, then you know how effective incorporating storytelling into your blogging strategy can be.  Of course, you need to be careful not to reveal any information that could create legal trouble for your firm.  That said, a well-told story is one of the best ways to engage your audience and showcase your firm’s strengths.

3. SPRINGBOARD OFF YOUR FAQ 

Odds are you have some form of “frequently asked questions” on your website (if you don’t, you should).  Each of those FAQs can become the basis of a powerful blog.

For example, one of your firm’s frequently asked questions might be “How big a settlement can you expect?”   You could use that question as the basis for a blog about typical settlements based on the type and particulars of client cases.

4. TAKE PROSPECTS INSIDE YOUR PRACTICE

Fewer than 30% of consumers say they trust lawyers.  That cynicism creates a considerable hurdle for law firms attempting to establish a reputation of trust.

Perhaps the best way to demonstrate that your firm is trustworthy is to humanize it.  In other words, you can create a series of blogs that showcase who your lawyers are as people—what they believe and care about, who their families are and what outside interests they have.  Showing skeptical prospects that your firm consists of real people with real commitments and beliefs will go a long way to building trust—and winning new clients.

5. REFLECT CURRENT EVENTS

Law doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  It’s inextricably connected to the events which shape public policy and shifting legislation.

In the same way, the questions and concerns prospective clients have change with the course of those events.  For example, the current climate of anxiety about the pandemic and related economic recession has created new questions about stay at home orders, as well as tenancy and eviction law.  Write blogs that reflect the topics of greatest concern at this moment in time to show that your firm understands what’s top of mind for your target audience.

6. TEACH YOUR AUDIENCE ABOUT THE LAW

Odds are your audience doesn’t know torts or contract law the way you do.  You can provide important details about the way the law works—and do it using laymen’s language that your target audience understands.

For example, if you practice divorce law, you could create a series of blogs that get prospective clients up to speed on child custody law in your state.  If your firm practices criminal law, you could create blogs that teach prospects things like how to react when they’re pulled over for a DUI.

7. DEMONSTRATE YOUR EXPERTISE

Arguably the best way to establish trust is to demonstrate convincingly that you know what you’re talking about.  And the best way to do that is with a series of blogs that provide evidence of your expertise.  You might, for example, create blogs that direct prospects to articles in which your firm received positive mention (about, for example, cases in which you’ve prevailed), or about awards your firm has won.  The more you convince prospective clients of your expertise, the more likely they’ll be to choose your firm over one of your competitors.

GET IN TOUCH TODAY

Effectively creating and maintaining a blog for your law firm will help you generate more leads and attract more clients.  But it can also be both complex and confusing.  Fortunately, there are experienced digital marketing consultants who can give you the guidance and advice you need to succeed.

To learn more about how you can create content or a law firm content marketing plan to help your firm increase its clientele, shoot me an email at info@legalcopywritingcentral.com.