Consumer-driven brands were first to adopt a content marketing approach, but it has now been adopted by law firms, both large and small. In fact, at this year's LMA International Conference, we learned that “Content Strategy is the New Kale.” In August, Jay Harrington of Harrington Communications presented to the St. Louis City Group on how content marketing works and why law firms may want to capitalize on the trend.
Develop a plan
Like most initiatives, a strategic plan developed at the outset will help to organize goals, objectives and tactics. Deciding what a blog will be about is an important decision that requires planning and research at the beginning. Jay offered five practical steps to help you develop your overall plan:
- Determine the blog’s objective. This should focus on making your audience smarter, not on making the author sound smart. Instead of an attorney showing how much she knows, use the content to show off how well she can relate information to people.
- Determine the blog’s topic. Think differently by answering the question, “What is the unmet need?” It is easier to develop a targeted strategy around a narrow topic involving a single practice or industry group.
- Determine the blog’s audience. Will you be writing for attorneys, non-attorneys or both? Target your content to suit your audience accordingly.
- Determine your audience’s pain points. Does your audience worry about risk management or missing out on new opportunities? These concerns can be uncovered through client feedback surveys or simply by talking to clients.
- Find out where your audience gets their content. According to Jay, most people don’t follow blogs anymore. Rather, they are finding content via search or through their social networks.
Plan for success
Jay emphasized the importance of a content manager once the strategy is in place. This individual acts as an editor for all the content being produced by attorneys, marketing staff and outside writers, as well as managing the supporting creative collateral. The content manager also develops the blog’s editorial calendar, a schedule of when content should be pushed out, who is responsible for it, and where it will be distributed.
Our speaker provided two techniques for coming up with ideas when planning what to write about:
- Insight mining: Based on the legal matters for your firm’s top 25 clients, determine the issues that are becoming more prevalent.
- News-jacking: Attorneys analyzing breaking news, while also providing next steps for readers or giving insights on the topic’s implications.
In short, figure out where your attorneys’ knowledge intersects with your audience’s interests.
Success is in the details
Wrapping up his presentation, Jay provided some parting pointers to help firms develop “content home runs,” including:
- Use headlines to improve your content marketing. You may want to employ A/B testing to determine which headlines are most successful.
- Show your personality through your blog. Have a little fun with the content and consider writing in first person.
- Use your content to tell a story. This will make you seem more relatable and increase engagement.
- Repurpose your content by turning it into an infographic, a series of blog posts or a whitepaper.
Content marketing can be an overwhelming endeavor for any firm. Additionally, how entrenched a firm should be in the world of content marketing depends on the firm’s goals, resources and culture. However, Jay points out that regardless of a firm’s size or practice, a solid strategy and a motivated team can lead to “content home runs” that produce returns now and in the future.