Consumer have more choice than ever when deciding how to solve their problems. They can go to a lawyer, choose self-help, or bury their head in the sand (which is often what happens). And drilling down into those choices reveals a stunning array of decisions to make: which lawyer to choose? Where should they be located? How much should I be charged for their services?
The list goes on and on. To the consumer we become fungible goods – all those choices blend into a single amorphous blob of legalese. Once that happens, it’s game over. Consumer doesn’t know who to choose and so either does nothing or throws a dart at the board to see which number to call.
So we are faced with the mantra of be different or go home. Enter the notion of using compelling content to market your law firm. Separating yourself from the pack to showcase not only your skills, but your viewpoint and personality in the hopes of creating a connection with the sort of person you’d like to represent.
That’s why people tell you to start a law blog, beef up your web presence, write Ebooks and special reports … the list goes on and on.
But there’s so much you know about your practice area. What constitutes content we should be using in our marketing?
That’s where your clients come in. They know what they want to find out about, and what would have made it easier for them to decide to hire you in the first place.
After all, don’t clients have problems that they’ve been mulling over in their heads for weeks – if not months or years? Don’t they have a need for answers, for help, for solace and empathy? And if your clients have those questions, don’t other people in the world have them too?
Take the next step with me, folks. If other people have a question and you can answer it in a way that makes sense to them … wouldn’t that mean you would get that person as a client as well?
So rather than sitting in your office wondering what content to create, ask your clients. Find out their concerns, worries and fears. Write down their questions, and then answer them.
This isn’t rocket science, it’s being helpful in a world where every consumer thinks they’re alone. It’s throwing out a lifeline to someone, giving answers to questions in a way that is understandable and digestible. From there, you can worry about the form your content will take – audio, video, text, whatever.
But before deciding on format, decide what to say. All you need to do is ask.
Photo courtesy of Squonk11
RE: Write down their questions, and then answer them.Lawyers don't have all the freedom to do that. They can be held liable for what they say, even when it's spot on.
The point is that as a content creation strategy, lawyers can look to the concerns of their prospects and clients to find out what's on the mind of the public. Answering questions in a general way creates effective content, but of course answering specific questions online would potentially violate a host of ethical requirements.
What of the attorney who poses a hypothetical situation and then asks about it? Is that allowed?
I'm not clear about what you're asking.
Suppose an attorney cooks up a make-believe situation. Like, "Mrs. Jones owns her own business. One day, she went to the grocery store, slipped on some maple syrup, and broke her wrist. Can she sue the store for the harm it did her business since she was unable to tend to it?"Can the attorney write about this hypothetical like he was talking to a client?
Suppose an attorney cooks up a make-believe situation. Like, "Mrs. Jones owns her own business. One day, she went to the grocery store, slipped on some maple syrup, and broke her wrist. Can she sue the store for the harm it did her business since she was unable to tend to it?"Can the attorney write about this hypothetical like he was talking to a client?
I would REALLY like to know the answer to Thorne's question, too, please. Would you also give some concrete examples of how to offer useful content without violating ethical standards, please?Thanks for your blog's excellent content!
There are 24 hours in a day, and there a gazillion things you could do with those hours to promote a law practice. Blogging is just one of them. Social networking via computer or phone include quite a few others. You can spend some time blogging, and some time attending seminars and socials, round tables, conferences, etc.; meeting someone for lunch or coffee or a drink after hours; writing a college textbook; hooking up with folks you know but haven’t met, . . . . But there’s just so much time in a day. That, plus most lawyers don’t have a background that would allow them to see results from even their best effort at blogging.
Thanks, Thorne
I've been given the task of designing my first law site and the client's only request is that they be #1 on Google. Even though I've explained what kind of request that is, especially without them giving me ANY content beyond basic info… I thought maybe I could find some easy-to-understand, concrete examples to show them & help get them going in giving me some content.Deborah
RE: "I've been given the task of designing my first law site and the client's only request is that they be #1 on Google."Deb: how about this? What's on the first page of results when you search for terms like soda, beer, cars, gas. Coke? Pepsi? Budweiser? Miller? Toyota? Ford? Not at all.Then see what comes up #1 for terms like divorce, trusts, DUI, discrimination.If Coke can't figure out a way to be in the top ten, then how can you be expected to put this attorney in the top ten.Perhaps this will help him see how wild his expectations are.
Jay, I'd love to hear more about "very basic SEO principles" I feel like I'm doing the hard work already with as much as I've been given. I thought a good start was using the Thesis theme (if you're familiar with that?)Thanks!PS Don't worry… I'm on the other side of the country
Actually, you can get into the top ten for a law firm. Remember, for the most part lawyers are local and so the competitive landscape is significantly different than for Coke or Pepsi. These are not wild expectations (coming from a bankruptcy lawyer in New York who got to #4 on the SERPS for his chosen key term in six months due only to hard work and application of very basic SEO principles).
Jay, I'd love to hear more about "very basic SEO principles" I feel like I'm doing the hard work already with as much as I've been given. I thought a good start was using the Thesis theme (if you're familiar with that?)Thanks!PS Don't worry… I'm on the other side of the country
Debt, it all begins with keyword research and optimization of the site itself. From there a lawyer can begin to speak about the law, his or her interests, and the interests of the readers of the blog. So long as the content is interesting, people will read it and a connection will be made.
Actually, you can get into the top ten for a law firm. Remember, for the most part lawyers are local and so the competitive landscape is significantly different than for Coke or Pepsi. These are not wild expectations (coming from a bankruptcy lawyer in New York who got to #4 on the SERPS for his chosen key term in six months due only to hard work and application of very basic SEO principles).
Debt, it all begins with keyword research and optimization of the site itself. From there a lawyer can begin to speak about the law, his or her interests, and the interests of the readers of the blog. So long as the content is interesting, people will read it and a connection will be made.