Why 'content is king' when planning your legal marketing strategy
22 September 2022
When you think about the amount of content we consume on a daily basis, it’s quite incredible. Whether you’re reading a book, watching TV, listening to the radio, listening to a podcast, reading social media posts, reading emails, online shopping, watching TikTok videos or asking Alexa when the next series of Cobra Kai will be on Netflix, it’s all content! But, are we going to retain all the information we consume from that content? Given there’s so much content readily available, it’s unlikely, unless you have a legal marketing strategy that recognises “content is king”.
Why is content king?
The Content Marketing Institute suggests that the earliest example of content marketing dates back to 1732, when Benjamin Franklin published the annual Poor Richard’s Almanack to promote his printing business. Today, content marketing is something all businesses must do, given the significant amount of content we now consume.
In more recent years, the most significant growth in our content consumption came with the invention of the smartphone, which gives us access to all types of content, 24/7, no matter where we are. Although the first smartphone was released over 15 years ago in 2007, recent information published by Statista Research Department shows that the length of time we’re spending on smartphones in the UK is still increasing, with an average 3 hours a day in 2019, 3.7 in 2020 and 4 hours in 2021. This means that our consumption of digital content through smartphones is also continuing to grow.
With so much content available, knowing how to get your content to cut through and get in front of your client base is extremely important and that’s why content is king when it comes to producing your legal marketing strategy. Every legal marketing strategy should therefore have a strong and well thought out content strategy.
What benefits does content have for consumer law firms?
Your law firm will have have objectives to meet annual targets, which will include a revenue target. In order to meet that target, you’ll need to bring in new cases through marketing activity. Preparing a content strategy will help significantly as content can:
- Generate or increase awareness of your brand
- Maintain your brand’s current online and offline visibility
- Encourage potential clients to make enquiries
- Help convert those enquiries into cases
What are the most common types of marketing content for law firms?
Whether it’s content you see, content you read or content you hear, content plays a part in all your marketing activity. Even PPC and display ads need content, such as landing pages, descriptions, headlines, videos, imagery, etc.
The most common types of marketing content include:
- Website pages
- Blogs
- Online articles/advertorials
- Print articles/advertorials
- Social media posts
- Videos
- Whitepapers
- Print and OOH advertisements
- Podcasts
How do you know what type of content will have the best impact?
It’s impossible to say without first preparing a content strategy. When you prepare a content strategy correctly, you’ll understand what type of content on what type of platform will work best. In the article “Top 5 tips on how to create a content strategy”, I explain the things you have to do before you start planning your content. This will significantly help you decide on the type of content and the platforms you use when creating your content plan.
Not only does your content need to get in front of your client base, but it also needs to speak directly to them. Unlike retail, the majority of consumer law practices are considered “distress purchases”, i.e. services clients had not necessarily planned for. This includes claims for a catastrophic injury, claims for unfair dismissal, probate, etc, so the tone you use is highly important. You need to plan content for each stage of their journey, are they just researching information or are they ready to engage with a lawyer? Are they being referred through a third party panel, such a BD charity relationship? Again, you need speak to them directly with each stage in mind.
There’s so much to consider and without careful planning, it’s likely that your content won’t give you the results you want.
Just remember, your content is king, and therefore a content strategy is an essential part of your legal marketing strategy.
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All content in this article was correct at the time of publication.
