The Who, What, and Why: Honing a Content Strategy for a Law Firm - Martindale-Avvo

The Who, What, and Why: Honing a Content Strategy for a Law Firm

website content, content strategy

In marketing, there’s a statistic that has made the rounds, and it’s a doozy – people are only reading 10% of the copy on a webpage. And they’re not retaining so much, either. Is it possible they’re only reading 10% of the copy and retaining only 10% of that 10%?

Here’s where content strategy can step in and help relieve the headache. Relying on the google analytics of your current site, you can get the numbers of how long people are on your site, when they leave, where your content ranks, and where there are buildable opportunities. In short, you’re going to need to know how your site is performing before you can actively work on it. So, start your strategy with the metrics and gather all the SEO statistics you can.

  1. Keywords: Probably the easiest way to start climbing Google’s rankings. SEO services and marketing analytic software subscriptions, such as Moz, have a price tag for usage, but you may need it if you’re just starting out. By mapping out keywords, you’re already ranking for and those that your competitors are leading in, you have taken the first big step to a content strategy.
    TL;DR? Run the analytics, and find out where you’re winning and losing. Then write new content and beef up existing content with keywords.
  2. Check Your Speed: Make sure your user experience is up to date. If your site is lagging, this not only affects SEO ranking but also is a frustrating experience for visitors.
  3. Optimize, optimize, optimize: This task may never end, to be honest. Constant changes to the algorithms and google artificial intelligence and crawlers checking content every few days means there are plenty of opportunities to build your audience. But it also means there could be a daily slog of SEO tinkering. What can you do? Clean up your titles, URLs, and meta description. Make sure the alt text on images is representative of keyword rankings. Fix useability issues as soon as they arise.

After the SEO plan is set, you can build a well-informed content strategy that hits the analytical (because you’ve done the work above) and creative (which is what we’re getting into next).

The following are typical content channels, and they can leverage all the findings from your SEO audit.

1. Blogs & landing pages

For SEO purposes, blogs need to include ranking keywords that can extend the word count. For visitor purposes, remember that little stat about no one reading? Content marketing writing skews far more journalistic than creative, so much like a press release, don’t bury the lede. Get the most important info out in the first few paragraphs. For landing pages, remember that brevity is the soul of wit. Keep it very graphic and punchy, much like advertising copy.

Finally, there is a real benefit to writing engaging content! Don’t be a machine; you’re going to want to get creative and hit interesting topics, with an expert weighing in and acting as the authority on the subject. Google’s AI is getting smarter every day, plus you want to publish work that sets the firm apart.

2. Graphics & video

For SEO purposes, blogs need to include ranking keywords that can extend the word count. For visitor purposes, remember that little stat about no one reading? Content marketing writing skews far more journalistic than creative, so much like a press release, don’t bury the lede. Get the most important info out in the first few paragraphs. For landing pages, remember that brevity is the soul of wit. Keep it very graphic and punchy, much like advertising copy.

Finally, there is a real benefit to writing engaging content! Don’t be a machine; you’re going to want to get creative and hit topics that are interesting, with an expert weighing in and acting as the authority on the subject. Google’s AI is getting smarter every day, plus you want to publish work that sets the firm apart.

3. Longform assets

From eBooks to annual reports and white papers, these forms of content lend to your authority and subject matter expertise. They can be downloaded, shareable on social media, or drive public relations campaigns.

4. Interactive assets

Especially in today’s digital landscape, seminars and webinars are gaining quick momentum. If you can host a panel or an instructional seminar and keep it entirely digital, many folks are interested in joining. You can also participate in another avenue to extend your expertise: a Reddit AMA (ask me anything). Sign on, answer questions in real-time, and gracefully exit stage left at the end of an hour or two.

5. Public Relations

PR is at the heart of most marketing plans, but it’s also crucial for content strategists. Writing press releases, sharing blogs and statistics for larger media stories, and swapping content with other companies or partners can all help build steam. Remember to optimize all outgoing content to SEO expectations since most content lives online.

6. Paid media

Paid media includes advertising (digital or analog) as well as hiring influencers or paying experts as spokespeople. The content side is copywriting, but you could be doing all the effort yourself if your team is small (but mighty!). Make sure to scale goals to outcome; paid media can take a chunk out of your budget, but many firms have found success with commercials, digital pop-ups, and paid ads on social media.

7. Social Media

We’ve saved the best for last. Social media can humanize your business, help you network among colleagues, and it can be fun! Think of it as an evolving conversation, one that is current and consistent and one that is an integral part of every marketer’s branding and content strategy. And we know – we’ve written extensively about it! Some best practices are as follows:

4 Inventive Ways to Use Social Media for Your Law Firm (martindale-avvo.com)

4 Ways to Promote Your Law Firm Using Twitter (martindale-avvo.com)

How to Optimize Your Social Media Profiles (martindale-avvo.com)

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