If the thought of using content marketing to boost your law firm’s client roster sounds intimidating, know that you’re not alone in feeling that way. Many lawyers buy into the myth that content marketing for law firms will either take hours and hours every week or cost thousands of dollars.
Now, of course, you can spend lots of time and money on content marketing, but there’s no need to. If you dedicate just a few hours over a couple of weekends, you can generate enough content to last a year or more using the Two-Weekend Podcast Strategy. This is an efficient strategy we developed at SMB Team especially for busy lawyers who need a convenient and effective solution for creating high-quality content to use in marketing.
The Basics of Content Marketing for Lawyers
Before we jump right into the strategy that will make content marketing accessible for you and your firm, it’s important to have a solid understanding of the basics of content marketing and how it works in a competitive market like law.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy that uses various types of content, such as blog posts, videos, and infographics, to provide value and build trust between a brand and its potential clients or customers. Though content marketing doesn’t directly advertise to customers, it can gradually build brand awareness, recognition, trust, and goodwill. Content marketing is also valuable in boosting search engine optimization (SEO) efforts that generate new leads.
Content Marketing for Law Firms
Content marketing for lawyers can be very powerful. Because most people have a huge list of different firms to choose from when they need legal help, it’s the lawyers whose websites appear on the first page of search results that will get the most traffic. Aside from that, a law firm that answers a potential client’s answers before the initial consultation will gain an edge over competing firms.
In the legal market, clients don’t want to see classic advertising. They’re looking for a lawyer they can trust, not a firm that’s just looking for a quick sale. Not too many law firms produce the kind of content their ideal clients are looking for. That’s good news for firms that are willing to put a few hou
Use Your Existing Knowledge in Content Marketing
As a lawyer, you’ve spent years gaining knowledge that your clients are willing to pay for. Not only do you have all of the legal knowledge that every lawyer in your practice area has, but you also have your unique interpretation of that knowledge—an interpretation that your ideal client is looking for.
Your legal expertise is extremely valuable and it’s a great source of content you can tap into right away. One of the best ways to bring in new clients is to share some of that knowledge with content marketing before a lead even picks up the phone to call you.
The Two Weekend Podcast Strategy
You don’t have to spend hours every week writing blog posts or newsletters to generate an effective content marketing strategy. All you have to do is figure out what your clients’ biggest questions and pain points are using the Two Weekend Podcast Strategy. Here’s how it works.
Step 1: Set aside three hours on two consecutive weekends (six hours in total) to work on content marketing. But, instead of brainstorming blog post ideas to write about, think about the questions your clients ask you. What do they most want to know before, during, and after their case is resolved?
Step 2: Write down a list of the top 25 questions you encounter when working with clients. Once you have that list, it’s time to pull out your phone and start recording. With the questions in front of you, it should be pretty easy to just talk to the recorder as if you were helping a client. Answer the questions as thoroughly and naturally as you can.
Step 3: Repeat this process on the following weekend (if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can do it all in one day!). Now, you should have 50 topics and several hours of content that can be used to create blog posts your clients actually want to read.
Outsource Your Content
Once you have your clients’ biggest legal questions answered, it’s time to outsource the content creation process. Even if you’re a good writer, creating the blog posts yourself probably isn’t the best use of your time, especially since it’s never been easier to hire writers.
There are several freelancing platforms you can use to find writers. Upwork.com and Fiverr are two of the biggest sites, connecting writers and businesses all over the world.
If you’re on a budget, you can find writers who are willing to create blog posts very cheaply. But, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Writing a blog post from a recording is a fairly simple task, but it’s important to choose a writer who will write well enough to build trust with potential clients.
Distributing and Repurposing Content
Content marketing for law firms is most effective when it’s combined with other marketing strategies, like SEO and display advertising. To really harness the power of content marketing for lawyers, start with the Two Weekend Podcast Strategy and build from there.
Obviously, the blog posts you outsource can be used to create an archive of helpful information on your site for clients. Releasing them every week or every couple of weeks will slowly build your authority and SEO power. But you can (and should) repurpose that content in social media marketing or to create posts on Google My Business.
Marketing is multifaceted, but all the pieces come together to support the goal of bringing in new clients. Content marketing can help support all your other efforts and make you an authority in your niche.
Make Content Marketing a Priority
At SMB Team, we see too many lawyers opting out of content marketing because they think it’s too time-consuming. With the Two Weekend Podcast Strategy, it doesn’t have to be! You have something unique and valuable to offer and it’s important to own that value.
Remember, your clients don’t want generic legal advice. They want specific answers to their questions. Think about content marketing like a conversation and you can’t go wrong. By investing just a little time into your content, you can add value for your clients and rise above other lawyers in your niche.
Need help with content marketing? Contact SMB Team online today or call (866) 747-1336 for a free consultation.
