Content Marketing for Lawyers and law firms. A brief overview for lawyers and law firms to kick start their content marketing. Digital marketing strategy tips that are quick and easy to setup and run.

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DO WHO YOU ARE
CHRONOLOGI

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The Future of Legal Services
www.lawsociety.org.uk

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• Changes to the legal services market bring both challenges and opportunities for those selling legal services.
• Solicitors will need to be quick and act confidently to keep up with their competitors.
• The number of niche firms has grown as solicitors identify an opportunity to service a particular market more competitively
than larger, more broad-based firms.
• Niche practices, by specialising, often tend to be market leaders in their fields, possessing clarity about what the firm does
and projecting a lucid brand message.
• Solicitors who can reach out to help consumers clearly understand their issues and options, and market themselves as
such, should do well as more providers enter the market and confusion around choice grows.
• Solicitor firms who fail to get offerings right for consumers may see these retail buyers bypass them to seek refuge in
familiar brands.
Opportunities for Solicitors
The
Future
of
Legal
Services
-­‐
www.lawsociety.org.uk

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“Solicitors who can reach out to
help consumers clearly
understand their issues and
options, and market themselves
as such, should do well as more
providers enter the market and
confusion around choice
grows.”
Marketing that reaches out = CONTENT MARKETING

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TRADITIONAL – THE PHYSICAL
WHEN THEY HAVE A LEGAL PROBLEM THEY
SEARCH FOR A NAMED SOLUTION PROVIDER
CONNECTED – THE SOCIALONLINE – THE WEB
WHEN THEY HAVE A LEGAL PROBLEM THEY
SEARCH FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE
PROBLEM AND OPTIONS
How clients are changing
INDIVIDUAL NETWORK COMMUNITY
Traditional clients search by:
• Asking friends/family for recommendations
• Library research
• Walk-ins
• Newspaper, radio and TV ads
Online clients search by:
• Asking Google
• Emailing a law firm
• Using directory sites
• Using advice sites with professional reviews/
content
How they praise/complain:
• Write letters to the firm
• Vote with their feet
How they praise/complain:
• Send emails
• Post on online review/ratings sites
WHEN THEY HAVE A LEGAL PROBLEM THEY
SEARCH FOR SHARED EXPERIENCE, WHAT
OTHERS DID IN THE SAME SITUATION
Connected clients search by:
• Asking their social media connections
• Asking Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Reading consumer opinions and reviews
How they praise/complain:
• Post experiences on Twitter, Facebook: spread
views through social media connections.
The
Future
of
Legal
Services
-­‐
www.lawsociety.org.uk

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WHO?
Psychologically this is about you?
WHAT?
What are you doing ? Your Goals.
HOW?
How are you going to do it ? Get a plan.
Steps to engaging with Content Marketing
WHEN?
All the time.

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• A need to reflect.
• Who are you?
• What is your narrative?
• Can you put this in a sentence?
WHO?
Psychologically this is about you

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• Where are you going?
• What’s the plan?
• What’s the timetable?
• What do you not want to do?
• What do you not want to be?
WHAT?
What are you doing? You Goals.

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• Get a map.
• Find those you need for the journey.
• Design the machine.
• GET BUY IN.
HOW?
How are you going to do it? Get a plan.

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• When is all the time?
• You make it part of the firms life blood.
• Producing content becomes central.
• From the cleaner to the CEO.
WHEN?
All the time.

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Content Marketing2016

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…
of
law
firms
acknowledged
the
importance
of
a
digital
strategy
PWC 2015 Survey - http://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/business-services/law-firms/overview-2015-annual-law-firms-survey.html
Only
80%
23% have
one
in
place
“Digital transformation at law firms requires visionary and open minded leadership, willing to invest for the long haul. As with all
innovation and change, the head in the sand approach doesn’t work in the long run.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jottDMuLesU
Interesting Stats

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Interesting Stats
Social
Media
as
part
of
a
content
strategy
• LinkedIn
–
94%
(66%
of
B2B
marketers
rank
LinkedIn
as
the
most
effecKve)
• TwiMer
–
87%
• Facebook
-­‐
84%
• YouTube
-­‐
74%
• Google+
-­‐
62%
*
Other
effec*ve
pla/orms
were
Twi6er
(55%),
YouTube
(51%),
SlideShare
(41%)
and
Facebook
(30%).
1
85%
of
marketers
say
lead
generaKon
will
be
their
most
important
content
markeKng
goal
in
2016.
Sales
will
be
their
second
priority.
EffecKve
content
marketers
allocate
42%
of
their
total
budget
to
content
markeKng.
76%
of
marketers
say
they
will
produce
more
content
in
2016.
60%
of
marketers
say
their
top
challenge
in
2016
will
be
producing
engaging
content.
57%
say
measuring
content
effecKveness
will
be
their
greatest
challenge.
57%
say
producing
content
consistently
will
be
their
biggest
struggle.
66%
of
marketers
are
using
search
engine
markeKng
(SEM),
making
it
the
most
used
paid
markeKng.
55%
say
that
search
engine
markeKng
(SEM)
is
their
most
effecKve
paid
adverKsing
method.
2
3
4
5
6

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Before you decide to invest time, staff and money into any online marketing plan it is important to figuring out what part of
online marketing matters to your firm. How do you work out what does work for you? You can break this into three broad
criteria to work out if you should be IN or OUT, and what channels to use.
An Honest Evaluation?
Online marketing is unique for every law firm.
TYPE OF CLIENT
Regular clients:
• Less referral sources
• More likely to use the internet
• Rely on advertising sources
Affluent or business clients:
• Part of a supportive community
• Access to referral sources
• Less likely to use internet
TYPE OF LEGAL ISSUE
Type 01
• Issue is sudden, isolating,
embarrassing, personal or specialized
• More likely to research online
• Family law, probate, employment and
immigration are good areas.
• Criminal defense, personal injury and
bankruptcy work but are competitive..
Type 02
• Issues are transactional, non-urgent,
business related or easy to talk about.
• More likely to put of decsion making
• Access to referral sources
MARKET CONDITIONS
Open market:
• More likely to get top rankings
• Less competitive PPC space
Saturated market:
• Big firms spending big
• High competition on same keywords
• Higher investment for top rankings
• Personal injury is v.competitive

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CONS
• Its hard work - There is no magic bullet.
• Investing in the right plan and people has costs.
• It may not feel “normal” compared to traditional methods.
• Content marketing is a slower burn.
• You must decide which parts will make up your digital and content
marketing plan.
Pros and Cons - Content Marketing for 2016
PROS
• Producing meaningful content will create an emotional response.
• People share content that they are inspired by.
• Great content has the chance of going viral.
• Increases in your reach and community.
• A reliable source of great content. Build trust.
• You will attract attention from existing clients and potential customers.

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Are you ready?
A full digital review.
• Design
• Technical
• Content
• Social Media
• SEO
• Speed
• Webmaster
• Analytics
Passed
To improve
Error

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Content Marketing Channels
• SEM - PPC. Traffic through paid search
listings
• SEO - On-page link building. Traffic
through free listings.
• Email
• Webinars
• Blogs
• Video
• Case studies
• Presentations
• White Papers
• Resources
• Word of mouth
• Networking
• Print advertising
• TV or radio
• PR
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Customer Service
Do more of what works.
TRADITIONAL
SEARCH MARKETING
CONTENT MARKETING

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There is no set template as every law firm will be different. You have to work out the plan that fits for you. Working with a digital
agency or professional will point you in the right direction and will give you a framework to work within.
The Plan
It is essential.
1 Define your Audience
• Who are you targeting with your message?
• Where and when do they spend their time online?
• What are they talking about there?
• What help do they need?
• Are you a part of those communities?
2 Determine your Objectives
• Promote your brand.
• Build a community.
• Sell your services.
• Establish your firm as an authority in a field.
3 Set your Goals
• Land a certain amount of clients.
• Increase website metrics.
• Land a big corporate deal.
• Work with a set number of chambers.
4 Create your Content
• Focus on what you are good at.
• What does your target audience want?
• Focus on pillar content. Longevity.
• Highest value will be – Educate, enlighten or entertain.
• Opinions, tutorials, guides, interviews, videos,
infographics.

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5 Publishing Schedule
• Commit to a schedule.
• Quality is more important than quantity.
• Start small and grow
• Supplement schedule with timely content.
6 Outreach plan
• You must promote your content.
• Email
• Write original emails
• Do not just promote the content
• Build your community through signup
• Send targeted content
• Social
• Decide on which social media channels.
• Do not be a self promotional spammer.
• Build relationships, not links.
RITE - Relevant, Interesting, Timely, Entertaining

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Often when businesses are looking for content ideas they overlook the obvious because they feel it is not relevant. This is
because they are so used to the content, that to them it is normal. Your audience does not view this content the same way as
you. What you find normal, you audience may find - Relevant, Interesting, Timely, Entertaining
What is Content?
What do I write about?
http://alltop.com
https://business.linkedin.com/elevate
https://feedly.com/i/welcome
https://news.google.co.uk
https://flipboard.com
https://www.canva.com
http://paper.li
http://visual.ly
https://issuu.com
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk
http://www.chambersandpartners.com
http://uk.practicallaw.com
http://www.legal500.com
http://thomsonreuters.com/en.html
http://www.lawdonut.co.uk
https://www.lexisnexis.com
CHECK YOUR COMPETITORS

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DO WHO YOU ARE.