Marketing in the Legal Sector: Why content is key
Content marketing is widely considered to be the most effective form of marketing in the legal sector. But what is it exactly? And why is it so effective?
Content Marketing Explained
It’s a term we’ve all heard and will be familiar with, but do we really know what true content marketing is? The definition offered up by The Content Marketing Institute is:
“A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
By analysing your target demographic and using those insights to plan strategically, the content you produce and publish can be tailored to answer the basic questions and requirements of your prospects and customers. What this enables you to do is serve your content marketing in line with the behaviours and trends that take place when people are considering speaking to a legal firm.
Some of the key reasons a legal firm should employ content marketing
Firstly, there is the need to keep pace with your peers and competitors, many of whom will already have a content marketing strategy in place to increase brand awareness and generate leads. A regularly updated blog with relevant topics is a great way to start generating interest in your business and hitting potential clients with content.
Perhaps most importantly, it also represents a huge opportunity to really engage and speak to potential clients which in turn will lead to increased profits. Content marketing allows you tell a story about your brand and your practices, the industry which you are part of and the value you can offer to any potential clients.
Further benefits of a well thought out content strategy include:
Increased brand awareness
The legal sector is a competitive market and being able to ‘cut through the noise’ with your message and brand is becoming increasingly difficult. Engaging content that informs and educates your audience on specialist areas helps to differentiate you from your competitors but also start to earn the recipient’s trust in your services, experience and ability to deliver.
Increased website traffic and inbound leads
An investigation by Hubspot demonstrated the direct link between regularly posted content and driving website traffic and generating leads. The statistics gathered from their study involving their 13,500 customers found that companies who published 16 blogs per month generated almost 3.5 times more traffic than companies who posted 4 or less, as well as 4.5 times more leads… that’s quite a disparity!
Some of the key points to consider when putting together your content marketing strategy are:
Make it relevant – The content you publish should be a reflection of your brand and core values. Not only does it need to be relevant to the audience you are targeting, it also needs to be served to them at the right time.
Quality over quantity – It’s tempting to publish articles and blogs just to feel like you are doing something pro-active without necessarily considering the subject matter, but this can also be detrimental to what you are trying to achieve. Ideally, every piece of content you publish should be of some value to your audience. Consider the keywords your audience might use and ensure you are pushing it out on the right channels.
Be consistent – If you’re posting sporadically with no pattern to your uploads, it’s extremely difficult to build an audience. High quality and consistent publications will not only improve your organic search standings, it will also encourage your audience to be sure to read your next post.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog piece on Content Marketing. If you would like to talk to us about your marketing campaigns, feel free to contact us on the office number: 0118 474 888 or alternatively email us at: enquiries@heraldchase.com
