Wazzup Pilipinas!
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote a law firm. By sharing blog posts, videos, and other informational content related to your particular area of the law, you can establish yourself as an authority.
Sharing “evergreen” content should play a major role in your strategy. You want to share information that will be relevant to your audience years after you first posted it. The following information will help you better understand how law firms can implement this approach.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content is content that remains useful or informative for long periods of time. For instance, if a personal injury law firm were to publish a blog post sharing details about an upcoming seminar on preventing slip and fall accidents, the information would be irrelevant after the event is over. That’s not an evergreen blog post.
An evergreen blog post for a law firm (depending on would be closer to “What to do When You’ve Been in a Car Accident,” “How to File a Wrongful Death Claim,” or “5 Tips for Choosing a Divorce Attorney.”
Barring any major changes to the law, that kind of content is useful for readers no matter when they find it.
Why is Evergreen Content Important?
Evergreen content has lasting value. When promoting a law firm, you want to share information that readers will keep discovering and sharing. Interest in a piece of content tends to fade once it is no longer relevant or helpful. As a result, it’s effectiveness as a promotional tool fades, too.
By sharing evergreen content, you can also develop your law firm’s overall ethos. A firm that shares only timely content won’t have the same authoritative web presence as one that shares useful, evergreen content.
Of course, understanding the value of this marketing strategy is one thing; actually adopting it involves a little more work. Don’t jump into your promotional strategy haphazardly. Follow these steps to develop an evergreen content marketing plan that works.
Select an Area of Focus
You shouldn’t share any content that’s vaguely related to the law. You’ll establish your authority more effectively if you select specific topics on which to focus.
However, going too broad is also dangerous. There’s a lot of content out there; yours will get lost in the mix if it’s too general. For instance, posting basic pieces of content about personal injury cases means your posts will blend in with all the other posts about personal injury cases.
When choosing your subjects, consider what kinds of cases you’re trying to bring in. Do you want to represent more clients facing deportation? Share content that directly relates to their needs, like “How to Apply for a United States Work Visa” or “5 Immediate Steps to Take When Facing Deportation.”
Know Your Audience
The more you know about your ideal audience, the easier it is to target your audience appropriately.
Start by considering their overall demographics. Maybe you stand out from other firms in the area by representing non-English speakers. Post content that’s relevant to potential clients seeking attorneys who speak their language.
You should also consider their location. Someone looking for a divorce lawyer in NYC is going to search for “NYC divorce lawyer” in Google. Include those kinds of terms in your blog posts to reach the right people.
Finally, if you’re simply struggling to come up with more topics to post about, put yourself in a client’s shoes. What problems do they have? What questions do they need answers for? This will help you better understand what kind of content will attract them.
Focus on Timeless Ideas
When you’re ready to actually develop content ideas, always go for topics that are evergreen. If you know that certain laws and regulations relevant to your area of expertise tend to change regularly (this is often the case when emerging technology, like cryptocurrency, triggers the need for new legislation), focus more on the areas of your specialty that rarely change.
While you may want to promote upcoming events every now and then, limit these posts. They shouldn’t play a major role in your long-term strategy.
Experiment with Different Types of Content
You want to reach potential clients via as many forms of media possible. Blog posts are effective because they allow you to clearly share information, but with many mobile device users consuming video content these days (it accounts for more than half of all mobile traffic). Therefore, it’s a smart idea to include it in your strategy.
Fortunately for law firms, longer blog posts are rising in popularity. This means you truly delve into a topic, instead of oversimplifying it.
Hiring a freelance graphic designer to translate your content into infographics gives you yet another way to attract clients. Infographics are eye-catching, and they make it easy to share a lot of information in a compressed space.
If you have the time, you might even consider hosting a regular podcast that delves into some of your major areas of interest more deeply. Most importantly, include a call-to-action whenever relevant. Tell listeners to call your firm; promote your free consultations. This is how you turn someone consuming your content into a legitimate client.
Getting it Out There
A quality website is the ideal platform for hosting your content. That said, you shouldn’t rely solely on this platform. Social media accounts give you the chance to reach even more people. Because it’s fairly easy to share content on social media, if your audience appreciates what you post, they’ll be more likely to share it with their followers.
Don’t think of content marketing as a minor promotional strategy. For a law firm, it’s how you develop your ethos, establish your authority, and let potential clients know you can help them address their specific needs. When your content is evergreen, the positive impact lasts much longer.
What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen content is content that remains useful or informative for long periods of time. For instance, if a personal injury law firm were to publish a blog post sharing details about an upcoming seminar on preventing slip and fall accidents, the information would be irrelevant after the event is over. That’s not an evergreen blog post.
An evergreen blog post for a law firm (depending on would be closer to “What to do When You’ve Been in a Car Accident,” “How to File a Wrongful Death Claim,” or “5 Tips for Choosing a Divorce Attorney.”
Barring any major changes to the law, that kind of content is useful for readers no matter when they find it.
Why is Evergreen Content Important?
Evergreen content has lasting value. When promoting a law firm, you want to share information that readers will keep discovering and sharing. Interest in a piece of content tends to fade once it is no longer relevant or helpful. As a result, it’s effectiveness as a promotional tool fades, too.
By sharing evergreen content, you can also develop your law firm’s overall ethos. A firm that shares only timely content won’t have the same authoritative web presence as one that shares useful, evergreen content.
Of course, understanding the value of this marketing strategy is one thing; actually adopting it involves a little more work. Don’t jump into your promotional strategy haphazardly. Follow these steps to develop an evergreen content marketing plan that works.
Select an Area of Focus
You shouldn’t share any content that’s vaguely related to the law. You’ll establish your authority more effectively if you select specific topics on which to focus.
However, going too broad is also dangerous. There’s a lot of content out there; yours will get lost in the mix if it’s too general. For instance, posting basic pieces of content about personal injury cases means your posts will blend in with all the other posts about personal injury cases.
When choosing your subjects, consider what kinds of cases you’re trying to bring in. Do you want to represent more clients facing deportation? Share content that directly relates to their needs, like “How to Apply for a United States Work Visa” or “5 Immediate Steps to Take When Facing Deportation.”
Know Your Audience
The more you know about your ideal audience, the easier it is to target your audience appropriately.
Start by considering their overall demographics. Maybe you stand out from other firms in the area by representing non-English speakers. Post content that’s relevant to potential clients seeking attorneys who speak their language.
You should also consider their location. Someone looking for a divorce lawyer in NYC is going to search for “NYC divorce lawyer” in Google. Include those kinds of terms in your blog posts to reach the right people.
Finally, if you’re simply struggling to come up with more topics to post about, put yourself in a client’s shoes. What problems do they have? What questions do they need answers for? This will help you better understand what kind of content will attract them.
Focus on Timeless Ideas
When you’re ready to actually develop content ideas, always go for topics that are evergreen. If you know that certain laws and regulations relevant to your area of expertise tend to change regularly (this is often the case when emerging technology, like cryptocurrency, triggers the need for new legislation), focus more on the areas of your specialty that rarely change.
While you may want to promote upcoming events every now and then, limit these posts. They shouldn’t play a major role in your long-term strategy.
Experiment with Different Types of Content
You want to reach potential clients via as many forms of media possible. Blog posts are effective because they allow you to clearly share information, but with many mobile device users consuming video content these days (it accounts for more than half of all mobile traffic). Therefore, it’s a smart idea to include it in your strategy.
Fortunately for law firms, longer blog posts are rising in popularity. This means you truly delve into a topic, instead of oversimplifying it.
Hiring a freelance graphic designer to translate your content into infographics gives you yet another way to attract clients. Infographics are eye-catching, and they make it easy to share a lot of information in a compressed space.
If you have the time, you might even consider hosting a regular podcast that delves into some of your major areas of interest more deeply. Most importantly, include a call-to-action whenever relevant. Tell listeners to call your firm; promote your free consultations. This is how you turn someone consuming your content into a legitimate client.
Getting it Out There
A quality website is the ideal platform for hosting your content. That said, you shouldn’t rely solely on this platform. Social media accounts give you the chance to reach even more people. Because it’s fairly easy to share content on social media, if your audience appreciates what you post, they’ll be more likely to share it with their followers.
Don’t think of content marketing as a minor promotional strategy. For a law firm, it’s how you develop your ethos, establish your authority, and let potential clients know you can help them address their specific needs. When your content is evergreen, the positive impact lasts much longer.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
