Blogging for law firms today is more important than ever. It has evolved from the days when only individuals had a blog as a place to express their strong opinions.
Today, brands use blogs to grow their businesses and expand their reach. B2B marketers that use blogs get 67% more leads monthly than those that do not. (Source: Hubspot)
When working with new law firms, we are frequently asked what is the purpose of a blog? If this sounds like you, what you are really asking is: What is a blog…do I need a blog…why should I spend time and money creating content for a blog…how does a blog help my business and…what kinds of things should my business blog about?
What is a blog and its purpose?
A business blog is a part of your website with content that helps educate your law firm’s target audience about your services. Your blog should be viewed as a marketing channel and an essential part of your firm’s content marketing strategy – it not only help to attract new clients, but maintains relationships with your existing clients.
A blog provides valuable content on your website that answers your prospective clients’ questions and helps them learn about your services. It also gives Google and other search engines content to index that can be served up in search results.
Why law firms struggle with blogs
Many of our law firm clients fall into four categories when it comes to blogs:
- They have a blog but after publishing a couple of articles they stop
- They have a blog but publish sporadically
- They have a blog with low-quality or the wrong content
- They don’t have a blog at all.
Consistency in producing quality blog content is the key and frankly this is the most common reason why firms stop. Producing a blog requires a discipline that is hard to maintain, particularly when the one driving it – the principal, can get bogged down with the daily grind of running the firm.
As law firm marketing specialists, who have also worked in the legal industry for years, we know more than anyone that it is the firm’s marketing tasks that drop to the bottom of the to-do list if given the chance. Working on complex transactional matters or lengthy court cases, dealing with staff changes within the firm and the usual pressures of running a law practice can soon see your marketing efforts fall away.
Why is producing a blog on your website important?
According to Demand Metric, on average, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month than companies without blogs.
A blog gives you an opportunity to build trust and credibility with your audience. By increasing your firm’s brand awareness, answering potential clients’ questions, and providing helpful information that will assist them when they are looking for legal help, you draw current and potential clients in and develop a relationship with them.
Business blogging yields excellent marketing results. Consider these statistics from HubSpot. The average websites that have a blog earn:
- 55% more visitors
- 97% more inbound links
- 434% more indexed pages
The benefits of blog posts for your law firm
Drive traffic to your website
Blogging helps to drive traffic to your website and potentially increases your SEO. The more you blog, the more content search engines have to crawl and index. This means they can easily recognise that your site is a resource of information for people to access.
Plus, you can use your blog to create content that your audience is encouraged to share with their connections thereby leveraging its benefit to others who don’t already know you or your firm.
Build credibility as a trusted source
A blog with useful content shows your audience and clients that you are a trusted source. Writing about topics they will find interesting and helpful shows that you are more than just a law firm providing a service; it shows that you care about spreading useful information.
Did you know that 47% of buyers view 3 to 5 pieces of content before engaging? This shows the value of having the right content to prove your credibility and increase new work and enquiries. (Source: Demand Gen Report, 2016).
Blogs provide another source to deepen the connection with your current or potential clients. By connecting directly on your website, they are able to get to know your firm and the services you provide from the comfort of your online home base.
Use your blog to access your social media channels
When you have a blog, you not only have great content to post, but content that brings people back to your website from your social media platforms.
By posting a link to your blog post that sits on your website, you are not only driving traffic to your website, but exposing your firm to the audience on these social media platforms. Social media is a great outlet to push your blog content out to a targeted audience, growing your brand awareness. Plus, you can post blog content multiple times, highlighting different aspects of the post each time.
Audience relevant topics
Many firms get stuck on what to write about, but all you really need to do is start a conversation on a particular subject. You are not trying to turn your audience into a group of lawyers. Keep it simple.
Your aim is to have readers appreciate the subject matter, that you have gone to the trouble to write about it and to identify it with your firm, so that when they have a legal problem or know someone else who does, they remember your firm and contact you or pass your details on as a referrer.
Blog topics need not be long or detailed, in fact it’s better if they are not because you want the reader to easily read and get through it, not be confused or give up. Your aim is to provide content that is informative, but general, not a summary of the law on a particular topic. Case names, legal jargon and references to particular courts or judges may be interesting for lawyers but not to your audience. Many lawyers get stuck on this point.
Use of images
Adding an engaging image to your blog posts can attract 94% more views. Images will also help your blog posts stand out and help bring a subject to life.
Next steps
Now we have explained the purpose of a blog, the benefits of having a blog and the positive impact it can have on the growth of your law firm. If you’re ready to add a blog to your content marketing strategy but feel overwhelmed by the process or of the prospect of doing it regularly in-house, reach out to us. We can do all of this for you and help alleviate the burden while you focus on other areas of your firm and what you do well.
If you’d like to know more contact Peter on [email protected]
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