The growing field of content marketing can help lawyers get noticed by potential clients and stand out as providers of superior service.
It involves providing useful, non-promotional content to become a trusted source of information, leading naturally to a client relationship. Content can take the form of articles in trade magazines, white papers, videos, podcasts, e-books or other media.
Six types of content are particularly useful in demonstrating skill and knowledge.
The trend:
Describe an ongoing change that affects people in your market, give your analysis of the future, and your recommendations on how to gain a benefit or avoid a problem. This shows you are a big-picture thinker able to help your clients understand the world as it affects them.
The “meteor”:
Discuss a sudden, life-altering change (think of the meteor that struck the Earth and caused climate changes that wiped out the dinosaurs), such as a major legal decision or new law or regulation. Give your analysis of the effects of this change, and your recommendations. This tells your clients, “I’m staying current on developments and will help protect you from adverse effects.”
The case study:
Describe a client situation you have dealt with, your solution, a warts-and-all analysis of how well it worked out, and lessons learned. This demonstrates your ability to get results.
The how-to:
List the steps or success factors it takes to achieve an outcome – and it must be an outcome that the reader/viewer wants to achieve and realistically can manage. A how-to shows that you value efficient processes.
The how-to-work-with:
Discuss how to get good results from someone with your skill set. This demonstrates that you value getting positive outcomes for your clients.
The study or survey:
Compile data, possibly through an online service like SurveyMonkey, analyze it and provide your interpretation. This shows your resourcefulness.
Carl Friesen is Principal of Global Reach Communications Inc. For more resources on content marketing, see www.showyourexpertise.com.