You already know the importance of getting client referrals, but what about the ultimate referral source — Google?

When a potential client searches for a lawyer online, which they are, will they find your content or your competitors’ content first?

In this guide on content marketing for law firms, I’ll offer helpful tips and ideas for lawyers to start producing content today, to get discovered by prospective clients, and generate more case leads.

Effective content marketing strategy for law firms

Content strategy with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind, such as blogs, landing pages, and other content all work together to attract traffic through Google searches.

When people search online for legal help, ideally, they’ll stumble upon one of your legal blogs, case studies, or other help pages on your website to draw them in. This gives an opportunity to collect a new case lead.

That also means that you need to include relevant keywords in your content that clients could be searching for.

Let’s look at more content marketing tips to make sure your readers discover your website and its content.

1. Publish weekly or monthly legal blogs

Blog writing is the most common form of content marketing for law firms. Write at least one blog a week so that you’re producing four blogs a month, minimum.

Not sure what to write about? Stick to your legal services and write about what you know, and what you wished your clients knew before talking to you.  

Examples of blog topics to write about:

• How to Sue for Birth Injuries
• Do These X Things After You’ve Been in a Motorcycle Accident
• How to Get Full Custody of Your Children: An Ultimate Guide
• Probate 101: How to Settle an Estate

2. Case studies

In addition to blogs, create several downloadable case studies (eBooks or PDFs) related to each of your key practice areas.

Case studies provide legitimacy to your law firm by telling your prospective clients “we’ve gone above and beyond for our clients, and we will do the same for you.”

Given the choice between two similar law firms, one that offers case studies, and one that doesn’t, who do you think the prospective client will choose?

3. FAQ pages

Want a shortcut to get your website’s content on the first page of Google’s search results without waiting months?

Add FAQ pages! When you create a web page filled with simple questions and simple answers, you’ll increase your odds of getting your content shown as “featured snippets” on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP).

You’ll also attract potential clients by providing clearly outlined questions and answers.

Video ideas for law firm YouTube accounts

When I was researching the top Michigan law firm’s YouTube accounts writing this, I made an interesting discovery — the most popular legal YouTube videos are only about 30 seconds long.

This makes sense because many of these YouTube videos are doubling as ads and are sticking to the familiar 30-second TV commercial format. In fact, some of the top videos on lawyer’s YouTube accounts are actually old TV commercials!

Keep in mind that after you’ve produced a short YouTube video, you can embed these clips on your legal website, share them as social media posts, or even use the videos as PPC video ads using YouTube’s ad platform.

Let’s look at some video content marketing tips for lawyers.

4. Upload past TV commercials to your YouTube

Has your law firm produced a TV commercial in the last couple of years? If so, then upload it to YouTube, and then embed that video on your firm’s website.

You don’t even need to pay to produce a new video if you already have some. Just upload them, add a detailed description, and provide links to your law firm’s website. 

5. Produce really short videos, 30 seconds or under

Don’t feel like you need to produce a five-minute legal video. Keep it short, around 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

Again, these kinds of videos are to be used on your website, where the majority of your target clients will view the video (not so much on YouTube itself).

Some suggestions for short 30-second videos can include:

• An introduction to your team and its history
• A short featurette on your most high-profile case
• General legal advice related to your key practice areas

6. Create videos based on your most valuable and lucrative practice areas

Again, based on my research, the most-watched law firm’s YouTube videos were based on auto accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents.

If you’re not sure what kind of video to produce — find the types of cases that bring in the most business and relevant traffic, and start producing video content around that.

You can add these videos to specific landing pages on your website. 

For example, on your Car Accident page, embed your car accident YouTube video. This will have a two-fold effect — readers will stay on your page longer, and it will boost your video’s play count.

Newsletter ideas for lead nurturing and legal marketing 

Law firm content marketing isn’t limited to just blogging.

Maintaining an active newsletter series is an important aspect of email marketing and lead nurturing  — staying involved with your leads until they’re ready to reach out to you.

Here are some interesting newsletter ideas that will get your audience to open up your emails:

7. Write about current legal news stories

Want to get your emails opened fast? Write about timely legal news. For example, there’s been plenty of legal drama involving celebrities this year, from high-profile divorce cases to on-stage assaults.

Use the trending topics to weigh in and inform your readers on helpful, or important legal information that your readers may not be aware of. 

8. Inform your readers of recent law changes

For example, in Michigan, there’s been a huge change regarding no-fault insurance laws and policies.

This is a great opportunity to inform your readers of recent law changes and use your lawyer hat to explain why these law changes will be impactful for your readers.

9. Include your top-performing blogs in the newsletter

If you’ve written a blog that’s outperforming the rest on your website, then add a link to that blog in your next newsletter.

Odds are if people online are discovering and clicking on your highest-performing articles, your email readers will also open your email to read this blog.

Social media content marketing ideas for lawyers

Some lawyers are scared of creating a Facebook page, I get that. But you should probably use a Facebook page as part of your law firm’s content strategy.

Still don’t want to create a Facebook page? At the very least, you should create a LinkedIn profile for your law firm, as LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform for lawyers. 

10. Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Technically, this is not a content marketing tip, but very important for LinkedIn networking, as over 90% of lawyers have a LinkedIn profile.

Make sure to include on your LinkedIn profile:

• A high-quality headshot photo
• Attorney bio
• Recommendations, endorsements, and social proof
• Awards
• Groups and associations
• Professional headline

11. Share and upload your blog content to your Facebook and LinkedIn newsfeed

Facebook and LinkedIn both have a newsfeed where users are encouraged to upload, share, and comment on new posts.

Use this as another channel to publish your law firm’s blog content, extending your blog’s reach.

Kaleidico — a content marketing agency for law firms

Kaleidico is a lead generation agency and content marketing studio for law firms and lawyers looking to generate more case leads online.

Schedule a Discovery Session to learn more about our proven plan to generate more case leads for your law firm.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich