Blogging is the key to law firm marketing success according to many experts, including Lee Frederiksen, the managing partner of Hinge Marketing, who believes it is the one . . single . . success factor for business development.
Law marketing guru Larry Bodine has written about six ways law firms can improve their blogging and marketing efforts based on Lee Frederiksen’s knowledge.
LawFuel has long advocated the same thing – using well presented and useful content to your law firm website in order to not only achieve good SEO but also to attract new business easily.
“What’s really important is that blogging is one of the key things that by itself will help you with your SEO,” said Lee Frederiksen, managing partner of Hinge Marketing, speaking on a recent webinar.
Combined with the fact that 80% of potential clients will check out lawyers by visiting their websites, it is essential for lawyers to have a blog that is updated frequently with unique content.
A vibrant blog will increase a law firm’s visibility, bolster the firm’s reputation and brand, and communicate the firm’s expertise.
According to Frederiksen, what makes a blog successful is a consistent flow of content, educational posts relevant to the target audience, and a conversion offer — meaning an offer of something free, like a download, in exchange for getting the visitor’s email address.
He offered several key tips:
- Create an editorial calendar for the blog, so that you plan out blog posts in relation to conferences, dates and events that are important to your audience.
- Avoid writing about the law firm. Instead, tell stories about successes you achieve for clients.
- Promote two-way communication, by letting visitors comment on your blog posts.
- Consider adding video, which improves search engine results.
There are many sources of inspiration, including client questions, news stories, public statements by firm leadership, trade magazines, conferences, webinars, Twitter hashtags and LinkedIn answers.
Hire a professional
He added that a blog post can take two to four hours to write, and for lawyers it makes sense to outsource the writing, and to retain a professional service to provide drafts of blog posts.
“You are not going to have the busiest people in your firm doing a lot of blogging. For senior people, work with a writer who can interview them and turn their notes into a blog post,” he said.
He offered several ways to double the volume of leads generated by a blog:
1. In blog posts, include links to an eBook or free report that can be downloaded.
2. Display offers about downloads into the sidebar of the blog.
3. Add italicized offers at the bottom of a blog post.
4. Measure which topics convert the best, and make a point of blogging on those topics.
5. Repurpose past blog posts by editing them into best EBooks and special reports.
6. Optimize posts as you write them by including keywords and links to previous blog posts. WordPress offers plugins that prompt a writer with tactics to optimize a post.
Read more at Larry Bodine’s law marketing site here
