Legal Marketing - Managing Internet Content to Maximize Law Firm Exposure

Most law firms are beginning to understand the profound impact that generating a high volume of quality Internet content can have on their Web exposure.  Once a law firm has committed to incorporating Internet content as part of its marketing strategy, the next questions that usually come to mind are:

1) What do I write about?

2) Should I use a blog, articles, or both?

3) How often should I post?

4) Who should be handling these posts?

5) Is there anything else I need to know in order to make this a profitable use of my time?

OK, let's address these one at a time.

1) What do I write about?

First, decide how you want to position your firm to the marketplace. Are you a generalist personal injury firm, do you specialize in medical malpractice, worker's compensation, auto accidents, junk faxes, securities litigation, nursing home abuse, police brutality, inmate rights, toxic torts, no fault, or some of the above? This is a critical business decision that requires serious consideration, because you will be branding yourself to the world as such.

How you make this decision may be a good topic for another post, but the bottom line is that once you decide on your focus, your content should be consistent with this.

You can write on anything related to this subject. For example, even if your specialty is as narrow as "construction accidents" you can still come up with creative ideas. Tell you readers how to avoid construction accidents, share updates on your verdict and settlement successes pertaining to these types of cases, talk about what a client can expect during the claim process, talk about what makes commercial claims different from auto injury claims, provide different links to interesting facts and statistics on construction accidents, other Internet resources that someone who has been involved in this type of personal injury accident may find useful.

2) Should I use a blog, articles, or both?

The two most common ways to generate low cost exposure online is through the use of a blog or articles. I happen to use both in my Internet marketing strategy. If I deem that some of my blog posts are sufficiently applicable to a broader audience I tweak and turn them into articles and then submit them to a major online article site such as EzineArticles.  I recently started using this service and am already at around 100 article views and it has already started generating some meaningful traffic to my Web site - not too shabby for a niche focus, I think.  Plus, your articles will be around forever...

You can blog, post articles and send out Internet press releases - the choice is yours. Of course, the broader the range of tactics, the greater the impact on your search results and the stronger your overall online exposure and brand.

3) How often should I post?

Let your own time and resources dictate how much time you spend.  Often, a low-cost managed law firm Internet marketing program can be very effective.  You can outsource the production of some, or all of your content and simply handle the review and approval internally to ensure compliance with your firm's guidelines and needs.  

4) Who should be handling these posts?

This depends on the size of your firm and your resources.  If you are a solo practitioner, maybe this is something for which you may wish to set a few hours aside.   If you already have a steady flow of business and have the capital to grow, but not the time, an efficient way to accomplish this is to have a lower cost resource research idea topics and produce preliminary drafts and then have them reviewed and approved by an attorney, or marketing resource.  
 
Decide what works best for you and your firm, but make sure that you do not take up too much of your revenue producers' time with non-core law firm activities.   Remember, everything you do is all about achieving a positive return on your marketing investment.  If you spend too much money, or too much time, your return will be diminished.

5) Is there anything else I need to know in order to make this a profitable use of my time?

Yes.  Promote your Internet presence to clients and other referral sources.  This is the other piece of the puzzle.  These efforts are not only designed to drive more Internet traffic to your law firm Web site, but also to increase your reputation and brand among those in your network.

In addition, and this is very important.  Your content should not be arbitrary.  Your keyword phrases should play to the search engine results you desire.  Now, there is an art and science to doing this and this is where it really pays to have expert backup.  For example, back in the day, one could simply have the term "personal injury law firm" appear two dozen times in this article and up to the top of search engines it would go.   No more.  Google is smarter and knows what to look for and what to ignore. 
 
The way to be successful is to write content naturally, while also remaining mindful of the keyword phrases and incorporating them in an appropriate manner.  Yes, this takes thought and time, so if you are planning to generate a solid income for your firm, you may want to consider outsourcing your marketing efforts to a law firm Internet marketing company that will get you top value (read new client cases) for your buck.