[author: Noreen Fishman]
Acquiring new clients is so important to law firms that it can be easy to overlook those they already have! The fact is that most firms already have a base of people that are engaged with their business and interested in their services. Marketing to them is simply a way of working smarter, not harder. An effective legal blogging strategy can help you to connect with this audience on a deeper level – here’s how.
Legal Blogging Tips for Client Retention and Loyalty
Publish Top Quality Posts Consistently
The most important thing when it comes to legal blogging is to post regularly. Once in a while is not enough. If you want to be viewed as a real thought leader in your space, you need to develop truly helpful and interesting content on a consistent basis. Creating a schedule can help with this. The more content you can offer to your readers, the more value you’ll provide – and the more they will come to rely on your content for their needs. If you panic a little bit at the word “consistent”, don’t: you can repurpose other content, or keep some posts short and sweet (but focused on key insights or statistics).
Take Advantage of Client Data
If you leverage digital platforms regularly, you should have a lot of information at your fingertips. Taking the insights from a variety of channels and analyzing that information will provide valuable knowledge that can inform your strategy. Start by building out client persona groups and analyzing each group across your digital channels. Follow the user analytics to get a regular stream of data about how your content is resonating and what can be improved. Think of each client touchpoint as a way to better understand your audience.
Keep a Client Communication Calendar
It’s unlikely that your clients are taking the time to proactively reach out to you, so you should make a point of contacting them. We suggest building a communication calendar that will allow you to manage client engagement opportunities throughout the marketing and sales process. The execution of this calendar can be simple: a chart that keeps track of various client communication touchpoints will suffice, as long as you track the last time a client interacted with your firm.
Use Social Media for Community Building
Social media provides excellent opportunities for client engagement. Use social media to promote your latest legal blogging content, including everything from quick tips and videos to in-depth white papers. It’s important to both talk and listen on social media. Things like contests, asking direct questions, conducting surveys, and then sharing the results are all tactics that can help to strengthen relationships online. Look into community-building techniques like Facebook and LinkedIn groups, as well as forum channels such as Reddit. Remember, your goal is to nurture relationships and engage with your audience. Use the 80/20 rule: 80% of what you post should provide value to the client, and only 20% should promote your firm or services.
To gain a more in-depth understanding of social media strategy, check out this free eBook: Advanced Social Media Strategies for Law Firms.
Align Content to the Client Lifecycle
It’s an essential part of content marketing to build content around each stage of the client journey. For example, in the awareness stage, you’ll want to focus on PR, advertising, and email outreach. For the consideration stage, focus more on reviews or webinars and events. For the loyalty stage, look at email newsletters and a group on social media.
Develop a Resource Center
Focus on ways to address your clients’ pain points. If you make it easy for visitors to find information, then your firm will be one of the first places they turn to when they need answers. Consolidate your content into one location. You can link to your blog as well as other insights, all under the umbrella of a “Knowledge Center” or similar category. Readily sharing educational information will position you as a thought leader and deepen relationships with your clients. 
Send Engaging Onboarding Emails
The first time someone engages with your firm provides a unique opportunity. Those first interactions are an important milestone in what you want to become a longer, productive relationship. Send communications that set the foundation for your ongoing relationship. Provide links where people can find more information when they need it.
Announce Improvements with Content
Any time you take an action based on client feedback, or to make clients’ lives easier, you should create a blog about it. This builds trust and lets your clients know you’re listening to them and constantly trying to improve. Plus, sharing updates is an easy way to develop content when you’re short on ideas.
Takeaway:
Creating and publishing regular legal blogging content can help you to achieve several goals. It’s a great way to improve relationships and retain your client base. Blogging is also key for SEO and other digital marketing efforts. Developing an effective blog strategy – and making the time to implement it – can be a significant effort.
