Writing compelling and engaging content is vital if you want to grow your business, regardless of the industry. You want content that engages the reader and grabs their attention, convincing them to stick around your site a little longer. For some industries, it’s easy. For others, it’s harder. When it comes to law firms, it is the latter.
When writing engaging copy for law firms, fun, engaging, and exciting are not words you hear often. Typically, people see content for law firms as uninteresting, filled with jargon that the layman would not understand. Many people see law firms are as strict and boring, so they imagine their content will be, as well.
Naturally, law firms find it hard to create content that is appropriate for their industry but is compelling and engaging enough to attract potential clients. It is a fine line, but there are plenty of ways law firms and marketers can come together to create engaging content.
ARYU Advertising has years of experience helping law firms grow their practices. Part of that involves creating content that grabs the attention of readers and potential clients. While many see the world of law as boring, all it takes is the right level of strategy and creativity to compose compelling content for your law firm.
Ask Your Audience
Arguably one of the best ways to generate exciting content that users want to read is by asking clients (past and present), as well as potential clients, what kind of content they find most interesting. You can create surveys through various channels to send to potential and former clients to learn what topics or content they would like to read more.
Include questions like:
- What areas of law would you like to learn more about (personal injury, dangerous drugs, car accidents, divorce, etc.)?
- What about the legal process working with an attorney do you struggle to understand?
- Where do you go if you are looking for legal content?
- What content would you be most interested in reading?
These are just a handful of questions you can ask to gauge your audience’s interest and knowledge of legal information. The answers you receive will help you generate more engaging topics that you know your audience is more interested in reading.
Write with the Reader in Mind, Not Search Engines
Yes, ranking on Google and other search engines is paramount to the growth and success of your business. After all, creating SEO optimized content is what helps drive traffic to your site via search engines (namely, Google).
However, while writing for search engines is essential, it should not be your first priority. Yes, if your content is SEO optimized, it will rank higher and be seen by more users. But, if that content is not engaging to users and does not keep them on your site for long, being SEO optimized does little to help you.
Ultimately, you want those visiting your site to turn into clients, so you should tailor your content to them. Therefore, you must create content that interests readers and gives them some value. Once you have done that, then you can optimize this content for search engines.
Use Anecdotes
Unfortunately, many readers do not find most law topics engaging or interesting. Either they do not understand the legality of most subjects, or they have little to no interest in them. Often, this lack of interest stems from a lack of experience in these areas. Not everyone has been in a devastating car accident. Not everyone knows someone that has experienced medical negligence.
It can be difficult for users to engage with content they don’t connect with. Instead of just writing about a legal topic by itself, try to find an anecdote or story that relates to it. For instance, if you are discussing defective medical products, use a real case to connect the topic to the real world.
You can even take it a step further and use a real case of how you helped a former client. Not only will this give the reader a human element to latch on to, but it also gives your practice more credibility.
Legal issues are often complicated, but if you are able to connect it to the real world, readers can comprehend it better and engage with it better. Appealing to the human experience is one of the best ways you can engage with your audience.
Ditch Overly Technical Knowledge
There is a good chance that those reading your law firm content have little experience operating in the legal world, which means they don’t understand the ends and outs of working with an attorney. Chances are, that is why they are looking for an attorney in the first place.
More often than not, law firms are guilty of writing passive content (content that fails to engage with the reader). Typically, they produce content that serves only to inform. This content is usually stuffed full of technical jargon that only those in the legal world would understand. While doing this can help out with SEO, it is not a good strategy if you want to engage with your audience.
Instead of filling content with legal jargon, fill it with applied knowledge. Use your understanding of the legal world and apply it to real-world situations. Show the reader that you understand them and what they might be going through. It also helps explain information in a way that is much easier to digest.
When a user stumbles across overly technical content, they are more likely to bounce from your site. Don’t just relay information to the reader. Talk directly to them. Show them that you understand their needs and are willing to help.
Keep It Short and Simple
Readers’ attention spans continue to get shorter and shorter, especially online. The average attention span of an internet user has fallen to eight seconds, as of 2018. On average, readers will only read, at most, 28% of the words on a page during their visit. That means not only do you have a short window to grab their attention, but you also need to convey that information quickly and concisely.
When a user is on your website, they probably will not read every word, so you need to ensure that you make your words count. Do not create overly long sentences or paragraphs. Create content that reads quickly while still relaying the appropriate information in an easy to digest manner.
Creating engaging content for law firms can be tricky. Most people find the legal world uninteresting. They only seek out information when they need it then and now. However, you can still create compelling legal copy that is appropriate for your industry. With the help of ARYU Advertising, we can help you create engaging content that is not only compelling but holds the attention of your audience.
