Posting fresh, unique, relevant content allows you and your website to stand out and be chosen by Google and your visitors. In this article, I will be focusing on the two most important types of website content: the resources you offer to potential clients, and your attorney profile page.
The Problem with Most Attorney Bios
Frequently, an attorney’s bio lists where and when they finished law school, previous employment, memberships, badges, and – very occasionally – articles they have written. That’s a resume suitable for your next job application – but not for your website profile. Potential clients will choose you because you connected with them on an emotional level.
According to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, consumers choose one product or service over another because of their subconscious mind. In his book, How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market (Harvard Business Review Press; 1st edition, 2003), Zaltman reveals that we are not nearly as logical when it comes to making a decision as we think we are. In fact, our emotions drive our decision-making – which has significant implications for marketing, sales, and branding.
So your education and awards will resonate with potential clients far less than hearing you say: “As a parent, I know how important your children are to you, and I will work tirelessly to protect your bond with them.”
To make that connection with your website visitors, you need an attorney profile – not a bio.
See Your Attorney Profile Through Your Prospective Clients’ Eyes
Your potential clients are trying to assess what you can do for them; how you will address their concerns, whether you have been successful with their type of case in the past; how much it is likely to cost; will they feel comfortable working with you; and can they trust you with their future. Most of all, they need to know why they should choose you over another family lawyer.
Your prospects and clients are not lawyers, so keep unnecessary jargon out of your profile. Use “we” and “you and your spouse,” instead of “the parties” and “the file.” Try for a more compassionate and authentic tone in your videos, podcasts, blog posts, etc. If your site’s content makes an emotional connection with your visitors, that content will convert visitors to clients.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
A USP is a clear and compelling statement that spells out what you do, your desired clients, how they will benefit from retaining you, and what is unique and sets you apart from your competition. Your USP has to align with your personal and business objectives. Creating a compelling USP takes both time and an authentic and in-depth examination of yourself and your competition. It often involves a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Unless you have carefully considered your USP any content you create about yourself and your law firm is like throwing darts in the dark and hoping one sticks.
Too frequently, we see law firms using the same, generic messaging:
- “Our lawyers work hard for…”
- “We are a boutique family law firm founded in…”
- “Our attorneys have X years of combined…”
There’s nothing wrong with these messages, but not one of them is a true USP.
Instead, consider this:
“Run by women for women, our female-only family law firm is one-of-a-kind in Houston. We have a proven track record of successfully helping women in high net worth divorce protect their assets and get their fair share, giving them the settlement and closure they need and deserve.”
The Problem with “Thin” Content
At Divorce Marketing Group, we are often asked to redesign family law firms’ websites. One of the most common weaknesses we observe is that the website content is very thin. There is not enough content to tell visitors what the firm/ lawyer does and why they should be chosen. I have seen websites that only list what they do; others offer a short paragraph about each practice area. Most law firm websites offer very few resources to help visitors who have lots of questions.
Both Google and your potential clients prefer websites that offer plenty of helpful content: 1,000 words of helpful information about how child support is calculated in your state, or the difference between marital and non-marital property, or the Dos and Don’ts of Divorce, for example.
Q: Why do most family lawyers’ websites have such thin content?
A: Most lawyers prefer to spend time practicing law – not writing about it for laypeople.
Few lawyers have the time, desire, and/ or expertise to write website content that appeals to both potential clients and search engines.
Content Creation Simplified
We came up with a simple solution: record an interview with our clients over the phone, transcribe the interview, then turn the transcription into content. One 30-minute interview will produce 4,000+ words that can become content for five practice areas pages, or blog posts, or answers to ten FAQs on their website. Voilà! We also multipurpose the recording into a podcast for their website and post it on Podbean.com, which “broadcasts” the podcast to its wide network of platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Are Videos Necessary?
Videos are more memorable, engaging, and easier to consume than any other type of content. Using videos as “edutainment” (educating and entertaining) is absolutely crucial to attract potential clients.
By 2022, Cisco predicts that online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. And 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video.
Since COVID, we have been recording high-definition videos remotely, thanks to advances in technology. Once edited we post them on the client’s website, DivorceMag.com, YouTube, and Facebook. This latest approach has become our clients’ favorite way to generate content that can go viral.
Not only are they unique and relevant content that family lawyers can call their own, videos place these lawyers front-and-center with their potential clients.
Of course, we also multi-purpose the videos: turning them into podcasts and text to enrich our clients’ websites with the type of content prospective clients want and need.
Create a “Resource Center”
Once your website has enough content we recommend adding a “Resource Center” tab with the following categories: Videos, Podcasts, FAQs, Articles, Blog, Newsletters. To supply Google with fresh content, “drip” your FAQs onto your website – one or two a week – rather than posting them all simultaneously.
Client Testimonials are Crucial!
93% of consumers read reviews before choosing a product or service, so you should ensure that they will find plenty of glowing client testimonials on your website. Testimonials from other respected divorce professionals will reinforce your client testimonials, so ask for reciprocal reviews from the professionals you work with frequently.
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In this webinar, McKay Allen and Dan Couvrette offer useful tips & advice on how you can improve your family law firm website right now.
