How to approach your legal content

By now you'll be aware that as a lawyer, you should probably be producing content and pushing it out there for people to see. Whether it's as part of your firm's marketing campaign, your unavoidable job description or because you actually want to be recognized as a mover and shaker in the industry.

But writing isn't always easy. And knowing where to start can be tough. The amount of content out there now is huge. It really is hard to comprehend the full scale of the amount of blogs, articles, infographics, white papers, videos and tweets available to audiences in the world. It can feel like you're making something only for it to be lost in the snowstorm that whips round people's heads every day.

Making a decision about what your content is going to be, comes from figuring out what you're looking to achieve by writing and sharing it. You can do this by looking at the challenges you and your firm currently face at three key levels. When it comes to deciding what your subject, angle, tone, medium and delivery channel will be, these things can guide you. Treat them as reminders of what you're trying to tackle and change for the better.

1. Challenges in the professional service sector

The professional services sector presents us with what should be some very familiar pressures. These are high level challenges which affect not only law firms but the likes of Financial Service firms, architects, engineers, consultants etc. Yet, despite their enormity, don't think your content can't help affect the state of your particular firm under them. In fact, these reasons for writing should be key drivers behind all your content if you're to remain, or become, competitive.

• Generating new business is the number one marketing challenge professional services face. Could your contact help attract the interest of emerging client bases facing new threats to their business? Do you know what audiences are looking for right now in a law firm and can tailor content to them?
• Increased competition means your content could serve as a way to differentiate from your common competition. Have your content serve as a way of standing out among other firms and lawyers. How could you make your content represent what's special about you or your firm?
• Pricing pressure from clients means they want more efficiency and added value for less money. Content is a great way to get added value to existing clients and sway potential clients. What content can you produce to tack on to a client's experience of you?
• Maintaining a quality client relationship after the initial contract or transaction is where firms can fall down, concluding marketing efforts and seeing client loyalty waver as a result. Serve up your content as continued proof of dedication to their development as a client and business. How about producing quality content directly for a specific client to show you're still taking the relationship seriously? What content could directly improve your client's business?
• Then comes the internal challenge- attracting talent (retaining it is perhaps a matter for internal management!). Positioning in the market as an attractive place to work is crucial to your future success. Fashion content that proves prestige and attractiveness of your firm as a place to work. What can you tell candidates about your firm that takes them away from the firm across the road? What stories of innovation and excitement can you tell the pool of millennial employees to swing their commitment?

2. Challenges in the legal sector

Now lets look at more specific legal market challenges which should drive your writing and content production. This is where the focus narrows down on the specific demands on law firms, compared to other industries.

• New regulations and industry landscape changes that needs communicating to clients. This is the bread and butter of legal content. Clients need to know what's happening in their world. More than that, increasingly, they are actively becoming more informed and knowledge hungry, which means you need to understand both the changes in a legal sense and also how they will impact your clients and their livelihood. Then translate that into compelling material which is understandable, relevant and effective. Does the copy you're producing really meet this criteria?
• The decline of referrals and traditional networks. Inevitably, as older generations shift towards retirement, longstanding networks begin to shrink. Old reliable connections which drive so much work are becoming shakier ground on which to attain new business. Of course, classic networking in person will not die, but online visibility, expertise and content production are increasingly important to the new generation of rainmakers for law firms. Is the content you're producing pushing you to the top of the pile? What kind of content would? Will it start conversations that give opportunity to show off and provide value? Is your content likely to lead to a slew of new connections and queries for business over LinkedIn?
• How clients are finding you and your firm these days has swung a great deal to the online arena. If not most of the way. SEO will continue to play a huge role in your potential of being found by prospects. And while algorithm criteria changes far too often for some, basic tenets of good SEO practice remain. Good quality, authentic and tailored content with a unique twist will always do well. Speak to your digital manager (if you have one) about SEO practice or take the time to conduct your own research with analytical tools out there. Is what you're writing going to cut it for Google's demands?
• Social media competitiveness among law firms brings difficulty because while everyone should have a presence, just what that presence should be and look like can vary entirely from one firm to another depending on brand goals and established/desired clientele. Is your content a clone of other firms' work or is it really your own? Is your content following existing trends or is it setting them? Are you producing the kind of content your firm wants for its social media channels or is it redundant?
• Automation and the decline of loyal relationships. The increase of portal use and other interactive online dealings have improved efficiency but reduced quality relationships. It's harder to maintain loyalty to a screen. Is your content personalised and tailored dutifully to your clients or could they be dealing with any supplier?

3. Challenges in your career

These are your personal reasons for writing. The 'whys' above are the bigger picture. They involve the sector, market and client. These reasons below are your reason for producing content. Some are positive and are a source of pro-activity. Others are things to cling on to when you don't feel like writing or you're close to throwing your computer out the window, out of frustration at the task assigned to you. Worth keeping in mind.

• You're looking to take the initiative and be visible in your efforts, whether it's for a training contract or a partnership. What content shows you're viability as a candidate or future leader? What content shows your bosses you're completely switched on to the business aspects of running a law firm and satisfying clients? Where is your firm looking to go and can you produce something to prove you're already there, mentally?
• You want to recognition as a specialist or influencer in a particular area of law or throughout the entire industry as a whole. Law is a tricky arena to be controversial in, in order to stand out, but could taking a strong stance cleverly set you apart? Expertise in a field gives you great standing, but can you keep the content dynamic and accessible to those who might be interested? Will your current draft influence or put the reader to sleep?
• Your firm wants to take a particular stance on a matter/represent the firm. This may be imposed upon you but it's still a chance to shine. Consider your firm's brand and the wider goals it may have as a firm, in terms of positioning. And the fact it's you putting your name to it. Is the content meeting the brief set or are you giving the usual legal corporate spiel that says nothing real at all?
• It's in your job description/role targets. Content driven by this force can be the hardest to write but it's a force to be respected all the same. Even if content generation doesn't form part of your career strategy, you're still representing your department and firm. Can you save yourself time by getting right to the point? Can you save excess deliberations and rewrites by using a content cheat sheet for blogs, articles and other pieces? Does the content show your management you're putting in the work to stay around?

Producing content without purpose is a waste of time and your time as a lawyer has considerable value. Don't waste it. Content for content's sake is close to useless with no guarantee of it being any use to anyone. Each time you set out to generate a piece of content or outsource its development, keep the 'why you're writing' at the forefront of your mind. It will help you focus your production and increase your chances of it being of real value to your client, firm, industry and yourself.

What other challenges do you think should be driving your content?