In the past, marketing and advertising strategies were all about showing your ideal clients why your law firm was the one to choose. Every ad and marketing plan was focused on framing the law firm or the attorney as the hero of the story: “Let us step in and save the day!”
The problem is, your clients do not need a hero. They are the hero of their story. And law firms and attorneys across the country are only beginning to see how storytelling is going to be an integral part of their content marketing and digital marketing strategies going forward.
It’s all about relating to your ideal client and giving them the information that they really need to make decisions that work best for their family. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. But there are several techniques that you can use to make sure that your marketing is telling compelling stories that are going to guide your ideal client to the decision that your law firm is the one that is going to help them achieve their goal.
Tip 1: Focus on Making Your Client the Hero
One of the biggest mistakes law firms are making in their marketing strategies is making themselves the hero at the expense of what the client really needs. Traditional marketing has told law firms to sell their accomplishments and achievements. Listing reason after we reason for why this law firm was the right one for that particular client. Are you bored? So is your client. And chances are, if your readers are bored, they are not going to convert into clients.
With that in mind, you need to tell stories in a way that grabs their attention and helps them see that they are the hero in their story. Instead of talking about all of your law firm’s achievements, you should be relating to your clients. What services are you providing to them that allow them to fix their legal issues and come out on top?
Leading with a firm first approach isn’t likely to be successful in today’s age. These days, your clients know that they are the hero, and they are not going to choose a law firm that they feel like they have to compete with.
Tip 2: Frame Yourself as the Guide
You still need to be able to explain to your clients in all of your different marketing strategies why your law firm is better than the competition. But you can do this in a way that does not come across as you are showing off or attempting to put the spotlight on your law firm’s biggest case results, settlements, victories, and achievements.
Instead, you should frame yourself as the guide. This is the concept of the Storybrand by Donald Miller, where the service provider is the guide who helps the client (the hero) find a solution to fix their problem. Make sure that your marketing materials are framed in a way that sets your law firm up to be the guide that will help the hero solve their problem.
Tip 3: Solve Your Ideal Client’s Pain Points
It sounds easy. Writing content and developing marketing materials that make you the guide and the reader the hero. Check. If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, developing these types of storybranded materials can be challenging. There is a fine line between showcasing the benefits of working with your firm and showing the reader how you can solve their problems. Many law firms miss the mark, and it costs them clients.
If you want to get it right, make sure you start off by thinking about the biggest pain points your client is experiencing with their legal issue. How high are their costs? Are they experiencing substantial economic and non-economic losses? Are they at risk for going to prison? Do they have complex legal issues they do not understand? These questions become more and more specific depending on the type of practice area you are in and the type of content materials that you are developing. By addressing your ideal client pain points, you can show them how your law firm will provide them with the tools they need to fix their legal issues.
Make sure to keep your content short and to the point across the board. Most readers do not have the time, patience, or inclination to read more than one or two lines. The first line should describe their pain point. The second line should describe how your solution fixes their problem. If you do it right, that is all you will need to get your prospective client to pick up the phone or fill out your website’s contact form.
Start Storytelling With Your Law Firm’s Marketing Strategies
Storytelling and storybranding are the future for law for content marketing. Gone are the days where clients chose law firms based on their achievements and successes. All lawyers are successful in the eyes of a potential client, figuratively speaking. What your clients care about is how you are going to help them solve their issue. They couldn’t care less what college you graduated from, what your Avvo rating is, or all of that volunteer work you put in while you were working for the County Clerk’s office.
You can still use these credentials and accomplishments as benefits that you provide to clients in need. But you need to be sure to do so in a way that still frames the client as the hero. How specifically does your accomplishment help them help themselves?
You need to be very careful to produce content that answers this question carefully. If you miss the mark and make yourself a hero, you have probably lost a potential client. But, if you can clearly answer this question and provide your prospective clients with the information they are looking for, at a glance, you are more likely to generate the leads you hoped to see online.
Article By Meranda M. Vieyra of Denver Legal Marketing
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