Make Your Legal Website A New Client Generator
There is no magic bullet to driving new business, but there are things you can do to make your digital presence attract new clients. The key is creating real value. Value can only be created when you know what value means to your clients, and when you are prepared to change the way you do things to deliver it.
Determine Value Through Analytics
Having worked for a web content management solution provider for brands spanning many industries, I have come to understand that value means different things to different clients. For some it means cheap deals, and for others value has become more about knowledge. To know what value means for your clients, you have to look to website and social media analytics.
- Look at your website analytics to see what pages clients are visiting and where they are spending the most time. Are they looking at website practice pages? News and events? Something else?
- Use a social media analytics tool to understand what your clients are talking about online.
- Look at your social media presence to see which posts are resonating with clients the most. Do they follow and respond to attorney and partner posts or firm posts? What topics engage them the most? Case updates? Emerging trends?
- Determine what your clients are asking you about and touting you for through other feedback channels.
- Ask your clients what they find most valuable. This is so simple to do, and yet many firms never bother to ask.
When armed with this knowledge, you’ll begin to get a pretty good understanding about what your clients are and are not interested in. And when you know that, you can begin to add true value.
Deliver Value Through Content
After going through this exercise, no doubt you will see that content is at the top of the value-added list, whether practice-related content, case histories, thought leadership content, and so on. Knowing which content clients find valuable will help you create a content marketing plan that delivers the value that clients crave. It will draw clients to your website, and keep them coming back for more.
- Put yourself in your client’s shoes when determining content topics. Do they like how-to information? Opinion pieces? Industry- and practice-related content?
- Find your niche and share your knowledge digitally—via the web, mobile and social.
- Remove the sales pitch. Give your knowledge and expertise freely. That’s how you create loyalty.
Engaged clients are the holy grail. Authentic content will keep clients coming back to the well for more, and will drive new business in the long run.
