Content Marketing on a Budget

Insights Into Practice

Have you ever been curious as to what goes on in the minds of other legal practitioners? Have you ever wondered whether you measure up?

It’s only natural, after all it’s human nature to be curious about the world and the people around you – how do they do what they do?

With that in mind, join us as we investigate frequently discussed topics, with the aim of discovering new approaches to the practice of a law in an ever changing and evolving world.

Take this blog’s topic – content marketing on a budget. How do other firms do that?

Content Marketing on a Budget

Regardless of the size of your legal practice or what market you serve, you need to get your name out there. But more so than that, you need to let potential clients know who you are, what you’re about and what you offer them.

The problem is, marketing your firm can take a lot of cash, cash that you perhaps don’t have access to right now.

And that leaves you in a bit of a conundrum – to serve clients, you need them to know who you are. To let them know who you are, you need to market yourself. It’s a bit of a chicken before the egg situation. Do you wait for clients to magically get whiff of your practice and come to you after which you can earn some money and then market yourself. Or do you market yourself so clients know to come to you, taking a knock financially because you know it will pay dividends once clients come rolling through your doors?

Truth is budget will play a big role in how you do what you do.

And it isn’t so much how big your budget it, but instead how you are going to use your marketing budget that counts the most.

One thing that should offer some comfort – marketing has moved away from strict print advertising and tv. Social media has taken the place of older more expensive ways of getting your brand out there.

In fact, social media networks have completely transformed themselves. From being platforms where you once-upon-a-time met new friends, and happily shared pictures of your numerous cats to becoming a thriving business hub – and a sure-fire way to promote brand awareness, share blog posts, encourage user content, and increase income.

And this is where you need to focus your efforts – because social media marketing on a budget is not impossible, it just takes proper planning and discipline.

5 strategies that will help you make the most of content marketing on social media

Define your target audience

You cannot appeal to absolutely everyone. That kind of approach never works. If you try and appeal to everyone you will engage with no one. And all your effort is for naught.

Instead understand why you are using social media – and that should be to spread brand awareness, engage with potential clients and gain trust with followers. After all social media marketing is all about the relationships that you build with potential clients.

The next thing is understanding who your target audience is. Or posed differently – who do you ideally want to engage with?

The aim here is to target niche audiences – the people who will be interested in what you have to say and what services you have to offer.

For example – if your focus is on Antenuptial Contracts, you may want to appeal to newly engaged couples, women looking at bridesmaid dresses and wedding gowns. You may want to target wedding expos and bridal shops – everywhere you think a person who is getting married (and will therefore require an ANC) will visit. Then create social media handles and hashtags only on platforms where they are present.

A tip here – speak to your audience, conduct surveys, ask for feedback. You can only truly understand a community if you’re an active part of it.

Choose the right social media channels for you

There are inevitably some businesses and legal practices that have the type of budget that enables them to market themselves across all social media channels. For them, all social media channels are “must haves”. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Because spreading your eggs across several baskets will likely not produce the best results. Focus is key here. Instead have a “less is more marketing tactic,” to get the best results.

Remember, not every platform will deliver your message as effectively as you would like it to. More importantly, not everyone you want to reach is present on every platform. The best approach here? Understand which social media channel will work best for you by asking yourself where your target audience is most active and where are they most engaged? 

There isn’t a single “best social media channel.” But there is the right one for your type of business.

If you prefer one platform over another – and one that isn’t typically used for brands like yours, analyse other brands in a similar space. See the traction they receive on their content and decide whether you should pursue that platform or not.

Define your value proposition

When marketing a brand on social media, most businesses will promise the world in order to get a following and prospective clients. Ad after ad rolls by each one making a bigger and more extravagant promise than the one before it. And for potential clients that means a constant bombardment of empty promises. With so much to deal with, brand communication hits a metaphorical ‘blind spot’. You just aren’t seen anymore.

The solution here? Understand what your brand proposition is by pinpointing what your best feature is. And then? Drive that message home!

Attract potential clients by making one solid promise – that you can 100% deliver on – instead of a long list of features and benefits that may not really mean anything to a person scrolling through the social media feed. Remember to be bold and confident in how you position this unique value proposition. That way you have a natural advantage over your competition. One that you can stand behind come what may.

That will speak volumes when a potential client looks at you vs a competitor. Who speaks to what they are really about? Who is making empty promises? Who can be trusted?

As Neil Patel set out – For a value proposition to work it must –

• “Be relevant;
• Be visually appealing;
• Be clear and concise,
• Include a call-to-action.”

Create authentic content

People can tell when someone is being fake. It’s like the smell wafts off them. And that’s a nail in the coffin of any business that’s trying to make inroads in the content marketing on a budget train.

So, the absolute best thing you can do is to create content that is honest. That sets things out exactly as they are. Less the frills and convoluted wording. Just the absolute facts. Honesty – in all walks of life – goes a long way to winning the trust of both your audience and potential clients.

Instead of overpromising and overselling, tell stories that truly connect with your audience. Ones that they can relate to. Ones that they can trust. Authentic content revolves around providing real measurable value and not manipulating your audience for financial gain.

Repurpose your content

You can most certainly post the same content on multiple social media platforms. But one thing you cannot do is post the exact same post across social media platforms. You need to ensure that your post is optimised for the specific social media platform.

Each social media platform has its own settings, has its own strengths. Therefore, to ensure you’re optimising your posts, ensure that they are native to the platform you’re posting on. In other words, ensure that your content gets repurposed in a way that it feels at home wherever it is published. That it’s easy to read, easy to see and most importantly – pleasing to the eye. Something that will catch a person’s attention. In all the right ways.

(Sources used and to whom we owe thanks: Neil Patel and Logo)

We hope that the above strategies help you market your law firm on a budget.

As always, AJS doesn’t just have your back, they also wish to spread knowledge, create awareness, and provoke thought in a way that appeals to you.

– Written by Alicia Koch on behalf of AJS