Last week, we focused on how to freshen up your content marketing through curation and focusing on being mobile-friendly. Today, I’m using that same post from Entrepreneur as inspiration to encourage you to think differently about content marketing with these two tips.

(And, as a side note, you’ll want to keep an eye on this space late tomorrow for some big Zen news!)

Tip One: Use Rich Media

It sounds like buzzwords, but don’t panic – I’m talking about things like video, and that’s no reason to be scared. Video is an amazing way to add depth to your content, and even repurpose a lot of the work you’re already doing. 

For example record, or re-record, a presentation that you did on a substantive topic and break it up into manageable pieces that you can post to your blog and share via social media. Bonus points for getting your firm to include these in your firm bio to give visitors even more insight into who you are. 

Take a piece you recently wrote on some new legislation and distill it into a 2-5 minute soundbite that you record and upload to Vimeo or YouTube and share. 

Get creative and use video to interview your clients (with their permission, of course) on topics of interest in the industry, or their experiences as an in-house counsel. 

All of these things give a broader image of who you are as a lawyer and a person – they add character to your written word. Plus, video is actually quite effective. Read this in full to get the entire picture, but some information that I’ve pulled out for you: 

  • Video promotion is 600% more effective than print and direct mail combined. (Diode Digital)
  • 60% of site visitors will watch a video if available before reading any text. (Diode Digital)
  • 59% of senior executive prefer video over text (WeCapture)
  • 75% of executives watch videos while working (Forbes)
  • 65% navigate to a site after watching a related YouTube video
  • One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words (Forrester Research)
  • When someone looks something up online, they are more likely to click a video link than a text link (Visible Measures)

Video tops content in nearly all engagement measures, and engagement is the goal here – it’s not about getting your name out there (that’s nice); it’s about connecting with people, and getting them to know, like, and trust you so that you can develop business with them. And an important part of that equation is video. 

Tip Two: Think Like a Journalist

Entrepreneur uses a great quote: 

Starting today, you will need to start thinking like a journalist and achieve the results of a marketer.” — Hana Abaza, director of marketing at Uberflip

I know what you’re thinking – I’m NOT a marketer, I’m a lawyer! But as someone recently said, there are two parts to your legal business: one that is the practice of law, and one that is the owner of a business that sells legal services. That means that at some point, we’re all marketers – but fear not! 

I’m not suggesting that you focus on designing a brochure or a magazine ad. It’s still about relationship-building. And that’s where thinking like a journalist comes in handy. Because it means you’re making your writing about your audience. 

As Entrepreneur says: 

Knowing what captures your audience’s imagination makes creating compelling brand narratives much more intuitive."

Remove "brand" and replace "audience’s" with "client’s" and you get "Knowing what captures your client’s imagination makes creating compelling narratives much more intuitive." You’re telling the story of how you service your clients in a way that matters to them – that’s all that thinking like a journalist means.

The reason it’s important for you is that it’s about separating the signal from the noise, an idea we’ve talked about before – you want to rise above all of the other content that’s out there and be a voice that’s heard and remembered by those you want to engage with. The way to do that is by thinking like a journalist.

An excellent piece on this was shared by my friend Adrian Lurssen (the best content marketer and curator I know), and written by John Corey, the founder of Greentarget – "Corporate Journalism: A Catalyst for Better Storytelling." I highly recommend reading it. 

To stay above the fray, we’ve constantly got to be thinking differently about content marketing, and how we share what we know with the people that are important to us. How do you think differently about content marketing? 

 

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Photo of Lindsay Griffiths Lindsay Griffiths

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the…

Lindsay Griffiths is the International Lawyers Network’s Executive Director. She is a dynamic, influential international executive and marketing thought leader with a passion for relationship development and authoring impactful content. Griffiths is a driven, strategic leader who implements creative initiatives to achieve the goals of a global professional services network. She manages all major aspects of the Network, including recruitment, member retention, and providing exceptional client service to an international membership base.

In her role as Executive Director, Griffiths manages a mix of international programs, engages a diverse global community, and develops an international membership base. She leads the development and successful implementation of major organizational initiatives, manages interpersonal relationships, and possesses executive presence with audiences of internal and external stakeholders. Griffiths excels at project management, organization, and planning, writes and speaks with influence and authority, and works independently while demonstrating flexibility in thinking, especially in challenging situations. She also adapts to diverse and dynamic environments with constant assessment and recalibration.

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2019

In 2021, the ILN was honored as Global Law Firm Network of the Year by The Lawyer European Awards, and in 2016, 2017, and 2022, they were shortlisted as Global Law Firm Network of the Year. Since 2011, the Network has been listed as a Chambers & Partners Leading Law Firm Network, recently increasing this ranking to be included in the top two percent of law firm networks globally, as well as adding two regional rankings. She was awarded “Thought Leader of the Year” by the Legal Marketing Association’s New York chapter in 2014 for her substantive contributions to the industry and was included in Clio’s list of “34 People in Legal You Should Follow on Twitter.” She was also chosen for the American Bar Association Journal’s inaugural Web 100‘s Best Law Blogs, where judge Ivy Grey said “This blog is outstanding, thoughtful, and useful.” Ms. Griffiths was chosen as a Top Author by JD Supra in their 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards, for the level of engagement and visibility she attained with readers on the topic of marketing & business development. She has been the author of Zen & the Art of Legal Networking since February 2009.