The Lawmatics Blog

As we head into the final weeks of 2021, it’s hard to believe we’re already here. While there have been considerable challenges throughout the last year, there has also been hope, joy, and unlocked inspiration. Thanksgiving is an opportunity to transform everyday things we may normally take for granted into blessings by practicing gratitude. Gratitude has the power to change what we see as “enough” into “abundance.” It can turn uncertainty into clarity and transform resistance into acceptance by simply reflecting on what we have rather than what we lack.

This Thanksgiving, we at Lawmatics want to share our genuine gratitude for you. Without you, we would not be where we are today, and we wholeheartedly thank you for your support throughout the year.

After working hard all year long to build what is known now as the leading all-in-one legal intake solution, marketing automation, and law firm CRM, our San Diego-based team gathered for a Thanksgiving celebration. The gathering was a wonderful occasion to come together to recognize and celebrate all of the amazing successes of 2021 and share our stories of gratitude with each other.

In between bites of turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, and pies, the team exchanged what they felt grateful for this year. Here are some we’d like to share.

“This year, I'm thankful for my family and friends. This time of the year is my favorite because you get to spend time with some of your extended family that you don't get to see very much on a regular basis!”

- Ryan Brown, Customer Success

“Colorful sunsets, live music, scented candles, houseplants, cozy slippers, good beer :)”

- Anna Gasperlin, Customer Success

“I’m thankful that I get to travel home for the holidays this year to visit my family and play with my parents’ new puppy.”

- Kevin Looney, Marketing

“Being able to spend time with friends and family.”

- Connor Brown, Implementation

“This year, I’m thankful for Stitch (my Corgi puppy), that all my family and friends are healthy, joining Lawmatics, and the awesome people I’ve gotten to know because of it.”

- Devon Roth, Implementation

“I’m thankful to have been able to buy the lot where I’ll build my house ”

- Diogo Beda, Engineering

“I am thankful for every day I get to spend on this earth with so many amazing people, and especially my Lawmatics family! <3”

- Kaia Dobbs, Sales

“I’m thankful for live music being back in full swing!”

- Val Kirsh, Implementation

“My wife, for being a great support to me, so I can focus better! And that I have the great luck, to share healthy days working towards a common goal with such a bright and dedicated team of wonderful people!”

- Roey Chasman, Engineering

“This year, I’m thankful to have such a long list of things to be grateful for…my family, friends, coworkers, health, mind-blowing experiences, and dreams of what is yet to come.”

- Sarah Bottorff, Marketing

“I’m thankful for my family's health and for the love & support they provide me each day.”

- Bobby Orozco, Sales

“I am very grateful for the health of my family members and that we are vaccinated. We are grateful to be able to come together again and celebrate the little moments of life.”

- Fred Assuncao, Engineering

“I'm thankful for the opportunity to do meaningful work that I'm truly passionate about (helping firms across the country scale their practice); with a team of talented people I'm honored to work with—my fellow Lawmaticians.”

- Andy Campbell, Sales

“My wife, and her savvy. Our dog and her playfulness. The ability to enjoy our surroundings, to be able to play outside, to engage in and explore new creative endeavors, being able to help family and friends... To enjoy the little things. Oh yeah, and thankful for the kickass team I get to work with every day :)”

- Zsolt Mar, Product

“I'm thankful for this great job of mine and all the subsequent good quality life I have that come with it. I also am thankful for the great friendships I have, for whom I am and am becoming, and last but not least, I am thankful for the awesome girlfriend that I had the chance to meet this year.”

- Leandro Nascimento Camargo, Engineering

“I am thankful for the health and happiness of my family and friends. I am also extremely thankful for the fact that every day I get to spend time building a great company with great people. I am thankful I don’t consider what I do to be work.”

- Matt Spiegel, Executive

“I am thankful for the health and happiness of my family and friends, and for the amazing opportunity I have here at Lawmatics!”

- Clare Struzzi, Customer Success

On behalf of all of us at Lawmatics, may your upcoming celebration be one full of gratitude, joy, and an opportunity to embrace that which enriches our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy November! We love this time of year here at Lawmatics, and our team is very excited for the season to begin. All of the holiday spirit has manifested itself in some great new features from our product team that we are excited to share with you today.

Automation Delivery Windows

The best automation platform in legal just got A LOT better. We have added delivery windows to all actions in our automation platform. This means that you can now specify the hours and days of the week for the delivery of a specific action within an automation. For example, you might have an automation that sends out an e-signature document, but you don’t want that document to go out for signature at 11 pm. With delivery times and windows, you can now set the delivery of that signature document to be during business hours, so if the action to send the e-signature document comes up at 11 pm, it will wait until the next day and until the specified delivery time/window before sending the document.

This feature also works on delay actions, meaning that you no longer have to worry about a delay ending and firing the next action in the middle of the night on a Saturday. The proper use of this new feature will enhance your engagement on every type of communication you have with your contacts in automations.

Support documentation along with instructions on how to use the Automation Delivery Window feature can be found here.

Client Portal Enhancements

Client Portal, one of our biggest new features over the last six months, keeps improving by the week! We are happy to announce that file requests and custom forms are now shareable within the client portal, giving your contacts yet another convenient way to interact with the assets that you share with them. Learn more about the portal here.

What’s more, we have also added a new automation action for granting Client Portal access. You can now automatically invite a contact into the Client Portal via the Lawmatics automation platform. Just use the new Invite to Client Portal action!

We have many more great additions to the Client Portal coming soon. Please keep your eye out for more feature announcements from us that contain some really incredible new portal features that will change the way you communicate with your contacts.

Clio Integration Enhancement

We love our friends over at Clio, and we know that many of you feel the same way. So we are really happy to announce a long-awaited upgrade to our integration with Clio...support for picklist field mappings. You can now map Lawmatics picklist fields to Clio picklist fields. Lawmatics will now present you with a beautiful interface to map the actual values of the picklist fields between the two platforms, allowing you to sync a very important field type in Lawmatics to Clio.

This release also comes with many bug fixes and performance improvements to the platform. We look forward to sharing some of the other projects we have been working on with you soon. ;)

In today's digital-driven world, people are much more likely to go online to find lawyers than they are to look inside of a heavy phone book. People go on Google to find what they need and they want to find it quickly. Studies show that after performing a Google search, 25% of people will call one of the first three results on the page. If that wasn't enough to make your ears perk up, 95% of web users never even click past the first page of Google search results aka Google SERP.

As the joke goes:- Where is the best place to hide a dead body?- On the second page of Google SERP.

So, in short, you want to make sure that you show up on the top of the first page! The secret to getting to the top is SEO for law firm websites. If you're not sure what that means, don't worry. Chances are they probably (definitely) didn't teach you about it in law school. Besides, this article isn't for lawyers who are already SEO experts. It's for lawyers who are just getting started with their online marketing strategy. So, let's break down what SEO is and how it can help your law firm.

What is SEO?

This short and sweet little abbreviation stands for search engine optimization. It is the practice of bringing more visitors to your website and improving your search engine results. There are a few different ways to use SEO to encourage your websites to appear at the top of the search result page for search engines, and there are several different search engines out there, but the one we all know best is Google.SEO-optimized websites generate more traffic to your law firm’s website on Google and in turn, generate more leads. In short, SEO helps people find your site without it getting lost in a sea of search results.

What is an SEO ranking?

Your ranking, as the name suggests, refers to how you rank on search engine results. For example, a number one SEO ranking means that you appear at the very top of the page for a particular search term.Without making your head spin too much, basically, Google has incredibly complicated algorithms that decide what content gets displayed, how, and the order it will show it to you in. Google gets this information by sending around search bots known as spiders to creep and crawl around the web (Get it? Spiders? Web? You see what they did there?) and add optimized pages to Google's index. So, when people go to Google and search for something, Google will go into its index and deliver what they think the most useful pages are.These spiders check for qualities like:

• Page purpose
• Content quality and amount of content
• Information about whoever created the content
• Reputation
• User Interaction like bounce rates and amount of time spent on the page

And lastly,

• E-A-T: expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Meaning that they want to make sure that your page can be trusted as a reliable source.

Why does SEO matter for lawyers?

So, how do all these crazy acronyms come into play for your law firm? SEO matters for your law firm because it's a key method for reaching customers, not to mention it's more cost-effective than traditional advertising. Many businesses have been optimizing their website for SEO for years. However, more than ever have now caught onto the importance of focusing on their digital marketing strategy since the onset of COVID. People are online more than ever now, so now is the time to get your law firm visible on Google search results.Let's go over how SEO helps you take your law firm to the next level.

Organic search matters

A recent trends report revealed that nearly 20% of legal clients found their lawyers online by performing a basic search. Usually, it goes something like this: "best lawyer in Denver'' or "divorce lawyers near me." Google lists the best results according to its band of spiders, and the user makes their selection on what to click. This is known as an organic search because the results aren't influenced by advertisements.Organic search traffic is one of the most effective ways to grow your leads. So, as marketers are starting to figure out, you need to make friends with Google if you want to increase your brand's visibility. Although there are different ways to improve your website's performance, ultimately, organic search is almost always the primary source of website traffic.

Builds trust and credibility

Quality SEO establishes trust and credibility for your law firm. When someone clicks on a beautifully laid out website that's easy to get to from a simple web search, then people are more likely to trust its credibility. People assume that whatever Google shows them must be the real deal. However, trust and credibility don't happen overnight; it takes time and patience.By chipping away slowly at your SEO strategies, over time you'll build authority and credibility on Google that establishes yourself as an industry leader.

Better understanding of clients

Once you start tuning into the SEO world, you start understanding the voice of your legal clients. In short, SEO keywords tell us what your potential clients are looking for, and what they need. By observing SEO data, you'll understand the intentions of your ideal client. What are they looking for? What is their user behavior? SEO will lay all of this out to better understand the brains of your target audience.

Improved user experience

Ask any marketing expert, and they'll tell you that user experience should be a high priority. Despite the value of better organic search rankings, user experience is still high up there on the scale of importance. Google knows how to interpret a good user experience, and if it rates your website as a poor user experience, it will affect how successful your website is.So, what goes into the user experience? Some examples include:

• How quickly users can find what they need on your page
• Any errors a visitor encounters
• How mobile-friendly your site is

A great user experience is one that addresses the needs and desires of your website visitors and delivers.

More clients

Local SEO will optimize your presence for a specific area so people can easily find a lawyer near them. By optimizing your page so that it focuses on a specific city or region, you'll stand out as the local trusted source for your practice area. Make sure that in addition to optimizing your website with local citations and backlinks, you also encourage user reviews on your Google business profile. When people search for a local lawyer, and they see you with a 5 star Google review next to your name, chances are they're going to call you first.

You can measure your results

One of the best parts about SEO is that you can measure your results with tracking and analytics. The most successful firms are data-driven and use analytics to understand their performance, especially when it comes to their online marketing efforts.

How to monitor your rankings

Before you can start improving your SEO ranking, you need to know where you are starting from. One of the most straightforward ways to find your starting point is to start Googling search terms that you think potential clients would use to find you. See where your website appears in the list of results.You can also use online Keyword research tools that will show you the specific organic keywords that your website ranks for. Here are a few to choose from.[oxygen-template id="6129"]

6 SEO strategies to start with

1Do keyword research

A great place to start is thinking of what kind of topics or keywords you'd like your law firm website to rank for. Write down at least ten of these. Once you have a few topics in mind, start identifying some important keywords that fall into each of these categories. For example, if you are a family law attorney, and you'd like to rank on a topic like "getting custody of my children," try to think of a few keywords that people might type in related to that.When coming up with keyword ideas, use keyword research tools to find even more alternatives that you may not have thought of otherwise. There are several different keyword research tools to search from, but for purposes of keeping things simple, try using Google Keyword Planner first. It's a straightforward tool that helps you identify how often certain keywords are used, and other alternatives to consider.

2Create a blog that answers potential clients common questions

Websites that have a blog get 55% more web traffic and a whopping 70% more leads than those that don't. Starting a blog on your law firm's website can be an incredible boost to your ranking. Each time that you add a blog post it counts as a new indexed page and increases your credibility.The key to a successful blog is writing about subjects that your target audience wants to know more about. For example, if you're a DUI attorney, it would make sense to write a blog about common DUI charge questions. Provide something valuable that will lead people to your page for more information. Instead of making it an overly self-promotional post, stick to legal advice and double down on what you're good at. Focus on providing your readers with solutions and expertise.A great way to get more readers to your blog is sending out an email blast and promoting on your social media accounts. You can use law firm data analytics software directly built into your law firm CRM to see how well your emails are performing. If your click through rate is not where you'd like it to be, meaning that people aren't following the link to your blog, then tweak your call to action wording a little next time until you see an improvement.The more visitors you can get to engage with your blog, the more credible you'll appear to Google

3Optimize your website with relevant keywords

Now it's time to start using all of those keywords throughout your law firm's website. Every single page on your website should include those keywords to help Google understand what your website is. Each time that you create a new blog post, make sure that you've included all of the words in your keyword list. The more that Google sees these keywords, the more that you'll be leaving bread crumbs for a prospective client to find you.

4Link to your own content

You can think of the number of links that lead back to your website as a popularity ranking on Google. The more websites that link back to your page, the more Google will trust that your website is a valuable source. Linking to your own content can help Google recognize your website as a relevant and authoritative source, increasing your search ranking. In short, each time that you link to another page on your site you're reinforcing your authority.

5Create a Google My Business account

Google My Business is a totally free listing directory and is your direct link to Google Maps and Google local search results. And although there are many different business directory sites, Google is the most important that you should focus your efforts on. 72% of consumers say that they would trust a positive review on Google as much as they would a personal recommendation from a friend. So, if you can manage to establish a five-star reputation for your law firm on Google, you'll find a significant increase in reaching more potential clients.The more reviews you can get from your clients the better. Not only will it improve your search engine rankings, but you'll also establish trust.You can even link directly to your integration with Lawmatics CRM for lawyers and attorney intake software so that people can book their own consultation directly from your Google business profile.

6Analyze and improve your results

Building a winning SEO strategy doesn't happen overnight. You'll have to go through a continuous cycle of trial and error to eventually get the results that you want to see. Analyze your results and refine them as you go. Use a tool like Google Analytics to see how your SEO efforts are performing and how well you're ranking.

Should I do my own SEO or hire an expert?

If all of this is making your head spin, then you're not alone. Your area of expertise is law, not keyword optimization. But using on-page, off-page, and technical SEO can be one of the best things that you do for your law firm. Make no mistake about it, however, there is a time investment required which isn't always realistic for busy lawyers. Adding one more project onto your plate when you already have so many administrative tasks required to run your practice may seem impossible.You may want to consider hiring a law firm SEO expert. Outsourcing your attorney SEO to a pro may be much more convenient than trying to take it all on yourself. Although they are convenient, a law firm SEO expert is an additional investment. So if adding one more expense to your budget isn't something that you want to commit to, then you'll need to carve out more time in your schedule to focus on your law firm SEO marketing strategy.[oxygen-template id="6131"]

Grow your practice with SEO

The overall premise of SEO isn't complicated. Its purpose is to increase your law firm website's visibility on Google and get you more clients. Yet, there is a big learning curve and a significant investment whether you decide to do it yourself or hire external law firm SEO services. Like it or not, it is an essential part of marketing your law firm in 2021.By implementing a marketing strategy full of the best SEO marketing for lawyers and content marketing for law firms, you'll skyrocket the number of leads you produce and in turn, boost your revenue. However, it can't be stressed enough how important it is that you understand what legal client intake is and that you have an effective intake process in place once leads contact your law firm.Many law firms find themselves with a sudden rush of incoming inquiries but don't have a reliable response system that organizes leads and ensures no one gets forgotten. Manually inputting each contact's information is incredibly time-consuming and risks plenty of errors. Statistics show that 86% of the time law firms fail to collect a potential client's email address, which means they can't follow up with email.The right client intake software like Lawmatics will get all of the necessary contact information from a lead the minute they first contact your law firm through Google or fill out a legal client intake form. From that point on they're tracked meticulously, ensuring that no opportunity gets missed, alerting you what actions need to be taken next.You'll be able to see where each lead stands from a glance in one single dashboard, ensuring that your hard SEO efforts don't go to waste. Are you ready to see how Lawmatics law firm CRM and client intake software can help boost your law firm SEO strategy? Sign up for a free product demo today!

Although CRMs may be thought of as something relatively new that emerged sometime in the 90s, the truth is that the practice of customer record-keeping has been around for thousands of years. Businesses have been tracking their existing customers since the birth of trading began. After all, even in ancient times, merchants had a clear understanding that it's much easier to sell to someone you've already sold to than try to sell to someone new. I mean, wouldn't you have rather bought your frankincense from a familiar merchant you already knew than some questionably pungent stranger who just docked their boat on the port?Along with tracking existing customers, maintaining records of who owes what is also nothing new. In short, a CRM Is a modernized digital version of good old customer records but obviously much more sophisticated.Today, CRMs play a significant role in simplifying how many businesses run. An abbreviation for customer relationship management, a CRM is a database developed to organize, retain, and acquire customers. Instead of having to refer to customer interactions and notes on multiple channels, one single software tracks every interaction, ensuring you have all the detailed information in one place.

What exactly is an industry-specific CRM?

A CRM can be incredibly beneficial for a business of any size in any industry, as such, in recent years CRM's have begun to branch out into a multitude of industry-specific versions. From hospitality to automotive, you can find a niche-specific CRM for just about anything. However, there are some industries that don't just benefit from a CRM — a CRM is an absolute must-have for them to run their business efficiently. Some of these industries include:

Mortgage lending

Healthcare

Government agencies

Manufacturing

Insurance

Construction

Consultants

Hospitality

And of course…. lawyers!

An industry-specific CRM means that it's been designed specifically for a particular niche like these. Its purpose is to meet the unique needs of particular sectors and are also referred to as vertical CRMs because they pinpoint specific vertical markets.

What’s an industry-agnostic CRM?

An industry-agnostic CRM is geared towards a wide range of markets and is therefore non-industry specific. There are agnostic CRMs out there that are relatively bare-bones and there are those that are much more advanced and fully customizable.

How does industry-specific CRM meet the needs of industry-specific businesses?

The built-in features are the bells and whistles of industry-specific CRM software. The features make everything easier and create an uncontrolled workload flow, so everything in the office benefits.Below are a few features of industry-specific CRMs:Dealer Management System (DMS)DMS is often referred to as the automotive dealership management system. The software is designed to meet the needs of automotive dealerships or equipment manufacturers. With CRM, a business can manage listings, customers, sales, and more to streamline the entire process. Without a doubt, it's a game-changer. Nowadays, very few automotive dealerships function and flourish without industry-specific CRM, making the process easier.Electronic Health Record (EHR) systemHealthcare is a very diverse industry that is highly regulated with many specific niches or sectors. Privacy is a leading factor with any software used in the healthcare realm. All EHR CRM systems are designed to factor in patient privacy along with regulations. Also, healthcare and insurance CRMs are specifically designed to integrate effortlessly without compromising patient privacy, information, or policy.Legal CRMA CRM for lawyers performs a multitude of functions to streamline your legal practice's efficiency. The goal of any law firm is to attract more client prospects and achieve better engagement to ultimately accelerate the office's growth. Legal CRM creates unity by helping to track, focus on audience segmentation, and effectively engage leads. Manage all client communications while maintaining privacy. Sort through contacts and record essential client data. The software also provides the needed tools to focus on marketing to promote revenue growth further.Listing Management ToolsManage agents, listings, and leads within a brokerage using listing management software. All listing and lead information are housed in one area, which helps promote automation. Also, many real estate-specific CRMs integrate with listing management tools.Proposal Management FeaturesUsing sector-specific software, build and send proposals right from the CRM platform. The features are standard in construction and consulting CRMs.

Do I really need an industry-specific CRM?

Industry agnostic CRM sellers and manufacturers like to throw around the word 'customizable” when trying to sell you software that is not industry-specific, promising that the flexibility of their software is superior to the “molds” of an industry-specific CRM.When they tell you that the software is fully customizable, that might sound great, but do you really want to use the same software that car salespersons are using to handle your legal clients? Think about that for a minute.In most cases, customizable only goes so far, and if the software is not industry-specific, then it's going to lack something you need eventually, and you'll find yourself up #$% creek with one paddle.More often than not, many businesses who invest in a CRM that isn’t industry-specific ditch the software once they outgrow it and opt instead for industry-specific CRM choices. It doesn't matter if you bought a big-name brand or not; at some point, it simply won't provide the functions you'll need.

Why is a CRM a must for lawyers?

Improved communication

One of the biggest complaints that people have about lawyers is that suck at communicating. But, let’s face it, since lawyers have so much going on it can become a challenge for them to keep up with every client. A CRM makes it possible to give each client direct access to their lawyer through a personalized experience making them feel like their lawyer is there every step of the way.From touching base with them on the progress of their case to what their legal rights are, a spreadsheet alone isn't enough to handle it all. No more missed opportunities or clients frustrated because you don't get back to them fast enough. Automation improves your communication by telling you exactly who you need to communicate with when.

Increased efficiency

There are so many different moving parts that go into running a law firm. A CRM streamlines your processes for you making everything much more efficient. One centralized database makes it easy to track every part of a client's case and determine what needs to happen next. Depending on your law firm, there may be multiple people working on the same case, so having everything in one place makes sure your team is as efficient as possible.

Greater client retention

A legal CRM makes it possible to meet each client feel acknowledged every single step of the way through automated personal responses. By giving your clients an attentive and personalized experience you can build stronger relationships that in turn lead to greater client retention, while still having the freedom to turn your attention towards what matters most in your practice.

Streamlined workflow

Dynamic automated email workflows for law firms make your job as a lawyer much easier. Instead of spending time manually completing tasks, you can simply add them to your automated workflow, completing them in a fraction of the time. You can effortlessly control each stage of the client process with a modern approach to running your practice, thanks to a visual interface that makes it easy-peasy.

Automating tedious tasks

Running a law firm requires all sorts of tedious tasks that can easily eat up your day. A CRM can automate these often tedious and non-billable processes so that you can focus your time towards revenue-generating work. As a lawyer, the less work that you have to do manually, the more time you have to focus on whatever matters most at your practice.In the world of law, time equals money, so the more that you can free up in your schedule thanks to automation, the more money you're putting in your pocket.From the minute that lead first contacts your firm, a CRM will automate the often cumbersome processes like following up and generating complex paperwork. Some examples of what a CRM can automate for your law firm are:

Client communication

The right CRM can follow up with your leads and clients on autopilot, making them feel like they're connected to you every step of the way. Thanks to automation, you can make every client feel like they're your only client by sending consistent messages letting them know about the status of their case without you having to do a thing.

Marketing emails

Drip campaigns for law firms for law firms reach your prospects in a targeted and personalized messaging style based on triggers of your choice. Whether you're welcoming a new client, or someone signs up for your newsletter, automated marketing lets you engage and market on autopilot without having to lift a finger.

Document automation

All lawyers know how time-consuming creating complicated paperwork can be. Manually generating complex legal documents isn't just time-consuming, but when you do it manually, you risk plenty of errors. Automation software can create a contract in minutes with a few clicks of a mouse. You could potentially have your client-attorney agreement printed and signed at the end of a first consultation.

Appointment scheduling

Automated appointment scheduling gets rid of the often drawn-out back and forth that comes along with trying to find the right consultation time that works for everyone. Simply send a link to your clients, and they can choose a time based on their availability. Not only can they set and cancel their appointments, but automation also sends out automatic reminders significantly reducing your no show rate.

Managing contacts

In the absence of a CRM, it's complicated organizing all of your contacts and determining what actions need to be taken next. One single platform can keep track of it all without having to toggle between different channels. A 360-degree view of each contact shows everything from basic contact information to what phase of the client journey they’re in.Your CRM will track each client for you while you focus on growing your firm. No more wondering about who's been followed up with when—your CRM handles it all.

Reporting

No more guesswork about what's working and what's not in your practice. Custom reporting extracts your data for you, giving you the power to make data-driven decisions so you can turn your attention towards practicing law. Law firm data analytics software built into your CRM tracks your most important metrics like your best lead sources and practice areas. The data is presented in an easy-to-read format so that anyone in your firm can easily understand it, giving you powerful information to increase your law firm's profitability.

Nurture relationships with past clients

Statistics show that over 70% of law firms’ business comes from client referrals. So, just because a case is closed doesn't mean you should throw away a relationship with past clients. A CRM makes it possible to nurture your past relationships with your alumni clients, encouraging repeat business and five-star reviews.[oxygen-template id="6130"]

Benefits of using a legal CRM over an industry agnostic CRM at your law firm

The CRM that you choose will play a significant role in how well your law firm functions. The difference between choosing an industry-agnostic CRM and a legal one is that you need to be able to customize the features to meet your industry requirements. Implementing the right software that is designed by lawyers and created for lawyers ensures efficiency in your law firm that custom software simply couldn't provide. An industry-specific solution is almost always the best option.

More cost-effective

Running your law firm with an industry agnostic CRM means that eventually, you'll need to buy additional software to add functionalities to your processes where holes exist. In many cases, law firms with an industry agnostic CRM that lacks advanced automation features and functionalities like electronic signature for legal documents end up paying much more in the long run by having to buy additional software products that often integrate poorly with their CRM.

A specific legal-focused workflow boosts productivity

Some CRM's do nothing more than generate more things for you to do, slowing down your productivity. Basic automation features for task completion only create more busy work for your law firm, which is the opposite of what you want it to do! You want a legal CRM that gives you the power to gain full control and freedom to customize your legal workflow automations the way you need to boost your productivity.The right legal CRM like Lawmatics gives you the tools to attract both new and old clients without having to do a thing. Custom law firm email marketing templates make it easy to send reminders to clients automatically, while you focus on practicing law. Your email workflows are totally customizable so that you can send out the right message based on where each client is in their unique journey.

Better data

Some CRM's offer reporting tools, yet, they are often limited in visibility into your reporting analytics. In order to track the metrics that are most important to your law firm’s goals, you need a powerful law firm reporting software built directly into your CRM that’s easy to understand.Rather than having a guess why things are or aren't working at your law firm, a custom legal reporting tool makes it easy to see important metrics like who your highest quality leads are, how they found you, what matter types they are, and where your best referral sources are. Having the right data at your fingertips allows you to continuously analyze what's going on in your law firm from the inside out, and use that information to improve your practice by making data-driven decisions.

More relevant integrations

When you use industry-specific software, you want to make sure that’s built to communicate with other industry-specific software. You need a CRM that integrates with recognizable names that fall within your industry. When you have a CRM that's built specifically with the legal industry in mind, integrations to other legal software are already built-in without the need for expensive technical support to intervene.You can easily automate repetitive tasks between apps you already used to run your law firm, helping you build a best-of-breed tech stack for your business. You've got enough to worry about in your law practice, so when your software seamlessly communicates with each other without any work on your part, you can focus your energy on whatever matters most for you.

More relevant tools

When your law firm opts for an industry-specific CRM built with lawyers in mind, you'll be given a set of tools that best meet the specific needs of a legal business. With a clear workflow and lawyer-targeted utilities to perform your job, you can run your law firm much more efficiently.

Better support

One of the most important things that you should consider when choosing a CRM is customer support. Adjusting to a new CRM is a learning curve, so you want to make sure that whatever company you work with not only has a thorough onboarding program but that they also have ongoing support.Opting for a legal-specific CRM means that their support staff works exclusively with one industry only. That means they know how to solve issues directly related to your specific industry and can help you solve issues and answer questions much faster. They'll have a greater understanding of how law firms work in their day-to-day processes, and know what features are most likely to benefit your law firm best.A one size fits all CRM solution will fail to offer support beyond basic needs. A support staff that's trained on the software alone and not the specific industry it's created for means a much more generic support experience.

What to look for in the right legal CRM?

An industry-specific CRM is undoubtedly the best choice for your law firm. However, it's important that you know that not all legal CRMs are created equally. You want to make sure that you choose one that is targeted towards your law firm's unique challenges and goals so that you know your investment was well worth it. Here are some of the most important features that you should look for when deciding on an attorney CRM for your law firm.

Key automation features

Running a law firm requires all sorts of tedious administrative tasks that quickly eat up a lawyer's time. The only way to ensure that you can meet your long-term goals is by automating these often repetitive tasks with key automation features like custom forms and document automation. Because the fewer tasks you have to complete manually, the more time you have to spend on what you went to law school to do— practice law.

Easy integration processes

To get the most out of every application that your law firm uses, you want to make sure that they all seamlessly integrate with each other. Choose a CRM that has an easy integration process that syncs intuitively, ensuring that you're continuously keeping the ball rolling in your practice. Complicated integration processes that lack time saving features don't just cause you to lose time, they are downright stressful. Don't overcomplicate things that could be easy. Prioritize finding a CRM that integrates intuitively with other applications.

Custom automations

A lot of legal CRMs boast about their automations, when in reality the automations are pretty basic. The right legal CRM for your practice will do more than just make checklists. They'll allow you to make custom automations that save time and bring structure. From the minute a lead is first captured to signing a retainer agreement, you want automations that ensure your clients have the most convenient and modernized experience possible.

Easy custom form builders

Overly complex form builders are confusing and laborious. Make sure that you're not choosing a legal CRM with limited custom form builders that cost your firm precious time. Instead, look for a CRM that has an easy drag and drop features to customize your forms with ease. A legal CRM lake Lawmatics uses conditional logic appointment scheduling and more with its intuitive drag and drop editor.

Simple interfaces

Ideally, you want to avoid a CRM that has a complicated interface that's a headache to understand and navigate. You want something that's easy to adapt to with a minimal learning curve so that you don't miss a beat in your practice. Interfaces that are downright unintuitive are overly complicated. You want one that makes it easy to instantly generate documents making your life easier — not harder.

File request features

A legal CRM that has a file request builder built-in means you can find and send files quickly and securely. The right legal CRM for your practice makes it easy to locate a document and send it within seconds ensuring a streamlined and error-free workflow. Some legal CRMs require you to scroll to track down email attachments making it agonizing to find and send what you need on the fly. So, look for a CRM with the file request feature like Lawmatics that sends a simple upload link to clients allowing them to send you whatever you need immediately and directly to your database.

Pipeline management features

A pipeline management tool gives you the ability to customize each stage of the client journey and nurturing and engaging your leads, building lasting connections. A customizable workflow makes it easy to see what actions need to be taken when, by tracking everything in one single location thanks to pipeline management. Look for a CRM that lays out all the data you need in an easy-to-read format that gives you eyes on everything all at once.

2-Way SMS messaging

Not every client you come across will have the same communication preferences. The best way to deliver a positive customer experience and modernize your practice is by offering two-way SMS text messaging for law firms. That way, your clients can communicate directly with you through SMS and you can reply just as easily. All interactions should be saved within your CRM, making it possible to see both email and text conversations all in one place.Many legal CRMs don't come with this feature which requires law firms to buy an entirely different platform if they want to implement SMS messaging. Finding one that's already built in will save your firm time and money.

Email drip campaigns

There are some legal CRMs out there that offer basic email automation. However, you need one that offers a set and forget email campaign builder that attracts new leads in the background while you're focusing on what your most pressing matters. Email drip campaigns reach your prospects in a personalized style that encourages more results.With the right CRM, you can easily build repeatable processes that send out messages to leads at each stage of their client journey. It makes following up with them a streamlined process, making everyone feel prioritized every step of the way. The best part is, you don't have to do a thing — thanks to automation.

Custom reporting

Custom reporting allows your law firm to track the data you need to reach your unique goals. A CRM that lacks custom visibility makes it more difficult to reach your firm’s unique long-term goals. Some legal CRMs may boast a reporting feature, however, they are often very limited and may not follow the specific metrics you need to reach your long term targets. Ideally, you should be able to track whatever metrics you want to improve your performance and eliminate the bottlenecks holding your firm back from reaching its full potential.

Audience segmentation

When it comes to marketing, a one size fits all approach doesn't work anymore. You need to target your customers in a way that they are most likely to respond to. Audience segmentation software groups your leads into different sections based on their particular characteristics. Since the same marketing email won't work for everyone, you can create different campaigns to send out to different segmented groups, targeting your customers in a more effective style.

Goal tracking

You want a CRM for attorneys that has a goal tracking feature that identifies critical performance indicators. Closely monitoring your progress will help boost your productivity and move you closer to your long-term goals. Whether measuring your productivity on an individual or collective level, goal tracking helps you stay accountable for your law firm's productivity and efficiency.

Suited for your firm size

Ultimately, you want to ensure that the law firm CRM you choose is a match for your law firm size. There are many that are created which are best suited for larger firms and it may not be the best fit for your particular firm size. The smaller your firm is, the more features that you need your CRM to have. Since you don't have the luxury of a front desk staff to carry out your administrative tasks for you, you want your CRM to take the wheel in as many ways as possible so you can focus on your clients.

Automated scheduling

In today's consumer-driven market customers expect things to be as simple as possible. Finding the right consultation time often involves a long and drawn-out thread of emails asking each other what the best time is for everyone's schedule. Eliminating these lengthy back and forths doesn't just make your life easier, but it will thrill your clients.Look for a CRM that offers automated scheduling and allows your clients to make appointments themselves. Lawmatics legal CRM comes with built-in appointment scheduling software that takes the headache out of scheduling appointments and significantly reduces your no show rate.

An industry-specific CRM is a “must-have” for an efficient law firm

A customized automation experience created specifically for lawyers by lawyers is a must-have for your law firm. The most powerful attorney intake software, marketing automation and law firm CRM that exists, Lawmatics, handles all of the administrative tasks for you so you can focus your energy where it matters most— your clients. Why settle for a generic experience when you can have a legal CRM that is built specifically with your industry in mind?Are you ready to see how Lawmatics awesome features can help you effortlessly run your law firm? Sign up for a free product demo today!

A recent survey asked just under 100,000 customers about a recent service interaction they had to gain better insights into customer loyalty. They found that exceeding customer expectations made nearly no difference in how loyal a customer was after the experience. So, contrary to popular belief, going above and beyond for a customer doesn’t actually create loyal customers for life. In reality, it’s expensive for a business to deliver beyond their means 100% of the time considering it clearly yields no more results than meeting expectations.Yet while what you do beyond what’s expected of you may not make a huge difference, what does make a difference in customer loyalty is the amount of work you make them put in. The fact of the matter is people want to put in as little effort as possible if they're paying you for a service or product.So, the secret is, if you can simplify your clients’ lives by making things as easy as possible while still managing to meet their expectations, you'll have a loyal customer for life.

The key to customer loyalty is reducing the amount of effort your clients have to put in

The amount of loyalty your legal clients will show you directly hinges on how easy you make it to work with you. People want to feel valued and connected to their lawyers every step of the way. The last thing they want is to be treated like just another number on the list, so if you can delight them by making it easy to get a hold of you and answer their questions as quickly as possible, it may not even matter if you get the best possible results on their case. What matters most to clients is speed, efficiency, and as little effort on their end as possible.[oxygen-template id="6131"]

9 ways to give your clients a low-effort experience

1Make it easy to communicate with you

One of the most common complaints that people have about lawyers is poor communication. In a traditional law firm, it can be downright impossible to get a hold of a lawyer. Statistics show that 42% of the time law firms take an average of three or more days to get back to their clients. Needless to say, this is way too long of a delay.Put yourself in your leads’ and clients’ shoes for a minute. If you’re interested in purchasing a product or service from someone, you expect to be called back sooner than three days later, right? With so many competing law firms out there, clients are likely to forget about the law firm that didn't call them back and go with the lawyer that gets back to them as soon as possible.Nobody is interested in playing phone tag. They expect to call or email a lawyer and get a response back, it's really that simple. The only way to meet the modern consumers’ need for immediacy is to get back to them right away.Yet, as any lawyer can tell you, a lawyer’s job is extremely demanding. Between attending court dates, creating complex legal documents, and developing legal strategies for their clients, they don't always have time to step away from a paying client to pick up the phone or answer an email as quickly as people can stream a movie of their choice on Netflix.Even if you have a front desk staff, getting back to every single client right away paired with all of the other administrative work it takes to run an office is impossible. After all, lawyers are people, not robots! This is where technology steps in to do what humans can not.The highest performing law firms rely on automation to reply to leads and clients right away for them.The right law firm client intake software and CRM for lawyers delivers an immediate response so that you never have to step away from a paying client again. Automated and personalized messages are sent out based on triggers of your choice that will delight and engage from day one.Whether a potential client signs up for a newsletter or someone fills out a legal client intake form on your website, automation sends out an immediate reply. Your CRM will start tracking that lead meticulously from the very first day they contact your law firm so that your clients never have to chase you. Software tells you what steps need to be taken next ensuring that no opportunity gets missed And no clients have to sit around waiting for the lawyer to get back to them.

2Let clients check the status of their case any time

In a traditional law firm, clients must collaborate with their lawyers on their case according to their lawyers’ terms. Yet no one wants to be at the mercy of their lawyer's erratic schedule and wait around to get a simple answer back.Software like Lawmatics' built in client portal makes it possible for clients to access their case details at any moment. They simply log into a secure link where they can view everything from documents, tasks, to calendar events, and even send a message to your lawyer with any questions. Your clients will be thrilled with this low-effort, modernized self-service option that gives them direct access to your law firm.

3Don’t make them repeat information

One of the most common reasons why people hate calling customer service is because they dread being passed on to different departments and having to repeat the same issue over and over. The redundancy of having to repeat a problem sometimes upwards of three times is downright frustrating.In the legal world, it can be extremely insensitive to ask your legal clients to repeat information over and over. Some legal matters are highly emotional, and asking clients to relive their problem over and over by answering the same questions isn't fair or professional.Make it easy for your clients by ensuring that everyone on your staff is up-to-date with case details. A CRM for attorneys stores all case and contact details in one single database so that no matter who is answering the phone, they'll have the information they need and right in front of them.

4Make it easy to pay you

Nowadays the modern consumer is accustomed to arriving at checkout and being given a wide range of payment options. Whether it's PayPal, installment options, or by credit card, people are now conditioned to being able to pay however they want. So, if the modern consumer is already used to being able to pay however they want for day-to-day transactions, why would paying their lawyer be any different?A recent trends report showed that 65% of consumers prefer to pay with a credit card. So, for crying out loud make it easy for your clients and offer e-payment. First of all, most people don't have a $10,000 retainer lying around. Even if they do, it's probably tied up in investments. Besides, having to pay by cash or check is incredibly time-consuming for your clients. Asking your clients to manually fill out a check, put it in an envelope, and take it to the post office is high on the effort scale. The same goes for asking your clients to pay you face to face — especially during a worldwide pandemic. So, simplify things for your client and offer e-payment.You should also seriously consider implementing payment plans that allow your legal clients to pay by automated payments or transfers. Chances are that some of your clients will have money constraints, so they'll greatly appreciate the offer to split payments up. By making payments as easy as possible for your clients, they'll be much more likely to return for repeat business, and refer you to their friends and family.

5Make it easy to sign documents

Part of the client intake process involves a lot of document signing. In many law firms that means a client needs to print, sign and scan or fax these documents back to their lawyer, or even drop them off at the post office. With so many steps involved, it can be a real hassle for clients to find time to do. Clients are understandably irritated having to go through all these processes to get something signed. This puts lawyers in a tough position since the longer it takes to sign important documents, the longer it takes to get the case rolling.Offering an alternative and effortless way to sign legal documents can be a game-changer. Allow your clients to sign important paperwork on the go from wherever they are. Law firm client intake software like Lawmatics comes with built-in electronic signature for legal documents that makes it easy to create, sign and send your most important documents into one single place. Not only does it make your clients' lives much easier, but it makes lawyers' lives easier too!

6Make it easy to schedule an appointment

Dreaded long drawn out emails back and forths are no one's idea of a good time. When all the client wants to do is schedule a consultation, but you can't seem to agree on a time that works for both of you, you're creating a substantial amount of friction in the client journey. Consider offering a simpler way to schedule appointments by offering a self-service option.It's as simple as syncing your calendar to your legal CRM and sending a link to your clients. With direct access to your schedule, your clients can choose only the available times you want them to see that works best for their schedule thanks to automated appointment scheduling.Not only are you making the scheduling process a million times easier for your clients, but you'll significantly reduce no-shows and scheduling conflicts. In most cases, your clients are busy people too. So, make their lives easier by keeping them informed by sending automated appointment reminders.

7Don’t make them wait (for anything)

Clients want to be able to communicate with their lawyers and be able to ask what the status of their case is or request a document. Making your clients wait around to hear back from you is no good. what if you gave your clients the power to instantly collaborate with you whenever they want.Allowing your clients to access any documents, notes, or messages at any time means your clients no longer have to play a waiting game when they have questions. A client portal gives your clients direct access to your firm, providing instant client service without costly bottlenecks that make clients feel forgotten!

8Communicate their way

Not every client has the same communication style. Some people prefer the phone, while some people prefer texting. Instead of only giving your clients one way to get a hold of you, why not offer multiple channels. SMS for law firms gives your clients the power to communicate with you in the style that works best for them. Don't worry about having to scramble in multiple inboxes or through your phone to find your client's last message. Thanks to your CRM, you can see all of your client interactions in one place. from emails to text messages, it's easy to keep track of all your interactions, regardless of how the client got a hold of you.

9Make file sharing easy

Nobody wants to have to dig through email attachments to find important files. Instead, make file sharing a smooth process. The right software like Lawmatics allows you to send a link to your clients where they can log into their portal and find or send documents right away.An all-in-one centralized storage solution eliminates the need to track down files, and keeps them all in one place, making life considerably easier for your clients and you at the same time.

Take your client’s experience from high-friction to highly efficient with Lawmatics legal software

Simplifying your clients' lives as much as possible will ultimately win them over. If you can provide an effortless and streamlined error-free experience then you'll watch your customer loyalty skyrocket.These are just a few of the ways that you can deliver effortless legal services to your clients, and transform your practice so that it meets the needs of the modern consumer. The no-effort service possibilities are endless once you start getting creative with new ways to better serve your clients.Are you ready to learn more about how Lawmatics CRM for lawyers and attorney intake software can boost your legal business in ways you didn’t even know were possible? Sign up for a free demo today!

The digital world is a marketing hotspot for your law firm, so if you don't understand the value of content marketing yet, then it's time to get acquainted! More and more lawyers are starting to realize that implementing content marketing in their law firm's marketing strategy is vital. It doesn't just enable a law firm to increase brand awareness, build better relationships, and produce more leads — it dramatically boosts your revenue.In today's consumer-driven market, people have seen enough of the same old advertising tactics. It's not as easy to convince consumers with the same approach that worked once upon a time. To grab people's attention in a sea of online advertisements, it's important that you give them something valuable that catches their eye. This is where the value of content marketing comes in.Recent statistics show that content marketing generates triple the number of leads as traditional outbound marketing methods and cost over 60% less. In other words, you get better results for less money. Say what?So, follow along for the Lawmatics guide on content marketing for law firms.

What is law firm content marketing?

Unlike traditional law firm marketing like billboards and newsletters, content marketing is all about creating valuable content that attracts and retains your target audience by offering them something useful. In other words, instead of pitching your services, you attract new business organically by sharing valuable content.In today's world, people can smell slimy sales pitches a mile off. Content marketing is all about convincing people that you're the right lawyer for the job by pitching your business without actually pitching it.Content marketing uses an authentic approach that proves you're the authority in your area of practice. By presenting yourself as an expert, you'll give yourself credibility and convince a prospective client that you're the right person for their case. If you declare yourself an expert, then you're the person they'll turn to when they need legal services.

Benefits of content marketing

Increased website traffic

After spending so much time and energy on building a high-quality website for your firm, it would be a real shame if it didn't get any attention! If you're serious about getting people to your legal website and taking your search engine optimization or law firm SEO marketing to the next level, then you have to start producing quality content. The very foundation of organic Google search results is relevant content that draws people in. By generating high-quality content peppered with plenty of SEO keywords, you can start generating an audience that yields leads.The better content you manage to produce, the more that Google (or any search engine) will start to favor you. The higher your rankings are in Google search results, the more visible you will be to potential clients. In turn, every piece of content you create will add more and more keywords to your website, strengthening your Google presence. The end result is higher web traffic and more high-quality leads that become clients.

Establishes trust

One of the biggest perks of effectively executing your law firm's content marketing is establishing trust. If you can manage to create content that covers common pain points then you'll position yourself as the authority and expert for that particular query. As a law firm, one of the most important qualities you can have is someone your clients can trust. So, rather than mere self-promotion, create material that provides value for your readers. Educate them on what you're best at, and offer helpful insights with expert advice.Become an authentic resource for important and helpful information, and your potential customers will trust you that much more. The idea is to create engaging content that will encourage potential and existing clients to rely on you as a trusted source for expert knowledge.If you can manage to do that, then you'll appeal to a larger audience. A recent survey showed that a whopping 90% of consumers would choose a brand with greater authenticity when making their buying decisions. So, if you manage to make "keeping it real" a priority in your legal content marketing strategy, then you have an opportunity to strengthen your bond with readers and establish trust.

Increased brand awareness

The more that you appear on your potential client's radar, the higher the likelihood that your target audience remembers you when it comes time to hire a lawyer. So, get yourself visible on Google search results by familiarizing yourself with the most common search terms.Establishing brand awareness can be one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies in your arsenal. The more that you can drive your leads to instinctively opt for you compared to other brands the more sales that you can generate.If your law firm continues to pop up with answers to popular legal queries, the more you increase your brand awareness, and the more people will naturally gravitate towards you rather than a lawyer that they've never heard of before. People prefer what's familiar, and it's often really that simple. To help you achieve this, content marketing and marketing automation for lawyers is key.

Improved client relationships

If a potential client is looking for information online and you happen to offer the exact answer to their questions, you give them a reason to love you just a little bit more. If you can manage to provide valuable information at the exact moment they need it, you'll form a better relationship. Combine being informative with being entertaining, and interesting, and you encourage people to become more emotionally invested and form stronger bonds.When you can interact with your potential and paying clients, you'll foster a connection that will delight, entertain, and engage. There's a much better chance that people will do business with you, and perhaps even lead to repeat business if you create great content developed around what they're hoping to solve.

Money saved

Compared to one-way advertising, attorney content marketing is significantly more cost-effective. Social media platforms like Facebook can be one of your greatest resources for reaching the maximum number of people-and it's totally free.Although content creation does require some investment, the return on investment is substantial — whether you outsource to a writer or take time out of your schedule to do it yourself. Posting engaging content on websites, blogs, and social media is significantly inexpensive in contrast to traditional forms of outbound marketing.

Increased sales

Because effective content marketing for lawyers leads to increased web traffic and engagement, increased brand awareness, stronger relationships, and more leads, all these factors will consequently lead to increased sales. Law firms are starting to catch on to this fact, which is why over 60% of law firms spend most of their marketing budgets on their online legal marketing efforts. People are using the Internet to find lawyers more than ever, so if you can make yourself a go-to source on Google, then you'll see a jump in your sales in no time.So lawyers, if you aren't already using legal content marketing as a part of your strategy, then it's time to get started.

Types of law firm content marketing

Blogging

According to recent statistics, blogs are one of the top result-producing forms of media in attorney content marketing strategies. In fact, the very thing you're reading right now is a blog post. Blog posts are a straightforward way to provide valuable information for your target audience that is engaging and informative.

Ebooks

Ebooks are an incredibly worthwhile tool for increasing your contacts. For example, offering a gated e-book on a particular legal issue in exchange for an email address is a fantastic way to grow your contact list in your law firm CRM. It's important to note that Ebooks are typically longer than blogs, and their primary goal is to attract web users to your law firm website. They also make a great call to action at the bottom of your newsletter, or on the landing page of your website.

Podcasts

Starting a podcast is a cool way to engage your listeners and let them get to know you on a more personal level. The great thing about podcasts is that they're candid and can be totally improvised. Statistically, one out of three people in the United States have listened to a podcast over the last 30 days. So, if you have an interesting legal idea to share and decent recording equipment, consider making a podcast!

Social media

There are over 4.2 billion active social media users, so it's safe to say that this is a great place to be seen. Although there are several different social media platforms, some appeal to the legal industry more than others. A great place to start is Facebook.Create a page for your law firm, and engage, share, and comment. The idea of social media is a two-way conversation. The best part about sharing relevant content on social media is you can share third party content. Just make sure that your feed does more than just repost articles with no caption all the time. Share your opinion on it or provide some additional insight. You can share non-original content as long as you include your brand's voice in the caption. Have an opinion!These are just a few content marketing campaign ideas for your law firm. Feel free to do some basic market research of your own to get to know what your target audience's ideal form of content is.[oxygen-template id="6129"]

How to use content marketing for your law firm

Understand your target audience

So you're ready to get started creating content — now what? The great news is that even though you might not think of yourself as a writer, all it takes is a little bit of creativity. No one's asking you to write the next Moby Dick, all you have to do is write about what you already know — law.Before you start a 5000-word essay on legal doctrines that will make readers snooze, back up, and simplify. The reality is that most people aren't looking for long-winded responses with complex legal jargon. Get to know your target audience and what it is that they want to read. One of the most effective ways to do this is to ask your past clients.It's as simple as creating a custom survey and sending it to your contacts with questions like:

• Where do you go for your legal questions online?
• What kind of legal content would you like to see more of online?
• What have been your biggest legal issues?

Get to know what kind of content your potential clients are looking online for by getting to know your past clients better. That way, you can generate engaging and useful content based on what people actually want to see.

Strategize

The first place to start in reaching your long-term visions is by creating a strategy. Without a strategy, you risk wandering through the dark with no real end in sight. By creating a content marketing strategy, you'll significantly increase your chances of getting the kind of results that you want to see.Your content marketing strategy is there to help you set intentions and reinforce why you're doing it in the first place. Here's what your strategy should include:

Who is reading?

The first step is identifying who you're writing for. Who is your target audience, and what type of customer are they? Do they have kids? Are they married? What kind of salary do they have? If you plan on appealing to many different kinds of customers, then segment your content into groups to deliver targeted material to each different type of reader. Define each audience so that you can fine-tune your content to appeal to them as much as possible. Audience segmentation software can be a great tool for getting the right content to the right people at the right time.

What kinds of content will you produce?

There are all different sorts of content that you can produce. Do you plan on writing blogs? How about a podcast? Perhaps you'll create weekly videos on social media providing a quick legal tip. Make a list of the different content formats that you plan on creating, so you'll know exactly what's ahead of you.

How are you different?

For every Google query out there there are about five bajillion (fictitious figure based on zero actual data) other legal blogs attempting to answer the same question. Your strategy should include why your content is unique and why it's worth reading more than the competition's. Have a clear definition of why you're the trusted source that people should turn to.

What issues are you solving for your readers?

After you've picked your past clients' brains for what kind of legal content they'd like to see more of online, make a list of the legal issues that you plan to shed more light on for your audience. A thorough content strategy identifies what your ideal reader's pain points are so that you can become their go-to resource for all things law.

How often do you plan on creating and publishing?

The key to successful content marketing is consistency. Your strategy should include a content schedule that outlines how often you plan on creating and publishing your material. There are all sorts of third-party applications that make it easier to create a content marketing schedule and keep you on top of your goals.

Where will you post your content?

Including a blog on your law firm website is a great way to make Google love you and get people to your page. However, that's not the only channel you can post content to. From LinkedIn to Twitter to YouTube, get to know all of the different channels and decide which ones you plan on focusing on.

Measure your results and stay persistent

Content marketing is an undeniably fantastic way to generate more leads for your law firm and establish yourself as an industry leader. However, to ensure that your marketing efforts are worth your time and resources, it's critical that you measure and evaluate your results. A data-driven approach to your content marketing efforts is the best way to perfect your strategy and yield the most results.By using legal reporting software, you can track your results and make improvements where needed.Are you ready to get an advantage over your competition and scale your law firm? Sign up for a free product demo today to see how Lawmatics can help!