Why a Podcast is a Top Marketing Strategy for Law Firms

Laura Symes – Although they have been popular before, the pandemic and lockdown days have further boosted the popularity of podcasts to achieve top search engine rankings. Businesses and law firms are using this trend because podcasts are great for marketing and for reaching a target audience and attracting new clients.

But how could launching a podcast benefit law firms? Why is this a great law firm marketing strategy that can help you achieve your marketing goals?

Today, legal marketing goes far beyond blog posts and content creation. Yet many law firms lack a strategic plan to market their legal services.

According to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Websites and Marketing Report 2021, small law firms are most deficient in this area, with the survey showing that 84% of firms with more than 100 lawyers had a marketing budget, but the numbers then dropped significantly: 55 percent of firms with 10 to 49 lawyers and 35 percent for those with 2 to 0 lawyers.

This article explains how to set up podcasts and identifies other law firm marketing strategies, but focuses on podcasts and their marketing power.

Starting a podcast can help you establish yourself as an authority, public intellectual, and influencer and grow your law practice or legal business.

The world of legal marketing

We know there are a number of marketing tactics you can use that should be part of a good legal marketing plan once you have established a legal marketing budget and strategy, focused on your unique nature. , your service offering, your core values, your pricing options and the Like.

There are also several social media platforms that can be deployed to facilitate marketing, although small businesses should ideally focus on a small number of law firm marketing channels and strategies that they can leverage to their marketing campaign.

The different options available include –

• a good responsive site – the ABA survey mentioned (above) showed that while 94% of respondents have a website, only 69% said it was mobile-friendly, a key attribute for building brand awareness and responses from potential customers.
• content marketing – a building block for great organic SEO reach, this should involve projecting the law firm’s goals and values ​​with key information for potential clients. For a helpful guide to defining your writing for clarity and consistency, check out this guide from MailChimp.
• Google Ads – these can provide “instant success”, but require some attention to how they are set up and used and are also something small businesses can avoid initially, focusing on organic SEO issues instead and social media marketing.
• Local SEO – a key ingredient of good online SEO, which must include careful selection of primary and secondary categories, complete company information and the use of relevant keywords.
• PPC Ads
• Social media posts – Social media strategies are a key part of successful marketing, which is another great reason to use podcasts to build social media presence. Two of the most popular social media platforms for law firms are LinkedIn and Twitter. Small businesses should focus on these for necessary social proof and overall social media marketing efforts.
• Press Releases – Law firm business development is boosted by the strategic use of press releases, which can achieve significant online presence and garner good leads, while boosting your law firm’s brand image.
• Legal directories – often overlooked, but a key tool that remains relevant to use for building authority and presence, as well as helping with overall SEO.
• . . even the Yellow Pages and their digital marketing equivalents.

But podcasts are a key, simple and easy marketing tool that lawyers can use to publish quality content, while increasing their “reach” through the various marketing channels.

They should be a key part of any successful law firm marketing plan and here’s why.

1. The number of podcasts has increased

Over the past five years, there has been a growing interest in podcasts. The pandemic has made that figure even higher over the past year. Podcasts have become more famous because people spend a lot of time at home watching content on their desktops and laptops.

More people participate in podcasts, which means more people listen. This can allow your business to be seen and to build relationships with customers and discuss legal matters.

Additionally, the ease of access to podcasts is a factor in their growing popularity. They can be viewed on various platforms and enjoyed while exercising, commuting to work or engaging in any activity.

According to a survey, 6 in 10 adults over the age of 12 will have subscribed to nothing less than a podcast in 2021. Additionally, 32% of Americans listen to podcasts regularly.

2. Engages users and personalizes the experience

Maintaining engagement is one of the most crucial aspects of building a connection with your audience. It can be difficult for a legal business to generate interaction because your target market typically avoids using legal representation unless they urgently need it.

With podcasting, you can be more open with your listeners and exhibit your style in a more relaxed way. It can show more of who you are than just blogging, providing video content, or updating your law firm’s website.

Your podcast allows you to talk about topics important to you and your business with various guests or even regular contributors. Moreover, it provides your audience with more personal information about your business and has a very effective ability to achieve a higher conversion rate for your subscribers.

3. Cost effective

The cost of launching a podcast may not be as high as expected. You only have a few resources and tools, such as:

• A good microphone
• Helmet (separate)
• sound editing software
• Software for hosting podcasts

These tools range from $100 to $200 depending on your needs. Podcast hosting sites cost around $20 per month if you edit the output yourself.

A podcast can be easily and quickly hosted on an iPhone or smartphone if you want to invest even less money and get started right away.

4. Increase your authority and your network

You can target people you wouldn’t typically connect with in your day-to-day practice by expanding the reach of your network with a podcast. This may involve connecting with current and potential clients and other attorneys.

You can establish your image and grow your agency in your core areas of practice faster with this larger audience. This is especially true if you focus on a specialized area of ​​practice that gets a lot of attention, such as immigration law or human rights.

You can establish yourself as an authority by offering insightful commentary on a topic you’re passionate about, much like appearing on television or writing a book. This knowledge can increase referrals from other attorneys, improve your position with potential clients, and create opportunities for other forms of marketing, such as speaking at seminars or making headlines.

Tips for starting your legal podcast

Now that you now know why you should start a podcast for yourself or your law firm, here are some tips to get you started:

• Choose your topics. First you need to choose the subject of your podcast. Avoid being too general if you intend to use this to market your profession.
• Develop a content plan. Planning your content is necessary after choosing your topics. You can answer frequently asked questions about your areas of expertise.
• Interview special guests. Guest interviews are an important part of the content of most podcasts. This makes it much easier to create new content and is essential for keeping your podcast ideas up to date.
• Get the proper tools. You can record a podcast using your tools, like your smartphone or laptop. But they say, just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. Buy a good microphone.
• Consider broadcast. You need to choose a podcast server and delivery strategy for your podcast. Podcast hosting is about storing your episodes and making your podcasts available for streaming to your listeners on mediums like Spotify.

If you decide to have your own legal podcast, be sure to check out the LawPods.com legal podcast production platform to start your podcast journey. Their team of experienced producers, editors and sound engineers focus only on legal podcasts and will create a professional, polished and on-brand podcast.

Conclusion

The popularity of audio platforms like Clubhouse, Podcasts and Twitter spaces continues to grow. This implies that you already have potential customers who enjoy audio content.

The same goes for community members and other lawyers who listen to podcasts. Every day more people are signing up.

Having a podcast for your law firm will improve your chances of communicating with them and is a quick, enjoyable, and effective marketing strategy for law firms. Your reputation will improve, you will gain more respect among your peers as a lawyer, and eventually your practice will expand.

Author

Laura Symes writes about legal marketing, including social media marketing, web marketing for lawyers, and related issues. She has previously written for LawFuel and other publications on legal marketing issues and legal marketing strategies best suited for law firms.