For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 3 - 37

according to an April 2023 survey of 100 U.S. and UK general
counsel conducted by content marketing software company
Passle, clients are not only actively looking for good content,
but they are also basing their hiring decisions on it. You can do
a deeper dive into and download a copy of the survey here on
the Passle website. The report is a great example of branded
content-valuable information published by Passle to highlight
their expertise in content marketing technology for professional
services. It's also a " lead generation piece " -you will have to enter
your contact information to download the full report.
In the meantime, here are some top-line takeaways:
*
Subject matter expertise is a critical component
in legal services hiring. The majority (61%) of
survey respondents preferred to hire lawyers with
demonstrated subject matter expertise, and nearly
half (48%) stated that they would not work at all
with a firm that did not demonstrate the relevant
expertise.
*
Clients are looking for lawyers and firms to actively
demonstrate their expertise through their content.
They spend significant time each week looking for
and consuming content relevant to their problems
and concerns and they look for legal content that
not only keeps them informed about news and
developments, but that goes beyond regurgitation
of basic information to offer expert analysis and
insight.
Demonstrating subject matter expertise is very important for
individual lawyers, as well as for firms. As Connor Kinnea, Chief
Marketing Officer of Passle, recently told The American Lawyer:
" 'One of the really fascinating things was that 56% [of GCs]
said they are more likely to ask for a lawyer by name if they had
previously consumed that lawyer's content.' "
We've covered the " why " of content marketing. But the " how "
is where the challenge lies, especially in today's digitally driven,
competitive and cluttered marketplace. How can you use content
to cut through the noise and distinguish yourself from your
competitors?
Here are some tips and some marketing jargon that we'll
demystify as we go along.
1. Build Your Content on Pillars
The term " content pillars " is just a fancy way of describing the
broad areas on which you will focus your content.
While I didn't coin the term, I do like the visual of the pillars
" holding up " your marketing strategy. Other terms include
buckets, baskets, clusters, or hubs. The concept is the same:
consistently creating content based on your pillars will help clients
and prospects see you as an authority and trusted resource in these
areas.
To be manageable, pick four to six core subjects that align
with your areas of practice or industry focus. To support your
business development goals, your pillars should intersect with the
information your target clients and referral sources are looking for.
Think about the questions your clients are asking or the challenges
they are facing and focus your content there.
Remember that these are broad subject areas; each one can
comprise related topics and subtopics and can encompass a variety
of content types and formats.
2. Mix up Your Content
Your content pillars help answer the question: What should my
content cover? Another question to think about is: What kind of
content do I want to publish?
One way to think about your content is to divide it into one
of two basic substantive categories: " evergreen " and " not
evergreen. " Evergreen content remains relevant to your audience
over time, with little or no need for updating; not-evergreen
content has a " best if consumed by " date, after which the content
can become stale or potentially inaccurate. Some not-evergreen
pieces can be revived-made newly relevant-with updates (a
great way to repurpose content rather than starting from scratch).
A lot of lawyers focus almost exclusively on " breaking news "
content. But this type of time-sensitive (and usually not-evergreen)
content comes with disadvantages. First, you must wait for
something to happen to have something to report. Second,
breaking news can have a very short shelf life, especially with fast
developing situations (the COVID-19 pandemic, for example).
Another problem with focusing on breaking news content is
that you are often one of many (many) competitors in the " first to
the inbox " race, which can turn into a race to the bottom in terms
of quality. As the Passle survey highlights, clients are looking for
more than just reporting of information; they want the benefit of
your insights and analysis.
Time-sensitive content can be effective for your marketing and
business development, as long as it's not a repetition of the same
facts that everyone else is reporting. Consider using:
*
Deadline- or date-driven content.
Example: This law-which we reported on last
year-goes into effect next month, and here's
what you should be doing to get ready for it.
*
Event-related or adjacent content.
Example: Content linked to or scheduled
to coincide with a firm,
association event.
industry or legal
Other types of more evergreen content to add to your content
mix include:
* Deeper dives into legal or industry trends and
developments.
Example: This DOJ investigation is part of a
larger trend.
*
*
Look-backs, roll-ups or year-in-review pieces.
Example: Here are the most important whitecollar
cases from the past year.
Fill-in-the-blanks or " in case you missed it " (ICYMI)
content.
Vol. 8, Issue 3 l For The Defense 37
https://blog.passle.net/post/102id46/how-general-counsel-engage-with-thought-leadership-passles-gc-survey-2023 https://blog.passle.net/post/102id46/how-general-counsel-engage-with-thought-leadership-passles-gc-survey-2023
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 3

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