Law Firm Content Marketing Trends to Follow in 2023

The new year is finally upon us. Hopefully, you’ve been following our content marketing blog and have taken away several great tips for starting 2023 off on the right foot. The new year is also a great time to review past performance, create and refine strategies, and look for new ideas that can be applied within your firm. We’ve asked our experts to consider a list of content marketing trends for law firms in 2023. Here are a few thoughts on what the next year has in store for you.

Content Marketing Trends 

1. Trust

If you want people to trust your law firm, it’s imperative to consistently share credible content with your audience. Concerns over privacy, security, and credibility have made individuals less inclined to trust companies and firms they do business with. It’s key that clients and prospects feel you have the right answers and are the best solution. Most people make decisions based on feelings of trust, and that’s especially true of legal consumers. Transparency in your marketing and business dealings is of utmost importance as you strategize for this year.

2. Align Your Law Firm with Credible, Influential Voices

It’s true that influencer marketing doesn’t look the same in the legal space as it does in other industries. However, there are still many leading lawyers creating content who might be happy to write a guest blog for your site or feature one of yours on their own. By engaging in influencer marketing, your law firm can use relationships with industry experts to leverage their own influence and be heard by a new audience. In many cases. it’s in the best interest of both law firms and compelling influencers to collaborate on content or thought leadership. Once you identify influencers to connect with, you can invite them to write a guest post for your blog, be the key speaker in their upcoming podcast, or have an expert opinion in their webinar. The opportunities are endless.

3. Continued Rise of Video

The future of content marketing is video. Video marketing can boost your search and SEO rankings, improve engagement with your audience, and help influence clients to choose your firm. Read our blog article, Law Firm Video Marketing Techniques, to learn the techniques that will help set your firm’s approach apart from the competition.

Nowadays, short-form video in particular is on the rise thanks to TikTok and Instagram Reels. Keep videos in your content short, interesting, and biteable.

4. Podcasts

It’s predicted that there will be 504.9 million podcast listeners by the end of 2024.

That means this platform is packed with unreached potential. The beauty of podcasts is that instead of taking the time to sit down and read something, consumers can listen to information basically whenever and wherever they are, needing only a smartphone or device to do so. Firms can even consider creating multiple shows targeting audiences specific to each of their practice areas.

For a more in-depth look at how to start a podcast or improve your current show, check out this free eBook: The Law Firm Guide to Podcasting eBook.

5. Personalization

You’ve heard many times that content is king. What’s even better? Personalized content. The content of the future takes personalization a step further through collaboration with influencers. By understanding their audience, marketers can tailor content to unique needs when leveraging digital and social influences that targets are likely to react to. Focusing on client-centric information and story-telling continues to make compelling content. 

6. Omnichannel

Otherwise known as integrated marketing or multichannel marketing, an omnichannel strategy focuses on creating a consistent (and quality) experience across every channel your clients and prospects favor. Consistency and integration are the keys to delivering content when and where your audience is most likely to see it. 

7. Data-informed Content

Modern content marketing is truly data-driven. But while there are more tools available than ever to support marketers in making data-driven decisions, many aren’t leveraging them because of lack of time or understanding. Christopher Penn, Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist at Trust Insights, suggests a six “C” rule framework: make sure data is clean, complete, comprehensive, chosen, credible, and calculable. In 2023, level up through tools and methods for dialing in on the data that’s important to your marketing processes. Data should inform every content marketing decision you make. Track important metrics like sessions per page, clicks, time spent on page, # of pages viewed in a session, etc.

8. Visually Rich Content Focused on Storytelling

In 2023, it’s a good practice to connect with your audience in an emotional and intellectual capacity. Providing information is table stakes – but invoking an emotion sets you apart. Visual platforms are becoming the place where online users spend the most time. When creating thought leadership such as case studies or white papers, make sure to intersperse them with interesting visuals. Select attention-grabbing graphics for the front of the piece, to show readers a preview of what they’ll learn if they dive in. 

If you have a lot of information you’d like to share, consider creating an infographic – they make ideal visuals for blogs, eBooks, etc.

9. Email Marketing is Not Dead

With more than 4 billion daily email users and 77% of marketers reporting an increase in email engagement in the past year, it’s time to take full advantage of your firm’s email marketing strategy. Make sure you send an email at least once a week. Launching a newsletter or sharing your latest content creations (blogs, ebooks, videos, etc.) are great ways to boost your email marketing efforts.

10. User Experience is Essential

The user experience has always been important. But with the average internet user much savvier than ever before, most will quickly click away if your site isn’t:

• Mobile friendly
• High speed
• Has a pleasing and cohesive design
• Using high-quality and interesting images

11. Do Your Research

With the spread of misinformation on everyone’s mind, it’s all too easy to lose your credibility and trust in a matter of seconds by not providing accurate information. To ensure all your content is correct, back up your claims with reputable sources and have more than one trusted and knowledgeable individual read your content before publishing.

12. Repurposed Content

Audiences have different desires and unique preferences for consuming content. In 2023, consider repurposing older content into new formats or updating it with new information. It’s always a good idea to keep content fresh, as today’s users are far more capable of sniffing out content that hasn’t been updated in a long time.

13. AI and Automation

There are a number of tools content creators can use to ramp up their process, such as Grammarly, or Google Doc’s autocomplete feature. With even more tools likely on the horizon, law firms should be on the lookout for new opportunities to incorporate AI and automation to boost their content marketing ROI.

14. Humanization

Law firms have always struggled with conveying their human side to their audience. But with users increasingly turned off by overly promotional content that reads like advertising, remaining authentic and human is of the utmost importance in 2023.  That means firms need to provide audiences with content that is informative and personable. Look for ways to humanize the tone of your writing. You want your content read as though you’re filling in a friend on some new legal development, rather than an attempt to land a new client.

15. A Value-Driven Approach

Similar to what we wrote on humanization, users really don’t want to read content that is akin to advertising your services. As thought leadership continues to take off, users are looking to engage with content that is educational and provides some type of value. Focus on addressing your audience’s interests and desires and look to improve their experience in some way. 

Takeaway

As you can see, many of the content marketing trends for law firms in 2023 center around client-focused communications and offering an interactive, integrated approach to promoting your firm. Right now is a great time to review your firm’s annual marketing plans and make sure your tactics are aligned with the strategies that can really move the needle for your firm.

Contact us today to discover how we can help you develop and execute a cohesive content marketing strategy that brings in new business for your law firm.