Content Marketing, Part 3: Distribution and Analysis; Critical Components of Effective Content Marketing Strategy
By Leslie Richards and Jennifer Simpson Carr
In today’s competitive markets, establishing a strong online presence is crucial for any law firm or professional services business seeking to attract clients and position themselves as thought leaders in their respective fields. While creating great content is imperative, it is equally important to promote it effectively. In this blog post, we will explore key distribution channels and provide insights and examples to help your content marketing deliver positive ROI.
Consider a wide range of distribution channels
Consider this guideline from some of the leading digital marketing companies: You should spend as much time promoting your content as you have spent creating it.
Many marketers get so engaged in content production that by the time it comes to promotion they are out of time and energy. This is a mistake. We encourage our clients to employ the C.O.P.E.S. method which stands for Create Once, Publish Enthusiastically & Strategically. Our approach is illustrated in this graphic:
By re-purposing content for different channels, you can streamline content creation efforts.
- Have you recently recorded a webinar or a podcast episode? Services like Rev.com provide audio-to-text transcription services at reasonable rates.
- Are you planning to speak to an industry group or present at a conference? Consider capturing a video recording of the presentation which can later be used to create short 20-30 second video clips for distribution on social media.
- Have you been quoted or published in a prestigious publication? Make sure to write up a one or two-sentence summary of your article and post it to your website with a link back to the original article.
Here are a few of our go-to methods and platforms for content distribution:
Utilize LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a powerful platform for professionals, making it an ideal channel for promoting your law firm’s content. Share your blog posts, articles, and other relevant content on your personal and company LinkedIn profiles. Engage with your connections by commenting on industry-related discussions and joining relevant groups to expand your reach. Note that personal pages get significantly more engagement than company pages so encourage team members to post to their personal pages about professional activities.
Leverage Email Marketing
Your existing client base and contacts are valuable assets for content promotion. If you haven’t already, build an email list and send regular newsletters or updates that include links to your latest content. Personalize your emails and segment your audience to ensure relevant content reaches the right recipients. Remember that the ideal length for email newsletters is about 200 words or approximately 20 lines of text according to Constant Contact. This is the format that results in the highest email click-through rate for most industries. You are better off mailing shorter emails more frequently, than one long email less frequently. If you are worried about fatiguing your contact list, just keep an eye on your unsubscribe rate. If it is under 5% you are fine.
Collaborate with Colleagues
Encourage your colleagues to promote your content within their networks. Cross-promotion can significantly amplify your reach and introduce your content to new audiences. Consider establishing an internal sharing culture where team members regularly support and promote each other’s content. If you do, remember that the sooner colleagues comment on or share your posts, the more impact they will have on increasing the likelihood of your posts getting preference in the algorithm.
Customize
Last, while we encourage re-purposing to streamline content creation, do make sure that you customize content based on the platform. A LinkedIn post needs a slightly different tone of voice than a Facebook post. A few quick edits should help your content perform effectively in each environment.
Employ a Public Relations Strategy
A well-executed PR strategy can bolster your law firm’s credibility, expand your reach, and attract media attention. Here’s how you can incorporate PR into your content marketing efforts:
Identify Relevant Publications: Research and identify publications that resonate with your target audience. These may include legal industry journals, business magazines, or niche publications that cover specific legal topics. Submit guest articles or opinion pieces to these publications to showcase your expertise and gain exposure.
Cultivate Relationships with Journalists: Build relationships with journalists who cover legal topics relevant to your firm’s areas of expertise. Engage with them on social media platforms like Twitter, share their articles, and provide insightful comments. By establishing rapport, you increase the chances of being considered as a resource or even being quoted in their future articles. Utilize journalist databases such as MuckRack, and platforms such as HARO and Qwoted where journalists post their needs for expert sources.
Be a Useful Resource
Understand the type of content journalists typically write about and provide them with valuable insights, data, or expert opinions. By positioning yourself as a reliable source, journalists are more likely to reach out to you for quotes or interviews, further enhancing your thought leadership and media presence. Remember that reporters are usually working under a deadline. Respond as promptly as possible if you want to be referenced in an article.
Content Analysis: Measuring and Optimizing Your Efforts
To maximize the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy, it’s essential to regularly analyze your content’s performance. By measuring specific metrics and utilizing the right tools, you can gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and can then make data-driven decisions about topic selection and distribution channels. Let’s explore what to measure and the tools you can use for content analysis.
Key Metrics to Measure:
- Website Traffic: Tools like Google Analytics provide detailed information about your website visitors, including the number of sessions, unique visitors, and page views. Monitor the traffic to your blog posts, articles, or landing pages to identify the most popular and engaging content.
- Time on Page: This metric indicates how long visitors spend on a particular page. It helps determine whether your content is holding the attention of your audience or if they are leaving quickly. Analyze the time on page to identify areas for improvement in terms of content length, formatting, or engagement strategies.
- Bounce Rate: Bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may indicate that your content is not meeting their expectations or lacks relevance. Analyze bounce rates to identify potential issues and optimize your content to encourage further exploration of your website.
- Social Media Engagement: Monitor the engagement metrics on social media platforms where you promote your content. This includes likes, comments, shares, and clicks. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter provide built-in analytics tools to track the performance of your posts and identify content that resonates with your audience.
- Conversion Rates: Determine the conversion goals that align with your law firm’s objectives, such as newsletter sign-ups, contact form submissions, or consultation requests. Analyze the conversion rates to assess the effectiveness of your content in driving desired actions and optimize accordingly.
Tools for Content Analysis:
Once you know what you want to measure, you will want to select the right tools to help you gather data. Here are few to consider:
Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a comprehensive web analytics tool that provides in-depth insights into your website’s performance. It tracks website traffic, user behavior, conversion rates, and other key metrics. Google Search Console is another tool that provides valuable insights into how people discover your website. Google will be sunsetting it’s current Analytics interface this summer and switching to GA4. For an overview of Google suite of tools click here (https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/).
Social Media Analytics: Each social media platform has its analytics tools to track engagement and performance. Facebook Insights, LinkedIn Analytics, and Twitter Analytics offer valuable data on post reach, engagement rates, and audience demographics. Use these insights to refine your content strategy on each platform.
Heatmap Tools: Heatmap tools, such as Hotjar or Crazy Egg, provide visual representations of user behavior on your website. These tools track where users click, scroll, and spend the most time. Heatmaps help identify areas of interest, engagement, or potential friction points, allowing you to optimize your content layout and design for a better user experience.
Email Marketing Analytics: If you employ email marketing to distribute your content, utilize email service provider analytics, such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact. These tools provide data on open rates, click-through rates, and subscriber activity. Analyze these metrics to understand the effectiveness of your email campaigns and identify content that generates the most engagement.
Remember, content analysis should be an ongoing process. Regularly review your metrics, experiment with different strategies, and make data-driven decisions to continuously improve the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts.
Measuring and analyzing the performance of your content is essential for optimizing your law firm’s content marketing strategy. By leveraging key metrics, you can refine your content strategy, create more impactful content, and achieve greater success in attracting and retaining clients in the digital landscape.
For more information on content creation, see our 3-part series:
Content Marketing, Part 1: Have You Audited Your Law Firm’s Content Lately? A Step-by-Step Guide
Content Marketing, Part 2: Are You Creating Valuable Content? A Checklist for Law Firms
