Adopting AI to Transform Your Law Firm

Find out how AI is reshaping law and the best legal AI tools to help you get started.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting almost every industry, including law. This is a broad term, but it’s the science of self-learning software. It takes over tasks traditionally done by humans. For example, here we used an AI tool to write a blog post about AI. (Ironic, isn’t it?)

There’s already a profound transformation happening. Research shows both clients and professionals want to move forward with automation.

1. 62% of consumers are willing to submit data to AI if it gives them a better experience 
2. 61% of professionals claim it boosts productivity 

The hype around AI is because of its subsets of machine learning and deep learning – a computing model inspired by the structure of our brains!    

So, what does AI mean for law firms?

Incoming associates and clients are thinking digital-first. That means:

1. Your customers don’t want to be numbered in a system. They’re looking for a unique personalized service. 
2. You can work smarter by relying on automation tools (more on this in the following sections).

How Law Firms Leverage AI

More law firms will invest in AI to save time, improve organization, and reduce the tedious process that is legal research. 

Law firms use AI for:

1. Mergers and acquisitions – Investing in all-in-one platforms that provide reports, documents, payments, etc. 
2. Legal procedures – Combining search terms to group and examine papers, locating ‘the needle in the haystack.’ 
3. Contract reorganizing – Locating, examining, and grouping contracts
4. Legal document analysis – E.g., reviewing documents for discoverability

The 2 Main Challenges Behind AI for Law Firms

It can’t go without saying AI is a mirror to humanity, revealing some flaws. Because AI tends to “think” the way it’s been taught, some studies show there are some biased outputs related to race, biological sex, nationality, and age.

We’ll start by saying: AI can help facilitate processes but it should not take on the entire human experience, especially human judgment. Some institutes like AI Now are pushing for regulations, especially around sensitive areas like criminal justice and healthcare. 

The Best Legal AI Tools To Grow Your Firm In 2023:

1. Review Contracts Faster With Lawgeex 

 Lawgeex is a contract review automation tool. According to its statistics, firms save 80% of the time previously required when reviewing and approving contracts. 

In a nutshell, their AI is pre-trained and understands over 1500 legal concepts, and uses that to analyze the contextual meaning behind contracts. See it in action:

 

2. Improve the Discovery Process With CS Disco Ediscovery 

Lawyers going through the discovery process can leverage AI tools like CS Disco Ediscovery.

 

Their studies show firms can reduce by 50% reduction their document population size. With it, you can: 

• Save time 
• Locate evidence faster
• Perform effective early case assessment
• Easily move documents between spaces
• Streamline production (A million-page production can run in as few as 25 minutes.)

 

3. Expedite the Legal Research Process with Westlaw Edge  

Westlaw Edge is an AI-powered legal research tool, from document analysis to overruling risks, litigation analytics, etc. You can check out the different price tiers and features here.

4. Predict Legal Outcomes With Lex Machina 

Lex Machina, a legal analytics tool, solves issues related to unstructured and complex legal datasets, specifically for the litigation space. 

Their most appealing benefit is predicting legal outcomes. Here’s one example: 

• If you need to persuade a judge to grant a transfer of venue, you can check on the trends for all of their transfer orders in prior cases.

They’ve also launched Appellate Analytics, legal analytics for federal courts of appeals. It provides an end-to-end overview of the litigation status (from trial through appeal), thus allowing professionals to evaluate outcomes better. Here’s a sample overview:

5. Find On-Point Cases and Briefs with CARA

According to their study, attorneys using CARA, Case Analysis Research Assistant, save around 210 hours of research time.

It can help you: 

• Find on-point cases in your jurisdiction 
• Find briefs related to the brief you’re researching
• Check on drafts for missing texts
• Find cases opposing counsel missed, etc.

CARA searches legal papers, statutory provisions, viewpoints, and editorials using a proprietary algorithm, allowing lawyers to investigate more proficiently without worrying about missing ideal cases. Like this:  

6. Leveraging OpenAI’s Most Popular Offering: ChatGDT 

One of the biggest legal marketing trends in 2023 is ChatGDT, a trained model powered by OpenAI. It is by far the best AI chatbot ever created. It can write cover letters, blogs, and perform various natural language tasks. You name it, you have it!

Check out this viral Tweet showing the tool’s capabilities:  

Takeaway 

It is an exciting time for law firms looking to experiment and scale up. In the following months and years, we’ll see more firms pushing tech-enabled scalability with the help of AI tools and digital experts. 

We hope this serves as a starting point. But what’s next? If you’d like to look into digital assets, discover new growth strategies, and ask more questions, let’s have a chat.

 

 

 

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Legal Marketing Trends & Predictions 2023

Don’t press pause on your business strategies in 2023 Find your Legal Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2023 here. (Trust us, you’ll want this – it includes tips and FREE strategies!) 

Despite the long-term consequences of the pandemic, disruptions brought on by political tensions, and economic uncertainty, there’s no doubt that 2023 will be a boom year for digital marketing experimentation and evolution, and we’d love to help you prepare.

You’ll find the top legal marketing trends in the guideline, but here’s a sneak peek:

1. Law firms must take a number of measures to:

• Increase efficiency
• Maximize profits 
• Nurture and protect their client-centered service(s) 

 

1. Law firms will seek sustainable solutions for issues related to: 

• Achieving growth in an unstable macro environment 

• Competing for top talent
• Developing hybrid work models 
• Rising costs due to inflationary pressure

 

1. More law firms will rely on sustainable solutions like: 

• Investing in highly skilled staff 
• Outsourcing with the help of a law firm marketing agency 
• Maximizing digital tech and marketing investments 
• Shifting from opportunistic to strategic growth thinking 

 

Let’s move forward together.

Show Me the 2023 Legal Marketing Trends & Predictions  

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The Best Ways for Law Firms to Generate More Business

The business of law is slowly but surely shifting from a labor-intensive to a tech-driven workforce…and this is an excellent thing for law firms! Discover the best ways to secure your lead pipeline and generate more business here.

The smartest firms are trying to find ways to remain recession resistant. A new study by law.com also saw the country’s top firms gearing up for a different kind of tech-driven work with the help of M&A involving technologies like blockchain and Web 3.0. 

By now, you may be asking yourself, ‘what does that even mean?’ We’ve covered everything law firms need to know about Web 3.0 here. But in short, this means more firms are beginning to invest in technology that will facilitate their entire business process, one of those processes being the lead generation strategy. 

The lead generation strategy for law firms is to attract possible clients (prospects). Typically, this involves a mix of various sources like SEO, PPC, social media marketing, etc., driving traffic and pushing that traffic down your sales funnel.

Before diving into the lead generation strategy, let’s quickly look at the concept behind leads.

Securing the Leads = Securing the Sales Pipeline 

Leads are those found in the middle of your sales funnel:

Getting a stranger to shift into a lead takes time and effort, but when done right, it’s rewarding! Since leads are at a critical stage of your sales funnel, you want to nurture them to convert them to customers and promoters.

You can expect 2 types of leads:

1. Qualified leads – a prospect that matches your ideal client profile (needs, budget, legal services, etc.)
2. Unqualified leads – a prospect that does not match your ideal client profile.

It’s worth noting that attracting both types of leads is normal. (As you grow, you’ll learn which strategies work to attract qualified leads, and you’ll be able to replicate that.)

When done right, you can expect the following:   

Now that you’ve wrapped your head around this concept, let’s dive into the strategy..

The Best Lead Generation Strategies for Law Firms

The following are 5 solutions that law firms of all sizes and practice areas can use: 

1. Optimize your web page layouts for conversion 

Your website is like your home, and you want cases coming in through your doors, which is why the first thing is to have a website optimized to convert leads.

We could list hundreds of ways you can optimize your pages, but here are some ideas:

• Use simple language, avoid legalese and legal jargon 
• Keep the copy visually appealing by adding bullets….like this!
• Add a mix of images and videos 
• Add call-to-actions 
• Above all, provide value 

If you want, you can go deeper and improve the page speed. This is critical and often overlooked by many, but the first five seconds of page-load time has the highest impact on conversion rates! Here’s a free manual that’ll help out:

Download My Page Speed Strategy

2. Leverage the power behind CTAs

CTAs, call-to-actions, prompt user action, and while this seems like a small step, it can make the most significant difference in your marketing strategy: from campaigns, emails, blogs, to videos and contact forms. 

Once a user lands on a specific page, you want them to take action, e.g., download, call, book, schedule, etc. To help you get started, here are some of the best power words:

• Free
• Download
• You
• Easy 
• Best 
• Now 
• Exclusive 
• Proven 
• Expert / Insider

3. Set up an Agile Digital Advertising Strategy

Besides optimizing your website, one of the quickest ways to boost lead generation is through the Agile Digital Advertising approach at Consultwebs. It has proven to be quite successful for firms because it involves:

1. Setting up multiple campaigns on multiple ad platforms.
2. Using your advertising money in the smartest way by shifting strategies and funds where trends and data suggest your firm gets the best results.

While no two firms are alike, you can get an instant ticket to the top of Google through Google Ads and LSAs, local services ads. Like this:

Taking a closer look at the case of the personal injury and bankruptcy firm Amourgis & Associates shows how the combined efforts of SEO and LSAs boost their bottom line. 

• The firm’s cost per lead decreases over time 
• The firm’s number of leads increases over time 

Read the Rest of the Case Here 

4. Update Ads With the Best Keyword Strategy 

With Google Ads, you’ll instantly place your firm in front of prospects searching for solutions. You can add a keyword intention to your ad texts to boost your chances of being found and chosen.

Keyword intention uses keywords in your ads to connect with people searching for what you offer. 

Let’s say you’re a personal injury firm advertising accidents and injuries. You could add a keyword insertion code like {KeyWord: Accidents}, and Google will then replace this code with one of your other keywords in the ad group, for example: 

• Slip and fall accident 
• Car Accident 
• Construction accident 

5. Offer a FREE Consultation 

There’s a reason the word free is so powerful – people love free stuff!

The reality is that most of your website traffic won’t convert on their first visit, but with consistent marketing, they’ll keep you on top of mind when and if the time comes. 

Free consultations can add excellent value upfront. Here’s an example from the firm Amourgis & Associates:

Takeaway 

The most profitable and recession-resistant law firms are securing the lead pipeline. But, to attract and nurture leads, you’ll need to upgrade your monthly lead generation strategy consistently. 

If you’d like to leave all of this in the hands of experts or want to find out more – schedule a 1-1, and we’ll answer all your questions. 

 

 

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Last-Minute Holiday Marketing Ideas for Law Firms

In need of last-minute creative marketing ideas? We’ll show you the top 6 ways your law firm can give back this holiday season.

It seems like the holidays sneak up on us every year and leave us feeling stressed and behind schedule. At such a busy time of year, a holiday marketing strategy for your law firm may not have crossed your mind. But don’t despair, there is still time to plan a promotion while spreading some holiday cheer. 

So, why now? 

People who are in the holiday spirit are more likely to invest their time and money, which paves the way for::

• Increased traffic to your website 
• Additional interactions/followers 
• Brand exposure 
• Relationship building

 

Whether you’re looking to build on relationships, increase followers, or all of the above, we encourage you to set realistic goals, such as increasing the number of Instagram likes by 10+ interactions, nurturing 1-2 referral relationships, etc.

With the goals in mind you can: 

• Determine what you need to do to get started 
• Achieve the expectations you have for your campaign
• Help measure your success 

With that said, let’s dive in.

The Top 6 Law Firm Holiday Marketing and Branding Ideas 

1. Run a Contest

During this time of year, people actively purchase gifts for loved ones, friends, daycare providers, teachers, colleagues, and more. Giving people the opportunity to win something they could use as a gift will often inspire them to take time out of their day to enter a contest, leading additional traffic to your website or social accounts and increasing followers.

Contest prizes can range in a variety of types and values, such as: 

• Scholarship
• Gift card  
• Tickets to a local sporting event 
• Cash prizes

Take advantage of your website by adding the contest information to a landing page.  

• If applicable, utilize local avenues that could publish your contest information to increase reach. 
• Partner with your voluntary bar association. 

 

 

Find Out Why Voluntary Bar Associations Are Great for your Law Firm

2. Sponsor Drives

When you sponsor a drive, you’re supporting a good cause and creating positive publicity and brand recognition among potential clients and local organizers.

The type of drive that you run will determine which organizations you reach out to.

A few examples of drives can include: 

• Toy drives
• Food drives
• Clothing drives
• Fund drives, while matching donations 

We’ve covered more ways law firms can give back to their community here.

 

3. Add Promotional Freebies

This type of campaign typically requires more planning but carries big potential for great results. 

Law firms have many great options for promotions and giveaways. Some examples could be: 

• Free taxi rides home (within a certain distance) 
• Uber codes for safe rides home
• Coupons or a percentage off of a good or service 

Putting specific parameters for users to qualify for the promotion or giveaway will help ensure that you see some return on investment. The parameters could include the following: 

• Linking your social accounts 
• Tagging 2-3 people in the comments 
• Sharing the post on social stories and tagging your firm
• Adding a link to the promotion on their blog or website
  

4. Create Your Charity Event

Giving back to your community is just as important as growing your business. 

While there are several charities you can focus on, decide on something that speaks to you and your firm. Take the case of Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A., a personal injury firm that endowed 2 permanent scholarships to honor the victims of two wrongful death cases.

Firms can develop a unique approach to branding through niche social responsibility campaigns like the one Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A. has.

 

Discover How Firms Leverage Social Responsibility Campaigns 

5. Take Time to Celebrate Referral Relationships 

Like any business, the business of law is about people. 

You can do more than send your referral partners a holiday card that will potentially go unread. Please take this time to acknowledge your top referral sources. For example, a face-to-face meeting or dinner can strengthen these valuable relationships. 

On this note, you can also….

Take Care of Attorney Referrals 

Perhaps some small firms and solo practitioners have an abundance of caseloads during this holiday season, and their staff might want to take time off. If you know of a case and have the capacity, the holidays can be a great time to market your referral program and handle cases on behalf of others.

 

6. Host a Holiday Promotion

We’ll steer away from saying you should offer discounts as this may change a client’s perception of a firm’s rate. However, you can offer a fee relief!  

Offering a fee relief helps your clients with short-term struggles but still maintains the integrity of your rates. Thomson Reuters states, “Bringing forward ideas like fee relief or fixed fees allows a law firm to provide much-needed assistance to clients, but on the firm’s terms.”

 

Takeaway 

The holidays are a time to be thankful, express our gratitude, and ultimately sparkle with joy (with a few shameless branding plugins). 

Many businesses investing in marketing capitalize on these efforts throughout the year and if you’d like some help with this, we’re here.

 

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How Law Firms Can Use Video Marketing to Win More Clients

If you’re looking to incorporate video into your business strategy, you’re making a smart move. However, if you’re still on the fence, then this post is for you. Psst…you’ll also find a FREE video strategy checklist! Did you know that research finds that video has an online usage reach of over 90%? And the number of video viewers keeps on rising every year. 

So, what does this mean for your firm? 

Whether it’s a 15-second video ad or a compilation, video marketing is one of the most effective ways you can capture your audience’s attention. Attention not only paves the way to being remembered, but it also has the power to pull prospects in, and ultimately that means more money, calls, and cases. 

We don’t have to look far to see that this is true. Simply consider the number of videos you consume daily. Whether it’s 10 minutes or 6 hours, the reality is that most of us consume videos daily, and so does your audience.

Let’s quickly look at what video marketing for law firms means and some of the best practices to help you get started. 

 

Video Marketing: Your Firm’s Ticket to Better Leads, Sales & Relationships 

Video is your ticket to better leads, sales, and relationships. While you may see some success with traditional marketing, consider the leads you’re leaving up for grabs when you don’t implement videos. 

In our LAWsome podcast, we’ve discussed how you can amplify your firm’s messaging strategy with video marketing. 

But to briefly recap, video works because it provides extra value to your clients, and like all marketing, providing value is critical. Besides that, videos can help you: 

• Create immersive experiences 
• Strengthen your brand and personal connections 
• Improve your SEO (It drives more traffic, and Google ranks traffic and click-throughs as major ranking factors.)
• Keep users interested for longer
• Recycle content between multiple platforms 

And we could go on, but let’s quickly show you what we can do for you.

Scan the QR below to watch a 6-second video mockup for a personal injury firm: 

 

There’s more to it than meets the eye! If you’d like more information on our video bundles, add-ons, etc. feel free to schedule a 1-1 with our Senior Marketing Advisor here.  

Get Started With Proven Video Marketing Tactics

Whether you have a team in-house or want to rely on an agency, you need to ensure your video strategy is successful. This means looking into aspects like budget and time as well as: 

• What kind of video content should your firm focus on? 
• Where should the videos be published?
• How can you assure your video’s top quality?

 

To help tackle each of these critical aspects, let’s look at: 

1. Things to consider when producing a video 
2. Video content creation 
3. Where to post the video
4. A FREE printable checklist to start planning your firm’s video strategy today!

Things to Consider When Producing Videos 

There are quite a few factors you need to think about prior to the actual production and editing of videos, including: 

• Camera: There’s no one right answer here. The video equipment that’s best for you should be based on quality and your budget. Schedule a 1-1 with us and we’ll give you some suggestions to get started.
• Lighting: Make sure the room is well lit and isn’t backlit.
• Sound: Besides needing a mic, you’ll need to make sure the location is quiet. Also, make sure you articulate clearly and speak loudly. 
• Editing: This is the second half of a video strategy, and it’s a necessity as no one is likely shooting a perfect video in one take. But for starters, try to shoot in shorter lengths and then grab and cut the best shots.

Video Content Creation 

Most people outside the law don’t know the legal process, so you’ll want to provide reassurance and answers before a client comes through your doors. Thus, FAQs come in handy. They can help pretty much anyone in your sales funnel, from those just beginning to explore to those moving through the evaluation process. 

 

Here are some questions you may cover: 

• What cases does your firm handle?/ What’s your specialty?
• What are the fees and costs? How are they billed?
• How do I know if I have a possible case?
• How will I be informed about my case’s progress?
• Where are you located?
• Have you handled cases related to _____?
• Why did you go into law in the first place?
• What differentiates you from your competition? Why are you the best?

Where Your Firm Can Post Videos 

The beauty of videos is that they are a great asset for content recycling. To help you, here are the top 3 places we recommend you post: 

1. Your website: No matter where else you post your videos, they should always live on your website. 

• Social media platforms

1. 1. Facebook and Instagram: They’re technically owned channels, so you can cross-post between platforms. 
   2. TikTok: With over 1 billion active users, there’s no doubt firms should take advantage of the TikTok market.
   3. YouTube: There’s no better place to post videos than this video-specific platform.
   4. LinkedIn: LinkedIn prioritizes videos, which is why it may come as no surprise that LinkedIn videos get 5X more engagement! 
   5. Your emails: The people in your email list(s) are further down the sales funnel, and this is an excellent opportunity to nurture those leads with videos.

2.Avvo: By adding videos in Avvo you’re providing prospects a strong reason to contact and hire you versus the competition.

Your FREE Printable Video Strategy!

If you have made it this far, congratulations! Here’s a gift for you:

 

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Why Your Law Firm Practice Isn’t Growing & What to Do About It

Are you frustrated with the lack of growth in your firm? Looking for new ways to scale business? We’ll show you how to win at marketing despite rising costs and decreased demand for law firm services. 

Reuters, an international news agency, found a falling demand for legal services and a rise in overhead costs, which brings firms challenges…as well as opportunities. Here’s what we mean:

These factors are a concern only if they’re left unattended. 

So, where should firms laser-focus?

To unlock the legal industry’s full potential, Forbes states there needs to be a cultural reset. The good news is that law firms are already working on this! The industry is morphing from a labor-intensive and practice-oriented towards a tech-efficient profession.

Gartner, a tech consulting firm, has found that the shift toward a consumer-driven market pushes law firms toward digital transformation. In their Legal Planning & Budgeting Report, they found: 

The industry’s metamorphosis catalyzed by today’s customers means firms must find new ways to scale their business. To begin this, you’ll have to start looking at law as a business. 

With that in mind, scaling a law firm requires looking at every aspect of your business, including the mishaps. To help you navigate the uncharted waters that business can sometimes be, let’s look at the 3 biggest mistakes law firms make and how to prevent them. 

The Biggest Scalability Challenges & Opportunities For Law Firms 

Mistake #1 – Relying on Traditional Marketing 

Often, traditional marketing has a mixture of these 3 components, and while we won’t wholly discard traditional, it’s clear that digital is where it’s at. For example: 

• With traditional marketing, to reach 1,000 prospects, you’ll probably need to spend $150 for a local radio ad, $500+ on a magazine ad, and $1k+ for direct mailing. 
  • Runs on gut feelings.
• With digital marketing, prices will vary, but as a rule of thumb, Crisp finds that it costs roughly $15 to run a Facebook ad campaign and $50 to run a Google search campaign.
  • Runs on data and numbers.

If you want to reach 1,000 prospects and be 100% sure you target the right market, you’ll want to focus on digital. 

Solution #1 – Go Where the Attention’s At  

There is a reason why TikTok is the platform to be on: videos. Video content is 1200% more successful than any other content. More than half (66%) of people prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service. 

Previously we covered ‘How Law Firms Can Use Video Marketing to Win More Clients’, where we suggest law firms:

• Answer legal FAQs
• Leverage the incredible power of legal storytelling, not up-front selling 
• Rely on explainer videos (text and presentations rather than a person in front of the camera)
• Use subtitles 

Want more tips? Check out our LAWsome episode – ‘How Law Firms Can Use Video Marketing to Win More Clients’  

Mistake #2 – Trying to Scale Organically Only

There are over 3.96 billion total social media users across all platforms. How can you stand out from the rest? 

Because there is so much noise, organic reach is not enough in this day and age. For example, if your firm solely relies on Instagram and organically posts a meme or an update here and there, chances are you won’t see much ROI from such an effort.

So, what should you do?

Solution #2 – Leverage Organic and Digital Advertising 

But why should firms add digital advertising services on top of organic? Let’s put 2 + 2 together.

1. You need business within the specific jurisdiction you’re authorized to practice. 
2. Digital advertising helps target users based on your location. 

Mistake #3 – Neglecting Your Client’s Needs When Hiring a Lawyer

Because every client and case is as unique as a fingerprint, you’ll want to cater to all in different ways.

Here are a couple of questions that’ll help you brainstorm: 

• What are your clients looking for? 
• How did your previous calls and cases find you? 
• Why did they choose you and not the competitors? 
• Are prospects looking at who has the most experience? 
• Do prospects want to know if you solved a case similar to theirs? 
• Do they go for the firm that has the most online reviews? 
• Are prospects looking for a law firm closer to them? Or would they go out of their way?

The answer should always circle back to you! 

Solution #3 – Making Personal Connections 

We could go on and provide thousands of pointers for this solution, but we’ll stick with one: invest in social media. Specifically, leverage the TikTok Market. Yes, TikTok.

Often there’s the misconception around, ‘my audience isn’t there,’ but as we’ve said before, your TikToks may not be for everyone, but they are for someone! And that is the power of building personal, genuine connections through socials.

Our second part series on TikTok covered How Your Firm Can Take Advantage of the TikTok Market with the top 9 best-proven tactics to help you get started. 

And to take it up another level, download a FREE list with the top TikTok Topics for Lawyers.

Scaling Today Means Looking at the Big Picture

Scaling means keeping your eyes on the big picture while taking care of every aspect of your business, including: 

• Keeping up with client intake and retention
• Making the right marketing investments 
• Leveraging new technology  
• Maximizing effectiveness between your staff and third-parties 

We hope these recommendations give you the power to build on your firm’s business. If you’d like to effectively incorporate or revise any of these strategies without the headaches – we’re here to help.

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The Impact of Law Firms’ Community Service

Are you looking to create impact and foster loyalty with those in your community? As the newer generations of clients demand that businesses take a stand on issues, now is the perfect time to give back. Find all the answers here.

Studies show social impact is where it’s at.

Today, people want to see law firms, and frankly, all businesses, go the extra mile; so how can you differentiate yourself from the rest? Through CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility. (We’ll delve into the details in the following chapter.)

Without a CSR plan, firms might run the risk of falling behind as the newer generations of consumers demand corporations take a stand on issues like race equity, the environment, mental health, and civic engagement. 

On top of that, Law.com, a leading legal news, states lawyers also want to be a part of something bigger. They interviewed Kent Zimmermann, a consultant for Zeughauser Group, and he said,

“Put it this way, law firms are in a very competitive fight for talent, and the competition is greater than it’s been at any time in recent history,” Zimmermann said. “And a lot of the upcoming lawyers want to be part of something that’s bigger than themselves. They want to align with organizations that have values that they agree with. They want to align with organizations that stand for something.” 

Before diving into creative ways, you can give back to your community, let’s quickly look into the elements of CSR.

What’s CSR and Why Should Firms Care?

CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, is typically broken down into 4 categories known as Carroll’s Pyramid:

CSR also helps:

• Attract and retain top talent – People are keen on seeing brands focus on more than just profits, and your staff is no exception.
• Attract and retain clients – Besides retaining talent, you’ll enhance your credibility and loyalty.
• Improve your community – Business relationships can be fortified through community. Besides, getting involved will show you are above par.
• Improve your well-being – Ultimately, giving back means you’re also growing as a human being. It’ll positively impact your mental health, and ultimately, you’ll… 
• Impact and change the trajectory of someone’s life (for the better)!

How to Attach Your Firm’s Name to Great Causes 

The beauty behind all this is that there is no linear or ‘right way’ you can give back. We encourage you to think outside the box here!

In some of the following, you may subtly attach your name and brand behind it with your firm’s logo. (And honestly, you can brand any item!)

1. Be a mentor 

Mentorship is a terrific way for law firms to get involved. With your accumulated knowledge, you can mentor at: 

• Legal communities: Besides meeting other potential mentors, you can extend a helping hand to other legal professionals. The Law Community offers a virtual space to connect, mentor, and learn. 
• Bar Associations: Join voluntary bar associations. According to LAWsome guest attorney Sean McQuaid, “It’s just a great opportunity to join these to give back to your community, get to know other lawyers, network, and learn a lot of what’s going on at your local bar.“

 

Learn Why Voluntary Bar Associations are Great for your Law Firm Here

 

• Legal mentoring associations: Do you want to help the next generation of lawyers? The NLMC, Legal Mentoring Consortium, offers legal mentoring associations.

2. Boost a non-profit 

Do you want to volunteer outside the practice of law? Then you might want to consider volunteering at a non-profit close to your heart. You can search for different charities here, and if you want to be more specific, you can search for more local charities by state here.

 

3. Help legal authors  

Many legal writers and editors are constantly researching a diverse range of topics, including rights management, copyright questions, defamation cases, legal updates, etc. Providing first-hand expertise is a win-win for both parties as the writer(s) may be able to attribute some credit or link back to your firm!

4. Host a Food Drive 

Insufficient financial resources create the most challenges for households below the poverty line, and this is a universal problem. If you’d like to help, then host a food drive!

There are 2 types of food drives you can participate in: 

• Find your local food bank here, collect donations for around 2 weeks, and drop off donations. You can also give away any other valuable branded items your firm creates, e.g., shirts, sweaters, and mugs. 
• Host a virtual food drive here 

 

5. Share your non-legal skills 

Got any tricks up your sleeve? Time to show them! No matter what kind of skills you have, there’s a chance you can teach your local community for free. 

Pro tip: If your skills are more technical, look out for any local events related to a career fair (and you might even end up mentoring others entering the practice of law!)

 

6. Participate in responsible waste management 

This is a big one. Law firms aren’t necessarily known for their green thumb. In fact, a single lawyer can print up to 100,000 sheets of paper every year! But, if you begin a waste management program, you can showcase this on your website.

Although law firms deal with piles of confidential information, firms can begin a waste management program with the help of Software as a Service (SaaS) such as TIE Kinetix, which offers companies and governmental institutions electronic documentation.

 

There are other ways you can begin a waste management program:

• Adopt a block and host community activities e.g. food drives, clothing donations, neighborhood cleanups
• Adopt a recycling system in your office

 

7. Work for the public good, AKA – Pro Bono 

Here are some fast facts related to Pro Bono:

The ABA recommends lawyers perform at least 50 hours a year of pro bono services to those unable to pay. 

In addition, firms can join the ABA Virtual Legal Clinic, where income-eligible clients post legal questions, and usually, pro bono attorneys provide answers.

8. Do your research! 

There’s no limit to what you can do when it comes to community engagement and volunteering. You can also: 

• Connect with other professionals on LinkedIn and check on the conversations different groups are partaking in. Pro tip: follow relevant hashtags like #CSR to keep up with the discussions around this topic. 
• Contact or keep an eye on your local reporters and see what’s mentioned about your community. 

Foster Loyalty Beyond the Brand 

Ultimately, CSR boosts something priceless: loyalty. As more clients demand corporations take a stand on different issues, you should attach your firm’s name to something great! 

If you’d like to brand your firm and create an outreach strategy with different communities, we’re here to help. 

 

The post The Impact of Law Firms’ Community Service appeared first on Consultwebs.

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How to Take Full Advantage of Your Media With Content Recycling

Are you investing time and money in marketing efforts? Then you’ll want to know the secret behind creating consistent content without wasting time, effort, and money. Stay with us, and we’ll show you how.

Studies show around 60% of marketers update their content 2-5 times, but only 29% have a strategy for repurposing content. 

As marketers, we can 100% confirm: repurposing content is one of the most important aspects of investing in digital marketing – especially those investing in social media. 

One of the main reasons why firms should invest in platforms where they may or may not see a 1-1 attribution to the bottom line is to….stay visible! Not every user will have the urgency to hire an attorney right then and there, but if and when the time comes, you want them to think of you. This is possible when you constantly put yourself out there and repeat your message(s).

Repurposing content is a way to fully capitalize your content by repeating your messaging in the most creative ways and consistently posting without putting in a lot of unnecessary effort. 

Let’s dive into what this means, its benefits, and, most importantly, how to start recycling content. 

 

What’s Content Recycling and Why Should Firms Care?

Content repurposing, also known as content recycling, is re-using content and presenting it in a new format and/or with new information. Think back to: upgrading, adding extra value, and changing formats. 

 So, what are the benefits of content recycling besides saving time? 

• Anything can be repurposed – There are no limitations to what you can re-create.
• Greater content accessibility – You can repackage content and cater to your different audiences across different channels.
• More content diversification – Publishing in different formats increases your visibility and reach. 
• Improved SEO rankings – More content means more credibility and links redirecting back to you, thus improving your rankings.

 

We could go on and on, but now let’s see how you can recycle content with a strategy. 

The 7 Clever Ways Firms Can Recycle Content

1. Use your existing data

You can add extra value to your existing content without needing to do external research by going through your existing data. 

One of the greatest assets you’ll get from investing in digital marketing, e.g., socials or email, is that everything is trackable. Since there are hundreds of trackable metrics, it’s best to focus on a few metrics. Do you want to know which ones? 

 

 

Once you have a better idea of what metrics to look into, you can begin to interpret the data in several ways: 

• Building case studies based on a previous case
• Creating ebooks 
• Turning relevant statistics and figures into images to repurpose on other platforms like Instagram, YouTube, etc. 
• Combining the data with existing testimonials and sprinkling them around your site, especially on relevant pages like the testimonials page
• Finding out what your top pieces of content were and repurposing them in other ways (e.g., revamping your top 3 blog posts into a series of educational videos)

 

2. Focus on evergreen content 

There are 2 types of content: 

• Timely content, e.g., a trends report for the year 2022 or a Google update. 
• Evergreen content, which stays ‘fresh’ for longer periods, e.g., guidelines, how-tos, checklists, and case studies.

 

For now, we’ll say: focus on recycling your evergreen content because of its relevance.

3. Maximize your blog posts 

Are you investing in content creation? Excellent, now it’s time to maximize it; this is where a newsletter comes in. You can link your blog to a weekly/monthly newsletter promoting snippets, tips, and tricks found in your blog. 

 

Learn How to Segment Your Email List(s) Here 

 

Besides linking a newsletter, you can also: 

• Add mini infographics in the blogs that have loads of numbers and figures 
• Create social media carousels with takeaways 
• Create a Twitter thread or LinkedIn post 
• Guest post your revamped blog with other relevant businesses outside your website
• Highlight relevant quotes 
• Use a VoiceOver service, add text-to-audio, and give users the option to listen to your blog! Fiverr offers this kind of service.

 

4. Extract quotes from industry leaders 

Outside law, not many people know the intricacies of the legal profession, so take advantage of this. Since law firms are thought leaders, feel free to gather quotes, statistics, numbers, and anything else you think is relevant and worth highlighting. 

 

Those heavy-hitting quotes can be repurposed across: 

• PDFs
• Ebooks 
• Digital advertisements
• Future blog posts 
• Testimonials 
• Social media posts 

5. Capitalize your podcast 

Do you host a podcast? Congratulations! Podcasts are incredible because they complement the rest of your marketing efforts. 

 

These are some ways you can recycle your podcast episodes: 

• Extract quotes from other thought leaders 
• Extract snippets and create shorter videos from them
• Publish the audiograms 
• Create your own infographics (when data/figures are spoken)
• Repurpose the content for blogs

 

6. Recycle your social posts  

The limit doesn’t exist here! If you’re investing in any social channel, you can also: 

• Turn tweets and industry thought-leader quotes into LinkedIn and Instagram posts 
• Create memes! Yes, memes. They’re fun, and overall, people engage with them, so why not try them? 
• Create a series of images with testimonials and reviews.
• Collaborate with other legal professionals and create a series of partnership posts on a topic that interests your clients and other legal professionals, e.g., partnering with a legal billing business. 

 

7. Get the most out of your slideshows, webinars and presentations 

Did you present something that might give your client some extra value? Your clients don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to the law, but you do. If you can disclose any valuable information to them – do it. For example: 

• How pricing works at your firm
• Changes in law
• Specific regulations 
• How ___ works 

 

With this type of information, you can: 

• Use the Q&A section of a webinar you hosted in creative ways. Lots of value can be mined from the Q&A time. Depending on the topic, you might be able to use the Q&As for your FAQs page, or find other creative uses for it 
• Create videos, especially those related to FAQs your firm gets, e.g., how pricing works 
• Post the recording (if possible) 
• Create infographics with any relevant figures 
• Transcribe and post it 

Content is King 

Compelling content is vital when trying to capitalize your channels fully. However, it still takes time and effort, especially when trying to create consistent content across different channels.

If you’d like the support doing this, or simply want to discuss your firm’s current status –

Feel free to schedule a 1-1 with our Senior Marketing Advisor here. 

 

The post How to Take Full Advantage of Your Media With Content Recycling appeared first on Consultwebs.

from Consultwebs https://www.consultwebs.com/blog/how-to-take-full-advantage-of-your-media-with-content-recycling
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