It's time to get real 13 September 2022

It’s safe to say that all consumers want the truth from the companies they deal with, engage with, and ultimately buy from. But do you realise that the younger generations – Gen X, Y, Z… and even Gen Alpha – want something more?

They want you to be ‘real’. In fact, they demand it. And they have the power – the purchasing and voting power – to do just that.

It’s one thing for a brand to be honest – you must be. But that’s only your starting point. If you want to truly engage with these consumers, you need a different, less traditional, mindset when it comes to your brand.

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Law firms: Social with strategy 16 August 2022

While many firms today leverage the major social media channels and provide links on their homepage, few show evidence of following a true social media strategy. Too often the same content from a firm’s website – primarily from their news and insights section – is  simply posted across all their active channels, and usually at the same time. Using social media to mirror website content is neither adequate nor effective, and does not qualify as a strategy.

The problem
Every social channel has a different type of relationship with its audience. A marketer needs to be sensitive to this when planning where and when to engage that audience – and with what type of messaging. A prospective business client does not engage with LinkedIn and Twitter in the same way they engage with Instagram and Facebook, for example. Videos are incredibly engaging – but there’s a big difference between YouTube and TikTok. Marketers should develop channel specific strategy that complement each other to form a single integrated social media strategy.

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Law firms: Build human connections 10 August 2022

Showing a softer, more human side has been a challenge for law firms even dating back to a time before websites existed. This problem has persisted into the digital age. It’s understood that firms need to present a buttoned-up, professional image. However, it’s also important to present a softer, more human perspective. The two are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, many firm websites rely on cookie-cutter design and content structure. With a focus on news, press releases and thought leadership, the people at the firm often take a backseat.

The problem
The fact that the ‘humanity gap’ persists is due in no small part to the ineffective presentation of the people who embody the firms. The most obvious place to build human connections is through a firm’s people landing page. Yet, so many contain nothing more than a simple search function for locating attorney biographies; the pages feature poor headshots and profiles that are littered with bullet points and devoid of personality.

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Law firms: Create substantive content 02 August 2022

Too many firms have home pages that are devoid of client-first, business-focused content. A visitor to the page is generally presented with a massive image and an accompanying headline that links more often than not to an ‘all about us’ news item. Highlighting the presentation of a single relevant news story is fine, but not when it completely dominates the homepage and results in the user having to scroll down in order to see more content.

The problem
While producing thought leadership is important, not enough thought leadership content is distinct from what other firms are producing. Making matters worse, finding the content is often an arduous task, requiring the user to waste too much time navigating around the site. The landing page for thought leadership pieces often presents an overwhelming amount of information that can be difficult to sort because of insufficient filters.

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Law firms: Stand apart to stand out 26 July 2022

Law firms are notoriously risk averse, and this is evident in brand positioning, messaging, and visual identity. Since law firms don’t rely on slick television advertisements or eye-catching billboards to sell their brand, the website and, to a lesser extent, social media are the primary touchpoints for target audiences and represent a crucial opportunity to tell the firm’s story and showcase the people who make the firm what it is.

The problem
When comparing the websites of many law firms, they start to blend, and it’s obvious that most firms would rather just play it safe. A large image, a nebulous headline, and a bland description – that’s typically what greets a visitor first. Brand positioning is often hidden, and the visual language is indistinct. In addition, two of the defining elements – the people and the key practice areas – of the firm are often overlooked.

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The future of cookieless marketing 29 June 2022

Seismic changes are on the horizon in 2023 for the world of digital marketing, driven by the end of third-party cookies. As tracking technologies that rely on third-party cookies depreciate, marketers will face new challenges in targeting their paid ads to the right audience, and they’ll struggle to measure the performance of their marketing campaigns.

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