For years, we have expressed our belief in content marketing through a concept called The Content Loop—and we still do. The Content Loop stands in contrast to a funnel because the latter ends. To show you how The Content Loop works, imagine all the clients you have worked with in your career. Put them all in a room, and feel free to kick out the few who were displeased with your services.
This room is filled with your best salespeople. They’ll create business for you by referring your firm to their families, friends, and colleagues. They have only one critical problem in common: They have short memories.
That’s not theoretical. Satisfied and grateful clients are willing to refer you to others, but only some will remember your name. When someone asks them if they can recommend an attorney, you’ll miss the opportunity if you aren’t at the top of their mind.
Top-of-Mind Awareness (TOMA)
The Content Loop was designed to solve the problem of people forgetting you. You can stay in touch through educational, value-based content and continually nurture these past relationships. Websites, blogs, videos, podcasts, social media, and newsletters are what we refer to as touchpoints. Social media and newsletters are vehicles to get traffic to your website, and your videos and blogs engage them when they are there.
Branding
What is branding for an attorney? The answer can be summed up in one word: Credibility. When someone has a legal problem, do they want the world’s best attorney with no logo or an inexperienced lawyer with the world’s best logo? It’s the former because that lawyer is more likely to solve their problem.
Logos are significantly more important for products than they are for services. Nike and Starbucks create a feel for their products through branding. Services must convey that they are the best choice to solve their prospects’ issues. To put it bluntly, as a law firm, your content is more important than your logo. If your logo is professional and you like it, it’ll do its job. Your content works when it conveys credibility. This is one of the reasons why we tell attorneys NOT to use recipes in their newsletter. Will people enjoy the recipes? Sure, but that’s not what you want to be remembered for.
Even if you have amazing recipes and your newsletter explodes with subscribers who want them, this is a failure. Those subscribers now associate your legal services with something that has nothing to do with your profession. When someone has a legal concern, they don’t care about recipes. They’ll choose someone else because you’ve abandoned credibility for popularity.
Better Clients
When people remember and vouch for your credibility (TOMA + Branding), they will refer you to their friends who are likely similar to them. The friends of your friends will also likely be your friends. You’ll not only continue to get clients through referrals but also get better-educated clients. They’ll trust you because their friends trust you. They may also know more about what you do and how you do it because they have engaged with your content. If you take one thing away from this blog today, it should be this:
TOMA + Branding = Better Clients
Spotlight Branding
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