content strategy

Good web content can make you stand out and “outsmart” your competitors. Your editorial team must have (or acquire) certain skills in order to get there

Empathy

There are thousands of websites out there. If you really want to stand out, you need smarter content. Smart content is solves an issue for the reader. Your lawyers need to be able to identify problems that your target audience has. Your lawyers need to write words that solve that problem. We call this empathy and we agree with this 100% Sarah Richards.

Human writing is on demand more than ever. Especially writing that is accessible. Your lawyers must be able to identify and use words that get them closer to whoever you want to touch.Insert tweet

Good writing is greater on demand than ever: one that brings people together #contentwriting https://t.co/ZtYTwGfdVm

— Manuel Pueyo (@manuelpueyo) February 21, 2019

Technical Skills: the web is here to stay

Your lawyers must be able to understand the difference between a normal document and a web document. HTML basics need to be appreciated and understood:

*hyper links,lists

*headings,

*basic SEO keywords and

*other markup language specs

Method and discipline: practice makes it perfect

Ann Handley, the author of the book “Everybody Writes” calls this your Writing GPS. A method (like a GPS) gives you orientation on where to go and what to do next. Writing is a craft and every writer must have a stablished method to create a text.

This process often goes from an idea to planning your text, to writing it, to uploading it, to the Content Management System, maintaining it after publication etc. Here we are talking about having a step by step method that guides you throughout this process.

Once you repeat this method long enough, the process of writing becomes so much easier. I always quote here K Anders Ericson. Experts are made, not born: it is the quantity and the quality of the repetition of your method that will make you an expert.

Content ops: collaborate even if it hurts

Your lawyers should be team workers as well. They are not lonely runners, but they understand that their writing is inserted into a bigger system: a well oiled editorial production machine. Welcome to the world of Content Operations.

I am Manuel from BigKids and I want to help you with this. That is why we have teamed up with Larcier to run the course Creer du Contenu Digital Interessant in which we are going to talk about writing methods, how to attract people with content and the beauty of the web as a publishing medium.

Magic happens when you valorise your content. You turn knowledge that your company has but is invisible into something tangible that has amazing business value for your organization.

In this post, I would like to show how the content that you put on your website can be an amazing opportunity, not only to attract clients, but also to deliver better services. Content becomes a strategic business asset for your organization.

Modelovereenkomsten, or the principle of giving legal content for free and getting something in return

Modelovereenkomsten is a new service offered by law firm IntoLaw.

With this new service, they offer everyone the possibility to download a professional model of a contract in an editable “word” document for free. Whaat!!? Yes you hear it well, they are actually giving out some of the firm’s key 🗝️ knowledge for free. If, as a client, you want more, for instance you want to have 30 minutes chat with one lawyer, then you pay a small fee or more if you want higher customization of your contract.

The checkout process is similar to many e-commerce sites. You can search via keywords the type of contract you are looking for. You can also go through an automated workflow asking you questions and guiding you towards the contract(s) that covers your needs. When you find it, you add your contract to a cart and go through a purchase journey that incorporates some offers

They also collect your email and ask you some additional questions via the checkout process that probably will be used to profile you for marketing purposes in the future.
They also offer you similar contracts to the one you are interested in.

This service helps Intolaw to fulfill their social mission/have a positive impact in society and at the same time attract potential customers.

Mlexmarketinsight: generating legal content is the business value

They make money in a different way. Mlexmarketinsight’s value proposition is literally information (=content) sent by email. Customers pay and then they get their newsletters called Daily Briefing directly sent with the latest insights and analysis on regulatory changes, official statements and upcoming events. They also send articles written by them and press releases.

The key activity of Mlexmarketinsight is to follow changes in the sector, reporting and delivering information to paying subscribers. Channels are digital and the additional cost of getting a new client is almost zero because the additional charges for creating and sending a newsletter to 1 or to 1000 people is zero.

A privacy statement that looks good and is easy to understand and accept

Last year I had the chance to meet Lieke Beelen, she is a legal designer & founder of Visualcontracts. At this year’s Visual Contracts meetup she talked about turning legal contracts from “necessary evil” to an “object of design” = something that has a value.

And here you have an example of that: Apple privacy statement with belgian clients.

Legal contracts and technical specs are, traditionally, complicated to read for average citizens. Nobody enjoys reading them and they are often signed with blind eyes.

This can be changed, here we have an example of legal contracts and technical specs that have been simplified, beautified and explained.

When I read this web I even feel curious to know more about Apple technology and how the privacy rights are displayed in each of the apps. In general, I am not a fan of Apple as a company, but I see that this moves the needle towards more clients trusting their products and, as a consequence, increasing sales.

What do all those examples have in common?

Content leaves the marketing department. It is not only a legal copy writing, a “comms” asset to attract clients, but it becomes essential in the relationship that a company has with its clients.
Content meets a need.
From pure Blogging for Lawyers to actually paying attention to the user experience
You can actually identify some content that is not being properly valorised: it can be turned into an essential part of the way you design your legal service.

Content is knowledge and here at BigKids we help you to turn your worker’s knowledge into useful digital content. By interviewing people (your lawyers) in order to analyze their successes, challenges, practices, perceptions. We identify legal trends and we document those insights in a digital format: text, audio, video. Those digital assets can be used at any time to deliver better service or promote and amplify your legal service offer.