Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ll be aware of the rising popularity of podcasts. Everywhere you look, podcasts are cropping up covering all manner of topics – including the legal sector.
For law firms and legal marketers, podcasts offer an alternative channel to connect with potential clients and effectively promote a firm’s expertise in an innovative way. This opportunity is particularly relevant right now, with so many firms unable to engage with clients face-to-face due to the COVID-19 lockdown currently in effect.
That being said, creating a professional podcast which attracts an engaged audience and adds value to the market isn’t always straightforward. That’s why getting ahead of the curve to stand out from the crowd has never been more important.
Whether your law firm is looking to launch a podcast for the first time, or you have an existing one but are looking for some strategic or logistical advice, then these tips will give you a clearer idea about how you can make your legal podcast a success.
1) Sort out the practicalities
Before you start planning what you are going to include in your podcast, you’ll need to decide how you are going to do it. If you want to make sure that your podcast is as professional as possible, you may need to make a few modest investments. You have to keep in mind that the podcast will be a representation of your firm, so there’s little benefit in taking shortcuts.
Take some time to research recording equipment or, if you are conducting conversations remotely, conferencing software, to ensure that your legal podcast is produced to the highest standard.
2) Decide on the format
You’ve got your equipment and you are ready to record. So, what exactly will your podcast sound like? What sort of format do you want to implement? Who are you recording your podcast for?
These are all questions you’ll want to find an answer to before you commit your time and resources into producing the podcast. There’s no use in sitting down to record an episode which consists of nothing but a casual conversation.
You can take inspiration from other successful legal podcasts at this stage, but don’t fall into the trap of simply copying what other firms are doing. You need to stand out and add value, so think about what else you can bring to the table!
3) Create a plan and record in advance
Once you know what your podcast will sound like and who you are producing it for, you’ll have an opportunity to create a content calendar. You can use this to schedule when you want to record episodes, and make sure the right people are available at the right time.
This is all very well but, as we all know, it’s not always possible to follow a schedule to the letter. That’s why recording multiple podcast episodes in advance is a sensible idea, particularly as it will save you from having to scratch around for ideas at the very last moment. Staying ahead of the curve is the key.
4) Let your personality come through
Don’t be afraid to let your hair down a little. Interesting content and an original format can only carry your podcast so far. Ultimately, people will only listen to a podcast if they are invested in the people they are listening to.
This doesn’t mean your podcast needs to have a gimmick, or be an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, but it does mean you should show a more personal side to you and your firm to you and your firm (compared to how most clients think a lawyer will be like). That will help you to connect more effectively with your audience.
5) Identify your niche
As a law firm, you’ll no doubt have a unique selling point that you use to attract the right sort of clients. It’s no different when it comes to crafting a successful podcast.
Rather than attracting a wide audience of passive listeners, you’ll want your audience to be dedicated and deeply engaged with your content. Find a niche that separates you from the other legal podcasts doing the rounds and experiment with what draws strong (but positive!) reaction from your audience.
6) Encourage interaction from your audience
Speaking of which, there is no harm in encouraging interaction from your audience. This could involve requesting questions or topics to cover, asking listeners to take part in polls on Twitter and other social media, and anything else you can think of to get your audience involved.
It’s also important to remind your audience to rate, review and share your podcast will improve its reputation and audience base, as well as increasing the chances of it being seen in various podcast apps.
Increasing interaction can also open up plenty of opportunities to better align your content to your audience.
7) Be sure to optimise your podcast
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is absolutely essential for any marketing practice – just ask our digital marketing team! Even though podcasting is an audio form of marketing that Google can’t recognise yet, there are still certain practices you can adopt to make sure it ranks highly in search results.
Simple steps such as creating a blog post for each episode, choosing a relevant keyword for the episode title and sharing it across social media can all help to improve the chances of people finding your podcast organically.
8) Spend some time to learn a few editing techniques
Audio editing is an understandably daunting prospect, but it is much more intuitive than you might think. There are plenty of free software out there that you can use to make the final touches to your finished episode.
You can edit your podcast to cut out any recorded content you don’t want to feature and create smooth transitions between each section, helping to round off your finished product.
Time to get started
Hopefully, this has given you a better understanding of the sorts of things you need to consider if you are planning on setting up a podcast for your law firm.
Of course, there is plenty to consider if you are setting up a podcast for the first time, and there’s a good chance it will take some time before you decide on a plan that works best for your firm.
However, the sooner you get started, the sooner you can have something up and running And, with the right planning and dedication, you will be able to craft a podcast which adds another dimension to your firm’s digital marketing practices.