When I worked as a journalist, one of the first questions we would ask in the newsroom when big national or international news broke was, “How can we localize this?” A legal blog isn’t a newspaper, but the question can be just as relevant when considering legal content writing for your blog.
Your legal blog on your website serves a few purposes. It shows readers that you stay on the cutting edge of developments in your field of practice by writing about new laws enacted or cases decided. It shows that you are a thought leader in your field by providing analysis of developments in the law and how they may affect your clients on a personal level. It helps drive traffic to your site by providing fresh, relevant content for search engines to index.
All three of those purposes can be served when you write about timely news and putting it into context for your blog’s readers and your potential clients.
Take, for example, the story that broke in July 2015 about the traffic stop involving Sandra Bland and her subsequent death in a Texas jail cell. The case struck a chord with people across the nation who wondered what happened to Bland and how she ended up in jail over a simple failure to use her turn signal.
The resulting conversation has been complex, and provided an opportunity for attorneys to weigh in as thought leaders on the legality of the stop. It also provided an opportunity to discuss what rights a person has during a traffic stop — content that is informative and relevant for anyone following the story who is wondering what they should do in the same situation.
Stories that capture the national public consciousness invariably drive search results and trending topics on Facebook or Twitter. When your legal blog addresses a national topic, that also may drive searches to your practice’s website — particularly if readers are looking for a local take. That comes back to the question that journalists ask, “How can we localize this?” For your legal blog, the question is, “How can I make this relevant to my practice?”
The answer is by finding unique angles on the bigger story to show your potential clients how it can affect them. In the Sandra Bland example, that might be by writing a blog post on “Your rights during an Ohio traffic stop” and addressing how local and state laws come into play.
If you’re working with Postali, our job is to handle all of those considerations for you. Our team of experienced writers keeps daily tabs on local, state, and national news that’s relevant to your law practice. We’ll make sure that your legal blog is current, interesting, and relevant for your audience.
To learn more about how we can create compelling content for your legal website, contact us at hello@postali.com and be sure to follow us at @Postali.
Not sure where to begin?
Get started with a marketing audit.