Within a digital marketing campaign for a law firm, the more engaging a piece of content is, the greater its impact and, thus, the more positive the effect it has in terms of building credibility, authority, and rankings on Google. There is a sliding scale of online content in the minds of those who consume it, and this is often based on the perceived effort required to create it.
For example, if those online were asked what they regard as having the most value, a 30-minute video or a two-line post on Facebook, undoubtedly, the former would win. Similarly, for an audio recording or an article, in most cases, the audio would win. What we are trying to point to is the fact that there are forms of content and media that have a greater perceived value amongst your online audience.
A further point is that media such as audio and video does not require that much more preparation, research, effort, and resources to create than a blog post, for example. Even with them requiring that bit more, the returns in terms of building loyalty and rankings make them extremely worthwhile.
One popular content type is a podcast, which is simply an audio recording that is published online. You can create multiple podcast episodes, which soon build to become an impressive and highly respected online asset for your law firm. There is no need for expensive audio equipment; they can be recorded at home or in the office, created in advance and scheduled for broadcast. If you are thinking of creating a podcast for your law firm, here are seven steps you should follow.
Determine Your Angle: Decide what legal niche or angle your podcast will have. Options include interview format, Q &A, focusing on narrow/broad subjects, or mixing it up with all the options. Whatever you choose, make it as unique as possible.
Acquire Your Equipment: You do not need to spend thousands. A decent microphone of $100 or so, and audio recording/editing software, which you can download for free to your PC or laptop, are all that is required to get started.
Record Your Pilot Podcast: The sooner you get started, the better. Record your first pilot episode, and remember it does not need to be perfect. In fact, the odd stumble or mistake can enhance the authenticity of your podcasts.
Search For Royalty-Free Music And Cover Art: To give your podcast a unique identity, you need to find a short piece of royalty-free music and also have cover art created. This can be done cheaply by going to Fiverr.
Choosing Your Podcast Hosting Platform: This is where your podcast audio files will be hosted and from where they will be streamed or downloaded. There are numerous options, but choose one which provides sufficient bandwidth and download speeds. Popular examples include Transistor, Podbean and Buzzsprout.
Distribute Your Podcast To Directories: Podcast directories are where you submit the RSS feed of your podcasts. These will include the title, description, artwork, and file location. This helps to make your podcast known to a greater audience. Well-established directory examples are Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and iTunes.
Create And Schedule Your Subsequent Podcast Episodes: With everything you need now in place, it is time to plan, create and schedule your future podcasts. Bear in mind you can record these in bulk and set each podcast to its own individual scheduled release.