We all appreciate a good story. Stories connect us to other people, helping us to empathize with them and understand their issues, experiences and perspectives. But how can storytelling land you clients? Here’s how:
- Storytelling engages emotions, builds trust and attracts attention in a way that dry facts and hard statistics simply cannot.
- Stories make your successes come alive to prospective clients and show them, rather than telling them, how they, too, can benefit when they use your services.
- Engrossing stories keep readers’ attention, making them want to hear more, which can keep people on your website and off a competitor’s.
We’ve outlined tips on how to integrate storytelling into your marketing efforts.
Get to know your prospective clients.
Good stories are only as good as your knowledge of your audience. Many make the mistake of using generic demographics like age, job title and location to develop their prospective clients’ personas. But these data points don’t provide enough information to connect you with your audience on an emotional level. Gather more information by using tools like client surveys/interviews and Google Analytics, scouring publications for trending stories, etc.
Address the elephant(s) in the room.
Whether you are a law, real estate or financial firm, there are always pain points that may be preventing your prospective client from engaging with you. For example, many people feel intimidated by attorneys. They may have watched shows on television that stereotyped lawyers as insensitive or aggressive. Perhaps they feel vulnerable sharing intimate details about their financial state. When your marketing content speaks plainly and in honest terms, you humanize yourself, which can go a long way with some potential clients to inspire trust in you and your services.
Connect your personal life to your practice.
Let others see themselves in your story and put themselves in your shoes. For example, if you are a personal injury attorney who experienced an accident, or had a close loved one who did, talk about your experiences. Telling this story will help potential clients relate to you and your struggles and realize that because you truly understand their pain points, you can be trusted to take their problems seriously.
Use satisfied clients’ stories.
In today’s world of online reviews, you know the power such personal stories hold. In the same way, testimonials(in video or written form) from satisfied clients telling their own stories about how your firm helped them can be one of the most effective ways to incorporate storytelling. You can do this in your own words, too. Tell the stories of the clients you helped who were in a situation similar to that of the prospective client. You can tell general stories of clients and how your law firm helped them overcome a legal problem. Present the issues involved and how your firm effectively resolved them.
Let others in your firm tell stories, too.
Everybody has a story to tell. Other staff members at your firm have experiences that may connect better to a prospective client. While not everyone should be on the frontlines of storytelling, consider whom your prospective client will likely connect with the most. That may not be you.
It should be obvious by now that while numbers can highlight your firm’s success rates in black and white, statistics and data don’t reach people on an emotional level or build trust. Storytelling in your marketing content can. Where can you tell these stories? You can incorporate storytelling into blog postings, videos, social media, web pages, press releases to attract the media, attorney bios, law firm “About” sections, and other digital and print marketing avenues.
For more tips on how to tell a compelling story about your law firm, check out our blog post: https://www.berbay.com/four-ways-to-tell-a-compelling-story-about-your-law-firm/.
Need assistance in your storytelling? Contact Berbay at 310-405-7343 or info@berbay.com.
