With more and more competition in the legal field, lawyers need to find new ways to reach potential clients. While there are many different tools available — a website, blogs, videos, social media, etc. — there’s one option that many attorneys have overlooked or been reluctant to embrace: Podcasts.

There has been an absolute explosion of podcasts in recent years. One study based on data compiled from Nielsen and other sources found that there are more than one million active podcasts and more than 30 million podcast episodes. That compares to 550,000 podcasts and 18.5 million podcast episodes in 2018, which is a substantial increase.

There’s clearly a desire for quality audio content, and lawyers can take advantage of that hunger to educate their communities as well as attract new clientele. Here are the top three reasons your law firm should start a podcast:

Reason #1 – It’s a Way to Make Yourself More Personable

While your website is an important vehicle for communicating your brand and key messaging to your client base, communicating directly to clients with your voice provides you with an opportunity to connect with them in ways you can’t do with words alone. It helps listeners feel like they know the person who is talking and that, in turn, helps to build trust.

You could achieve a similar effect with videos, but videos are much more expensive to produce if you want to look credible. The recording and editing process is also much more time-consuming for video than it is for audio. You can achieve many of the same benefits of a quality video with a quality podcast, only it will cost you considerably less time and money.

Don’t overlook the convenience factor when it comes to podcasts, either. Sitting down to watch a video or read a blog requires people to commit to that specific activity for a set timeframe, but they can listen to your podcast while driving to or from work, while working out, or while making dinner.

Reason #2 – It Gives You a Way to Boost Your Brand and Connect With Other Industry Leaders

Anyone who needs legal counsel wants to know that their lawyer is highly skilled in their field. The more you can do to show you know what you’re talking about, the easier it will be to attract new clients. Your firm will also see its reputation increase, and more prestige also means an easier time attracting new clientele.

The key here is to make your content as professional and informative as possible. While the quality of production doesn’t always guarantee quality information in a podcast, an amateurish production will make you look sloppy and unprepared. On the other hand, if you put in a little time and effort to produce a quality podcast, you’ll impress your listeners with both your professional presence and your legal knowledge. And new platforms make it easier and cheaper than ever to produce a crisp, clean podcast episode.

A podcast isn’t just a good way to reach out to potential clients in your community, though. It’s also a good way to network with your peers. One easy and consistent strategy podcasters in many fields use to keep things fresh is to interview established professionals in your field. By inviting other, well-known attorneys or other subjects on to your podcast, you’ll build valuable connections that could turn into potential opportunities later on.

Reason #3 – Making a Podcast Forces You to Improve Your Communication Skills

Many of us get anxious at the thought of having to talk in front of an audience, even if the audience isn’t “live.” It’s something many lawyers have to do, though, especially if they’re involved in litigation or a criminal trial. Therefore, you should take any opportunity you can get to improve your communication skills.

Podcasts let you work on your communication skills in a low-stakes setting. Your first few episodes might be a little rough, but with practice, you’ll see your confidence and performance improve. These are valuable skills you can carry with you to many different areas of your practice.

Client Chat Live Can Connect You With New Clients

Once you’ve put out a few podcast episodes and start to attract new clients to your website, you want to snag as many of those visitors as you can. With a live chat service from Client Chat Live, you have someone monitoring your website 24 hours a day to make sure anyone who contacts your firm has someone there to greet them. We can direct potential leads further down the client pipeline as well as handle communication from existing clients.

Learn more about our services by calling (808) 495-0231 or visiting our contact page.