Content marketing is the latest buzzword for what we have been teaching for years:  creating and sharing content (words, pictures, videos) to aid in client acquisition.

And while you may be brilliant at crafting legal arguments to win a point, there is an art to crafting content that speaks to people in need of your services and attracting them to your firm.

A recent article on Entrepreneur.com took some words of wisdom from five top content marketers that provide some insight on how to excel at content marketing:

1.  Over-invest in high quality content.  There is seemingly no limit to the amount of legal content on the Internet these days, and the proliferation of this content means yours has to be better to get attention.  So stop doing what everyone else is doing and look for ways to stand out with landing pages, interactive infographics, videos and other attention-grabbers.

2.  Include SEO best practices.  Hone in on the keywords that are driving traffic to your website right now and dig deeper for keywords you aren’t targeting yet that have potential to attract more visitors.  Then use these to build high quality content around.

3.  Be a great storyteller.  In a hyper-competitive market for a reader’s attention, it’s the great stories that get read and shared.  Have a great hook to pull those readers in, and be sure your story has a satisfying end that is worthy of the build-up.

4.  Deliver data in new ways.  Humans are visual beings, so if you can deliver your data visually in an engaging way – through an online slide show or interactive visualization – you are likely to see better results than if you just convey your messaging in words.

5.  Answer your prospects’ questions.  Don’t beat your head against a wall trying to come up with great ideas for content.  Instead, look to your clients and answer their top 10, 20 or 30 questions.  By doing this, you can position yourself as an authority and provide information your potential clients are actually seeking.