Unlocking Real Estate Success: Integrating Legal Expertise into Modern Marketing Strategies
As a lawyer who is responsible for both practice and business development in a commercial real estate law firm, I find the challenge of marketing between the lines of the law a unique undertaking. Nothing is more daunting than translating highly technical legal subjects into material that is suitable for a visually driven, fast based, internet environment. In short, the law moves at a pace that is so much faster than the digital communication we have grown accustom to as a society. If that wasn’t challenging enough, there is an expectation that the content will be dynamic and interesting while delivering valuable and factual information.
The field of conveyancing law is a perfect example of how even the most interesting disciplines can end up lacking visual stimulation. Conveyancing is the legal or equitable process of transferring property from one owner to another. Essentially it is the way we transfer ownership of property in real estate transactions. Therefore, depending on your community, it has a lot of potential to come with a strict geographical focus that may be helpful to a limited audience.
The complications with making a subject matter interesting, such as commercial conveyancing law, comes from the expectations that simply come with the territory. How are you supposed to spice up what is essentially a monotonous transaction? When the general public has very little exposure to the legal work that goes into contract preparation, especially amongst property deals they are quick to confuse with their car trade ins, the opportunity for creativity can be meaningfully missed.
That was until brand strategy came in to the mix. It is the interactive form of branding, and not simply branding that has proved itself invaluable in the delivery of legal content. How has this been done; through story based strategy.
The problem is the law speaks only to the highly educated and ultimately the very small audience of those that are going through a legal process. Yet, suddenly, everyone needs to know about conveyancing law during the course of a carefully marketed campaign. This is where Shaparak Marketing comes in.
When marketers get involved in an industry whose language is rarely spoken outside the walls of a college or legislative building, we make it our business to understand the subject matter by seeking out the unique elements that make the campaign at hand so valuable.
When we are graced with a subject such as the law we actually get excited. How can we take a subject that many view as a dark art and make it so simple that everybody loves it?
Within the creative process we may do away with the need to talk about the details of the ‘contract’ and instead say the words that cannot be said fast enough, “we will fight for you in the courtroom the same way we would want others to fight for us.”
Suddenly the simplistic messages start flooding in and all the things that are usually said off the record (street smarts) come pouring out.
There is something that is so satisfying about working in the realm of advertising and being able to say, “I had a part in making that happen.” The truth is engaging work happens whenever we take the time to understand the subject matter at hand and the unique audience that surrounds it. In order to do this, we need to listen to the lawyers, accountants, and the people that are involved within the services that are being marketed. As a result, we work together to create the best possible outcome.
To put it another way, when you hire a professional to market something, you are trusting that they can effectively take the material you want to work with and put it into a product you want to share with everyone. It is a partnership.
That is precisely why collaborative efforts between the content creator/subject matter expert and the marketing team are not only important but essential to the process going smoothly. And, most importantly, the law remains upfront so nobody is left wondering, “what the heck does that mean?”
While we may be light on detail, we are very clear on the outcome because that is what we stand by. But, what outsourcing marketing does is allows us to fulfill the unfulfilled desire to learn something new.
Just think about how much we all want to understand what it is really like to buy or sell a house. We want to know about the underlying context that isn’t found in general articles or conversations. And with a little creativity (and maybe a little corporate selling) we can create a unique space that will not only entertain the audience but have them walking away from the piece understanding something new about the law and specifically, conveyancing.
For more information on property law, you can visit Wikipedia’s page on Property Law.