As a freelance writer for a criminal defense and family law firm’s blog, I know how difficult it is to find engaging topics for a boring niche. While creating a post called “Top 5 Ways to Choose a Family Law Attorney” may help keyword density, it doesn’t usually lead to increased engagement or increased brand recognition. With a clear goal of increasing readership, I started choosing everyday pop culture or engaging headlines from my Facebook newsfeed to spin into family law content. The end result has surpassed my expectations in the form of more likes, shares, retweets, and +1s than I could have imagined. I can thank Sesame Street, the Kardashians, and Maury Povich for offering a new perspective on an old way of doing things.
Sesame Street
On November 10th, 2014, the iconic children’s television show Sesame Street celebrated its 45th anniversary. Big Bird, Elmo, and the rest of the clan hold a special place in my heart—so when I noticed Sesame Street was trending on Facebook, I chose to create “5 Sesame Street Lessons About Family Law.” Once I posted it to the law firm’s Facebook page, it resulted in the highest engagement I’d ever achieved. I knew I was onto something.
The Kardashians
Everyone loves to hate the infectious reality TV show, Keeping up with the Kardashians. Whether the Kardashian clan is taking on Miami or the Hamptons, I admittedly find myself glued to tube, thinking, “No Scott didn’t!” While it’s embarrassingly good reality TV (oxymoron), the entire family represents a gold mine for any family law attorney. Using the same formula from Sesame Street, I created “Top 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Keep up with the Kardashians,” which provided a light legal commentary on the family’s problems of divorce, alimony, blended families, and prenuptial agreements. The social media response was astounding.
Maury Povich
Please don’t look down on me for telling you this, but I love watching Maury Povich’s DNA paternity tests. Each week the 73 year old journalist attracts millions of viewers to hear him say, “You ARE NOT the FATHER!” Then, the mother who was previously “5,000% sure he the daddy” bolts off the stage in shame, while the adjudicated father crypt walks, dougies, cupid shuffles, and cranks that Soulja Boy to a raucous crowd. All of the debauchery inspired the “Top Maury Povich Paternity Test and Family Law Lessons,” which spurred significant excitement through social media.
The Winning Formula
Sesame Street, the Kardashians, and Maury Povich may not appear to have a common relationship. However, with a little bit of creativity, I link pop culture topics to family law. My overall goal as a freelance writer is to create content that engages audiences, increases readership, and stretches the reach of my client’s brand. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I use the buzz around the most common pop culture shows and relate them in humorous, engaging, and secretly informative blog posts.
Elliott C believes the key to success in content writing is always being in the know and doing the next best thing. With the world of SEO and content marketing swiftly changing, he spends an arduous amount of time researching new trends.
