Engagement and action: the new rules for the Web.

• Author: Russman, Alicia

In the last five years, the quality of online content served up by law firms has moved ahead significantly. A general counsel visiting any of the Top 100 global law firm Web sites will, more often than not, be greeted by crisp corporate design, straightforward content organization and user-friendly navigation.

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However, while firms have successfully created attractive online shop windows for casual browsers, the majority of Web sites have an opportunity to improve how they promote services to their core audiences. Law firms can and should put more e ort into identifying their real "buying" audience. First, they need to select an audience for their business development e orts. Then they can deploy a range of online tools not only to raise awareness among their key targets, but also to stimulate interest, desire and positive action.

Law firms looking to move beyond the "brochureware" Web site approach should begin to experiment with the interactive online tools and social media techniques that large consulting firms and other business-to-business organizations have already embraced.

Prioritize Key Audiences

Typically law firms struggle to define their audience to the level of specificity that is helpful for Web marketing. Most firms define their audiences as existing clients, prospects, recruits, alumni, media and employees of the firm. Complicating matters is the need to accommodate the likes and dislikes and requirements of their own lawyers instead of higher-priority external audiences. What these firms really need to do is dissect broad target audiences into specific user personas, which are situational characters with qualities, needs and attributes of real targeted user groups, based on consumer research.

Creating personas is a usability planning technique that helps the Web team identify with their users and stay focused on designing for their needs. Once they have achieved this, firms need to prioritize their audiences in order of importance and develop messages aimed at specific user groups.

The process of creating personas should take place when a firm is devising the content plan for the Web site. This will allow a firm to make decisions about the type of content its primary pages should be carrying and the types of calls to action to which it wants visitors to respond.

For example, the Web site for the firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP displays a clear understanding of where the firm's...