Can Grammar Rules Be Broken in the Interest of Engaging Content?
It would be easy to assume that writing in a formal, academic style would be the best way to convey your expertise as a law firm and connect with potential clients. But this isn’t always the case.
There are some instances where breaking grammar rules could actually improve your content and boost your engagement rates. This is because it can make it easier for you to write free-flowing content that speaks to the reader and keeps them engaged.
Content that’s engaging and straightforward will ultimately help readers to understand what’s being said, helping them apply it to their own experiences.
We know that abandoning some of the grammar rules you’ve followed for so long might feel unnatural at first. So we’ve put together some pointers to get you started.
Adopt a conversational tone within your content
When you work in the legal industry, it can be easy to forget that a lot of the people who visit your site are completely new to the world of law. They may be feeling intimidated by the thought of making a claim, and a long page of wordy text could appear overwhelming.
One way to make your audience feel more comfortable is to adopt a conversational tone. To do this, you could consider shortening your sentences. This might involve using conjunctions like ‘and’ or ‘but’ at the start of a sentence.
While the use of a conjunction after a full stop is frowned upon by some, it can be helpful for breaking down lengthy paragraphs into short, informative sentences – mimicking real-life interactions.
Incomplete sentences are useful in this way, too. These are sentences that don’t make sense on their own, but fit into the wider context of a paragraph or piece. Incomplete sentences are often used in bullet points and subheadings, but they can also be used elsewhere in your content.
You could also consider using more contractions. For example, replacing ‘it is’ with ‘it’s’. This can make your written content sound more natural and less robotic, helping the reader to engage with whichever one of your pages they’re reading.
Build familiarity through your style of writing
Building a connection with visitors to your site is especially important in the legal industry. People will be looking for reliable information or services at a time when they could be feeling vulnerable. So it’s important that your content relates to them.
You could think about incorporating personal pronouns into your writing style. This is typically discouraged in academic writing, but it can be helpful for building familiarity with potential clients.
One business that does this successfully is Mailchimp, the email marketing tool. Their content addresses the reader directly. Instead of saying ‘business owners’ will benefit from their services, they emphasise how ‘you’ will see improvements in ‘your’ marketing.
Applying this to your firm, you could consider using the pronoun ‘we’ in your content rather than your company name. For instance, saying ‘we can help you’ sounds more human and could help to reduce the distance between you and the reader.
Remember to stay consistent
When you decide on a style of writing, try to stick to it. It can help to set out the grammar rules you’ll follow in your tone of voice guidelines, especially if you have more than one content writer on your team and if you produce content for multiple platforms.
It can help to build a level of familiarity with your site visitors and increase engagement when you stay consistent. So make sure everyone involved in writing content or email communications is on the same page.
Your main goal should be to make sure that your content is easy to read. After all, it’s more important that you communicate each point clearly, rather than adhering to every grammar rule. The main thing is that visitors can understand what’s being said and feel compelled to take action.
If you’d like to find out more about how we could help you boost your marketing efforts, get in touch with us today.
