Have you heard of Haru?

Small law firms

If you’ve heard of HARO, you may need help understanding what it is and how it can benefit your marketing efforts. harrow (Help a reporter) is a tool that helps law firms and all types of businesses build authority and increase community outreach. It allows lawyers to share opinions and ideas on current legal topics. Responding to requests from reporters and journalists through HARO can be a simple but important addition to your marketing plan. HARO is a great tool for expressing your legal opinions in your practice area. Read on to learn more about HARO and how it can positively impact your company’s marketing campaign.

What exactly is HARO?
HARO is an acronym for Assistance Overseas Reporter. It’s a free service used by journalists who need expert quotes from industry leaders to add to their writing. A practicing attorney can register as a source and provide quotes or professional advice when the query is applicable. There are different membership levels, but the free service can be useful.

After a lawyer signs up as a source for HARO, he or she receives at least two emails per day seeking answers to many questions. Emails should be monitored for relevant topics. To take advantage of HARO, you should be patient and take the time to scan emails for relevant questions since there is no guarantee that your daily inquiry will raise legal questions.

When a relevant question is asked, you must then prepare an answer. The respondent may not use their answers on social media or other personal or professional websites as the answers become the property of the journalist. Answers must fully answer the question, must be grammatically correct, must be submitted before the deadline, and must not include attachments. However, links can be sent with replies.

Harrow benefits
Submitting answers to HARO often generates new clients. As your answers are used, your credibility and authority will grow. The journalist will backlink to your law firm’s website, and you will receive credit for your expert quote. Backlinks can help increase your audience and search engine optimization (SEO). Answering HARO questions can help your firm become more popular in the legal community.

Reading HARO requests may help improve your marketing strategies as you will see trending questions and topics. When you know what topics are on potential customers’ minds, you can take advantage of them and use those topics as material for blogs, webinars, podcasts, and articles.

HARO tips for lawyers
HARO journalists receive many responses, so your answers should stand out.

reply quickly
It is critical to respond quickly because competitors will respond, too. HARO questions are emailed several times a day. Try to respond within half an hour of receiving the email. The likelihood that your presentation will be used after that time is significantly reduced.

It is wise to take time each day to scroll through the HARO questions and find the right legal questions. 15 to 20 minutes should do. To save time, use the search function to search for keywords such as “lawyer,” “law,” or “legal.” You can also hire a virtual assistant or an office worker to help you with this.

Keep answers short and to the point. Reporters don’t have time to weed through lengthy replies. They want quick, direct answers. Be sure to answer the question in full and include a memorable quote at the beginning of your response, so it is the first thing the reporter reads. Your answer should be specific to the query, making you a reliable source. Do not ask the reporter to call you or ask for an interview.

Provide group media
Responding to HARO’s inquiries helps build your credibility. Creating a media collection will help you in this endeavor. Never underestimate the importance of media kits, as they can promote your law firm effectively. Your media collection can be a downloadable PDF file or a clickable link. List your name, education, experience, expertise, majors, and awards. Include a professional photo. If a journalist uses your HARO response, they may include your photo. Always ask for a quote or backlink to your law firm’s website to help drive new traffic to your website.

Use the pitch template
As mentioned above, your response should be prompt. Using a template or outline is effective. The template can include the features required for each response, including a salutation, biographical information, contact information, and media collection information. Your actual answer can be completed in the middle of your template. Use headings and bulleted lists to make reading easier.

Should I hire an SEO agency to help with HARO?
Many legal SEO agencies can develop a powerful backlink strategy for you, however, you can manage HARO yourself. HARO is a unique and useful marketing tool. This will help build your brand, increase website traffic, potentially attract potential customers, and inform you about legal issues.

Next steps for digital marketing
HARO is a free tool that anyone can use. However, it is particularly useful for experts in various industries, including law. The more questions you answer, the broader your law firm’s brand will be. Answering questions also helps build your reputation as an expert. Learn more by subscribing to HARO today.

Annette Chotey, Esq. He graduated from law school 20 years ago, and is the founder Law Feather, a legal digital marketing agency focused on small and individual law firms. Annette wrote the best-selling book Click Magnet: The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide for Law Firmsand hosts podcasts Legal Marketing Hall. She is a keynote speaker and speaker on continuing professional education throughout the United States and Canada. Annette used to do stand-up and professional comedy, which isn’t much different from the legal field if we’re all honest. Annette can be found on linkedin or in Annette@lawquill.com.