Online journalism is the best way for lawyers to get a marketing message through to potential clients, according to new research.

"Corporate journalism is a practice that combines an organization's market intelligence and subject-matter expertise with the credibility and narrative techniques of professional journalism. Done well, corporate journalism should incorporate elements of traditional journalism, including the critical notion that journalism serves its audience above all others," says the new 2014 State of Digital and Content Marketing, issued by Greentarget, ALM Legal Intelligence and Zeughauser Group.

While 84% of chief marketing officers at law firms expect to produce more content in 2014, only 29% have a dedicated manager overseeing content strategy. Smart law firms hire an outside professional writer who knows both the law and journalism to get the job done.

Information overload

Many law firms create junk content consisting of press releases, propaganda and partner announcements. This has caused corporate clients to feel that there is an information overload in the legal industry, according to the report.

However two-thirds of clients rated traditional media as "very credible," along with news curators and aggregators like JD Supra. In-house counsel also trust client alerts and newsletters sent from firms -- so long as they are written journalistically.

Online journalism dovetails nicely with newsletters, blogs and social media so long as it is "high-quality, credible, memorable and relevant."

The report recommends the lawyers:

• Appoint a dedicated "content manager."
• Hire a professional writer with the appropriate knowledge, skills and training.
• Create a document describing the corporate journalism strategy.

A copy of the survey report is available here.