In another lifetime, when I was a legal reporter, I remember getting a slightly queasy feeling in my stomach when I noticed legal blogs sprouting wildly 15 years ago. While some were dry, others were lively and engaging. I saw the future and it was filled with more competition.

Instead of me quoting or paraphrasing a lawyer about some clever take on a recent court decision, that same lawyer could write it herself. She didn't need me, I thought. I was doomed.

OK, I was being a just tiny bit dramatic, but I was right that a fundamental shift was underway. Over time, law firms started building up their capabilities in what marketing professionals call “owned media”—content that the creator controls. Today, at law firms that means much more than just blogs and client alerts. The most sophisticated firms are producing excellent podcasts, e-books, newsletters, interactive graphics and videos—the kind of work that rivals what is offered by traditional media companies.

This high-level editorial production by brands, of course, is nothing new. But increasingly, it has given the booming content marketing industry reason to be smug. With media companies shriveled and content tools widely available, brands are hiring former journalists, designers, and directors to tell their own stories. Some companies have even built what are called brand newsrooms.

Taken to the extreme, this shift in marketing may spur an argument that goes like this: Who cares if the media doesn't write about us? We can write about ourselves in our own way, control the messaging and speak directly to our target audiences.

Armed with this psychological leverage, it may be tempting for content marketing converts to disregard or de-emphasize traditional PR and “earned media.”

That would be a mistake.

Let's get real about one thing: content marketers need the media. The main reason can be summed up in one word: validation.

That's especially true in the legal market. The fact is, there is overabundance of legal content, and it won't get easier to stand out from the pack. While the universe of content seems to grow every year, the relevant audience does not.

Credentialing Content Makers

There are at least a couple of ways to stand out among the competition. One is simply to create better content that resonates more powerfully with clients. Another is to make sure your firm's content is recognized by the media. Today, it's necessary to do both.

As battered as many media companies are, they still confer credibility. It's one thing to read a law firm's client alert; it's quite another to see that same client alert quoted in the media. Buyers of high-end legal services are sophisticated and intuit that reporters are making judgments about the quality of content that they link to, cite or quote.

Credentialing remains one of the biggest benefits of PR. When legal service buyers consider hiring a lawyer and its law firm, standing in the legal community can be a persuasive factor—whether consciously acknowledged or not. Yes, “standing” is an amorphous term, but we know it when we see it. And one way to get that standing is to be recognized as an expert by media.

The other added benefit of the media referencing your content is web traffic. Get the right publication to link to an article, video, or podcast on your firm's site, and the payoff can be enormous, exposing the firm to new audiences.

Increased web traffic can also help demonstrate ROI for content marketing, which can be difficult to measure. General Electric, one of the early innovators in content marketing, uses its GE Reports site to feature stories about the company's businesses as well as ideas and opinions from voices outside the company on issues ranging from the economy to robotics. Tomas Kellner, editor in chief of GE Reports, recently said on Forbes.com, “If the New York Times or a smaller trade uses my stories or links back to me, I use that to show ROI.”

Aligning Content and PR Strategies

Given the importance of traditional media to content marketing, it should be obvious that content and PR strategies need to be closely aligned. There is also this fact: Great content is one of the best ways to get the attention of journalists.

While press releases and traditional pitches remain important, some reporters find them be easy to ignore. But if you tell journalists a story, give them a provocative argument, invite them to a newsmaker event, well, that's a different story.

But the media is too often overlooked when law firms are creating content. Given the time it takes to create content, this is a missed opportunity.

So, what in practice does an aligned strategy look like?

Well, for one, it means including PR professionals into content creation discussions. They will be able to advise on what kinds of content will be of interest to reporters. This is an acknowledgement that content relevant and interesting to clients may not match perfectly with what is interesting and relevant to the media.

Predicting what will appeal to the latter is not an exact science. But we can make informed guesses about the key elements. Here are a few:

Speed and relevance: There is nothing inherently wrong with a client alert that is published, say, a week after a court decision is issued with lots of footnotes and nuanced legal analysis. That may be just what someone—perhaps a client—needs. But that kind of content is very likely to make a reporter's eyes glaze over and there is a good chance it won't be useful. The news cycle is too fast. What if, instead, a shorter, footnote-free version could be written within hours of the decision that includes a one or two-line smart takeaway, which could be shared on social media? Now you're talking the language of journalists.

Meaningful data. Journalists crave context. And one of the best ways to provide that context is through data. It's one thing to talk about a perceived uptick in, say, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. It's another to cite hard data. For some time now, we've seen savvy law firms fill in gaps where data can provide meaningful context, giving journalists powerful incentives to link to and cite the firm's content in their coverage.

Newsmakers. There is no rule that says only journalists can interview newsmakers. Yes, getting a newsmaker willing to be interviewed is hard—and it's even harder to get them to actually make news—but it can be done. Over the last few years, we've seen law firms enter the world of podcasts, for example, and some are lining up high-profile guests that have made journalists take note.

Content marketers are living in a golden age. With so many tools available to us, we can speak directly to our audiences. But with so many speaking, it's hard to hear over the noise. Engaging journalists can help.

Andrew Longstreth is head writer for the communications firm Infinite Global.