How to Promote Your Firm Using Social Media for Lawyers
Full Answer
When the subject of social media comes up in conversation, their eyes get wide. Social media fears evoke the body’s natural fight, flight or freeze response. The heart and respiratory rates increase, eyes dilate, eyelids raise and adrenaline is released. At some point, composure sets in and people say things like: “Social media is a fad.”
What Is the Best Social Media Platform for Lawyers?
Why should law firms use social media?
One way to find an effective social media platform is to look at where the competition is spending their time. However, it is also important to take into consideration the skills and temperament of the person who will be responsible for keeping up with communication on that platform.
Think of your online marketing strategy as casting a fishing net into open waters to capture business. You and your competitors are standing side-by-side on the shores of the Internet, trying to take in the biggest haul. If you’re using just your website, your net is small, and your competitors engaging in social media are landing more clients.
Effective social media marketing for attorneys requires timing, especially since social media posts can have a short shelf life. For example, Twitter is perhaps the most challenging platform where your posts disappear the fastest depending on the number of your followers.
In my experience, lawyers will readily engage with other lawyers through social media. Don’t overlook this engagement as a potential source of referrals.
Although many lawyers and law firms may have social media accounts, it can be difficult to stay motivated to regularly post content or optimize your social media presence.
If you are trying to optimize your social media presence, you may be wondering which platforms are the best places to post content. Social media platforms you should consider are:
Having a Facebook page for legal content can be a good way to appear as an authority online. One of the benefits of having a Facebook page for your legal services is that it is extremely search engine optimized. When people search your name or law firm’s name, your Facebook page will be one of the first results to show up.
Many companies are beginning to use Instagram as part of their social media marketing strategy. However, the 2020 American Bar Association survey states that only about 13% of lawyers use Instagram as part of their marketing efforts.
LinkedIn is the most used platform by lawyers and law firms for professional networking and social media marketing. LinkedIn helps you develop professional connections, which is why it can be particularly effective for legal services.
Twitter is a good platform for posting concise content or business news. Using Twitter for social media marketing can be an efficient way to post content since posts are supposed to be short and easy to read.
Online video content has been generating increased interest in recent years. Many businesses are now starting to create YouTube content to advertise products or services and engage with consumers in a different way. However, many lawyers still don’t use video content as part of their social media marketing efforts.
The best way to use social media for law firms is to create content that informs, rather than solely promotional content. The more you provide credible and valuable information, the better you’ll be able to showcase your expertise.
Social media is highly effective for law firms to attract new clients. The American Bar Association found that 35% of lawyers who use social media professionally have been able to gain new clients as a result. Additionally, 49% of respondents in the previously cited Attorney at Work survey have also been able to get new clients through social media.
Videos not only make your information much easier to understand but also allow you to inject your personality into the content. This makes them a lot more engaging than other content formats.
The Sprout Social Index 2019 found that 47% of consumers reach out to brands on social because they have a product or service question. 40% do so because they have a bad experience, while 31% do so to share their ideas or suggestions. So make the most of social media to engage with your prospective clients.
1: Create brand awareness. People are spending more time on social media. The Sprout Social 2019 Index found that 44% of consumers have reported an increase in personal social media usage. So a strong social presence helps you get your message in front of the right audience and increase brand awareness.
Visuals play a critical role in social media marketing as they are more likely to stand out over text content. So your social content strategy should focus on creating visuals that will immediately attract and engage your prospects.
One of the reasons why social media has been effective for attracting prospective clients is because it helps you showcase your expertise. You can use it to share valuable information that will help you prove your credibility and win the trust of your target audience.
Facebook for Lawyers. Facebook is one of the largest lawyer social media platforms out there with 2.5 billion active users each month. Regardless of your niche, you can absolutely connect with your target client on Facebook.
Interaction is one of the main reasons why people use social media. It isn’t enough to have a social media account for your firm—you must be actively interacting with your audience. Answer their questions, thank them for their client reviews, like their posts, and share their successes (within client-attorney privilege, of course).
Plus, Twitter hashtags make it easy for businesses to share their thoughts on relevant and trending topics, resulting in more exposure. Some businesses create their own Twitter hashtags, so they can keep up with updates from clients and colleagues that use the hashtag in their posts.
LinkedIn is all about the connection. For example, you have the opportunity to connect with current clients, potential clients, and potential referral sources, all in one place. LinkedIn also helps you build your credibility by allowing others to give you endorsements and recommendations on your profile.
Tools exist to help you manage your social media accounts. For example, tools like Buffer and Hootsuite allow you to schedule and automate your social media posts ahead of time. You could easily block an hour each week to schedule posts eliminating the need to do so each day.
It’s built for professionals, showcasing your experience, content, and more. LinkedIn currently has approximately 660 million active users.
Around 3.8 billion people currently use social media. These people spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on social every single day. Plus, around 54% of consumers use social media to perform research prior to making a purchase.
Social media presents an array of opportunities for law firms to reach a wider audience, build brand awareness, and get in front of potential clients.
LinkedIn Marketing. LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social media platforms for law firms, particularly for those in the B2B space. If your firm provides legal services to businesses, you definitely need to be on LinkedIn. LinkedIn gets a bad rap for being a “stuffy” platform, but this has changed drastically over recent years.
Content marketing for law firms doesn't have to be intimidating, it’s all about being creative and publishing content your audience is truly interested in. Like we said at the beginning, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to law firm social media marketing. Over time, you’ll discover what works best for your firm and be able to maximize your ...
LinkedIn’s search function works similarly to a search engine in that if a user is searching for a law firm or legal services, LinkedIn will direct them to the page that profiles the most relevant information and has the closest degree of Connections.
Facebook Marketing. With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms by far. However, many lawyers are left scratching their heads when they fail to see results from their Facebook marketing efforts.
Video content represents over 74% of all online traffic and is one of the leading drivers of organic reach on Facebook. To get more eyes on your content, consider creating video content for your law firm. This content can be oriented around common questions your followers have or provide valuable “how to” information for navigating the legal process.
So, the short answer is Yes – law firms should be investing in social media marketing in order to reach more clients and boost their online authority.
Social media marketing is easy for lawyers to do and requires little to no technical expertise, making it a very compelling environment for active conversations.
For law firms with an existing social media presence, Social Pro positions you as a trusted advisor, so that the clients you desire will turn to you when legal needs arise.
That said, some law firms still struggle to implement effective social media marketing strategies that really drive engagement and quality leads. This is a huge missed opportunity as an effective social media presence can help lawyers attract prospective clients and build valuable connections.
Most social media channels will give you a breakdown of their target audience demographics so take a look through this and also keep an eye on industry reports and surveys that can reveal valuable information to help guide your decision. It’s also a good idea to check out where your competitors are active.
A law firm social media strategy checklist helps you remain focused on your goals and whether or not you are reaching them, and make adjustments. Law Firm Social Media Strategy: The Ultimate Checklist. A law firm social media strategy checklist helps you remain focused on your goals and whether or not you are reaching them, and make adjustments.
Toll Free: (866) 469-8130. At Good2bSocial, we work with law firms and companies in the legal industry who are serious about growth but are often frustrated that they’ve spent time, money, and effort on their website and digital marketing, yet they still don’t produce the results they had hoped for.
A law practice that isn’t interacting with the public on at least one or two social media platforms is as good as invisible. That said, some law firms still struggle to implementeffective social media marketingstrategies that really drive engagement ...