Social Media Marketing For Your Law Firm: The Do’s & Don’ts

Navigating and making effective use of social media platforms has become an essential part of brand communication endeavours. This article delves into recommended efforts and points to avoid when evolving on the grounds of social media marketing in the legal sphere. How to get valuable exposure? How to engage your audience and which media resources are most effective? 

According to Callrail (2022) social media is the most valuable channel for law firms as it is in many other industries. However, it is also the most underperforming channel. 83% of legal firms have chosen to outsource their marketing to external marketing firms, like ByLaw Media, to assist the performance of social media.

Key strategies for successful social media marketing in Law firms:

Selecting the appropriate channels is the start of social media marketing.  In order to reach prospective customers and target objectives, choosing the right combination of channels or platforms is fundamental. In the legal sector, firms mainly opt for the five primary social media platforms; Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter. It is important to research which platforms prospective customers are using and where they are most receptive to your message. 

Once the most suitable platforms are selected, content pillars & strategies must be well planned and set up. Content pillars are themes or topics from which content can be constructed. The use of content pillars is an effective way of creating a strategic approach to social media marketing and enable an organized method of issuing content. The first step in setting up content pillars is to consider your legal domain and the needs of your audience. By doing so, your content will be engaging and credible to your customers.

With the high quantity of activity taking place daily on social media, strategic methods remain relevant when exposing prospects to your firm. Making use of hashtags is a prerequisite to promote posts. Choose tags and hashtags that fit search trends while aligning your brand message. Algorithms will detect the tags and allocate the posts to the audience it considers fit. This process will ensure findability of your content and simplify interaction with (prospective) customers. Please note that while interactions on social media is an important step of the customer journey, all touch points have to work in sync.

Furthermore, posting regularly and keeping online content up-to-date showcases that the firm is committed to their online community and audience. These posts should be planned and well thought through in order to create consistency and trust which will reflect on the firm’s image. Consistency empowers greater exposure, alongside the use of hashtags mentioned before. Good content is relevant and up-to-date, including but not limited to; contact information, job postings, office updates, ongoing events and other PR related features that have been successfully obtained. 

Humanise your brand, allow a sneak peak behind the curtains and fuel trust building. 

Social media pitfalls:  What to avoid & keep an eye on

Content is posted with a purpose. It is important to keep in mind that the sent message can be received by prospective customers in a different way than intended. Not taking the time to examine and reflect on the post, medium and channel can work counterproductive towards the set marketing objectives.

  1. Remember to reference sources . Law firm customers appreciate reliable sources on topics they are interested in. This builds trust and showcases professionalism. 
  2. Avoid irrelevant topics. your audience needs your service, not entertainment.
  3. Do not limit content formats. Remember that an array of post formats exist to interact with your audience. Posts, articles, short videos are all aimed at showcasing your firm and unique selling points.
  4. Do not spam. Aim for a balanced approach where the frequency is not overwhelming, but stays interesting for your target audience. 
  5. Protect your data & stay safe. Indisputably, Lawyers bear the responsibility of keeping client information confidential and data secure. When it comes to social media, remain vigilant with social network access and assure linked articles and contents from your website are geared for security requirements.

Social media marketing requires time and effort in order to see valuable results. It is a brilliant means of communicating the brand, mission, and vision to your target audience if used properly. The next step of the customer journey is consideration and conversion ‘to’ your firm, which happens often on your website through lead conversion.  

Always keep in mind that your company positions itself as well as an employer of choice and social tools are a great channel to exploit on this front. 

Would you like to discuss digital opportunities for your business?