Social media marketing for law firms can be a great way for legal professionals to connect with potential clients and build their firms’ brand awareness. However, it’s important to keep a few things in mind when using social media for legal services.
Thus, if you’re looking to improve your social media presence and attract new clients, read on! We’ve compiled some of the best practices and top tips for social media marketing.
The Advantages of Social Media Marketing for Law Firms
For the most part, the power of social media has been enormous for small business owners, especially for service-based businesses like real estate agents and the legal community. Not only can social networks help you aim your marketing efforts at a specific target audience, but they’re also the best channels to find free or low-cost advertising for your firm.
Let’s break down two of the biggest benefits that come with marketing your legal practice on social media:
1. Social Media Connects You to Clients
Did you know that according to Statista, about 82% of the U.S. population are active social media users? With most Americans being present on social media, it’s safe to say that hanging out in the right places online is a fantastic way for you & your colleagues to get connected to more than half of the population using your own page or profile. Additionally, an even wider audience is available online to find your law firm’s website, whether through your social platforms or through search engines like Google.
2. Social Media Channels Boost Your Clients’ Engagement with Your Firm
Coupled with connecting you to active users who need your services, social media also allows you to create a community. With this in mind, you can actually build an emotional connection with your current and future clients through creating a solid online presence.
For instance, when your prospective clients have inquiries about your practice area or if they need help with their legal issues, you can easily answer questions they have through your Facebook page. Similarly, responding to their comments on your social media content, blog posts, or other components of your online social feed, like Yelp or Google Maps, is a great way to show that you’re not just an automated robot, but rather a company of humans who deeply care about their clientele.
Similarly, you might notice that the social accounts with the most engagement are usually those where the page managers interact with their audience on a regular basis. Staying engaged with your audience on social media in a reliable, consistent way is a great way to boost your clients’ positive interactions with your company.
Related: Digital Marketing vs Social Media Marketing: What’s the Difference?
Top 3 Tips for Social Media Marketing (SMM) for the Law Practice
So, what can you do to make the most out of your social media campaigns?
Are you doing enough, or do you think you can make further improvements to your social media strategy?
To help you figure out where you stand with your online presence, let’s take a look at the best strategies and top 3 tips to improve the SMM of your law firm’s brand.
1. Update Your Goals
Creating social media content can be an empowering and fun experience, but it’s important not to go off the deep end. In other words, before posting content on your social media accounts, make sure you’ve established what your goals are and that you have a clear plan of action to achieve those goals.
For example, are you considering posting video content? What social media sites are best for videos, and what’s your goal with posting there? Similarly, have you planned your overall content strategy? Have you checked your business development objectives to see if your social media goals line up with your company’s overall vision?
It’s always a good idea to revisit your goals before starting any new venture, especially when it comes to implementing social media marketing for your law firm.
2. Stay in Line with FTC Regulations
While lawyers are typically pretty familiar with most aspects of the law, it’s not uncommon for people to not know or fully understand the rules the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put in place to regulate social media advertising and marketing. If you’re an attorney who wants to advertise your law firm on social platforms, make sure you take the time to familiarize yourself with the laws before you start posting.
3. Get All the Help You Need!
Most importantly, there’s no shame in getting all the help you need from experts in digital marketing. It can be daunting to juggle your deliverables while ensuring you’re staying on top of your billable requirements. Lawyers have a lot of responsibilities, so keep in mind that you might not have enough time to do social media management for your own firm, and you may be better off hiring this out.
This is where brand awareness companies like Shelten, LLC come in.
Shelten, LLC makes sure your marketing efforts are always on point. Our experts in social media marketing are here to make sure your law firm is the first company that comes to mind when people in your area need your services.
We would love to help you achieve the brand authority and recognition that you need to reach your target clients. Click here to book your free consultation today!
Related: Top 10 Social Media Marketing Tips for Beginners
The Best Social Media Platforms for Lawyers
The American Bar Association (ABA) noted in their recent survey that the top three leading platforms that law firms use are LinkedIn at 76%, Facebook at 60%, and Twitter at 37%. In fact, about 81% of ABA’s respondents use at least one social media network for their professions.
In spite of these statistics, it still doesn’t mean that you have to constantly use every one of the social networks available to you. Though it may be tempting to do so, too many social media profiles don’t necessarily add up to more clients.
An effective social media marketing strategy that will give you the best results is to choose the most popular social media platform that your clients use, and cultivate a really strong presence there. To get a wider reach, you can add more platforms and post the same content across all of your accounts. However, your time is best spent creating a really strong presence on the one platform your potential clients are the most active on.
Related: Social Media Privacy Laws
Conclusion
Social media marketing for law firms can be a great way to connect with potential clients and build relationships. However, it’s not exactly as simple as just setting up a profile and posting content whenever you feel like it.
Consequently, there are a few things you need to keep in mind if you want your social media strategy to be successful.
At Shelten, LLC, we have the experience and expertise to help you create an effective social media plan that meets your unique needs and helps you achieve your business goals for your law firm.
Click here to book a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you grow your law firm through social media marketing.
References
“2020 Websites & Marketing” from American Bar Association
“Share of U.S. population who use social media 2008-2021” from Statista
