Social media is one of the most powerful marketing platforms for businesses. According to data, almost 92% of marketers in 2022 used social media to reach their target audience and sell their products or services.
For law firms, social media is a potent yet underutilized resource for attracting new clients and increasing awareness about the firm and its legal services. The number of social media users keeps growing by the day, with data showing that between 2021 and 2022, 376 million new users joined various social media platforms.
So, what can you do to improve your outreach on social media and reach a new wider audience? Here’s all you need to know.
Why Should A Law Firm Consider Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing exploded with the mass adoption of Facebook. Firms and businesses outside the legal landscape have been fast at adopting social media marketing to promote themselves to their audiences, making these platforms a cornerstone of their success.
According to recent data, law firms have also been ramping up the pace of adoption, with 81% stating that they maintain an active presence on social media. Of these, 29% report better client retention due to their social media presence.
But why is this the case?
Social Media Marketing Attracts New Clients
Social media marketing exposes a law firm to a larger audience, allowing you to effectively attract new clients. According to a survey, 35% of law firms report gaining new clients through social media marketing.
Social Media Provides an Alternative Way for Clients to Reach Your Law Firm
Social media profiles help drive new clients to your website or contact pages, making it easier for them to contact your practice and seek your services. You also generate leads faster and quickly learn what services they require from your firm.
Social Media Allows for Effective Community Engagement
Social media allows lawyers to build their profiles within the legal community and stay up-to-date on trending news. Law firms can also comment and give thoughts on various forums, establishing themselves as thought leaders in the space, which gains the trust of new and existing clients.
How a Law Firm Can Effectively Use Social Media to Reach Its Audience
If your law firm wants to remain competitive and stay current with your target audience, you must effectively use social media marketing. Your approach, plan, and strategy will be key differentiators in these platforms.
Here’s how you can do it.
Know Your Target Audience
This is the single most important part of your social media marketing strategy. No matter how good your legal content is, it will not be effective if you’re showing it to the wrong audience. Everything you do on social media must be aimed at nurturing and growing your target audience.
You need to be very detailed when defining your target audience. You should provide details such as gender, age, marital status, and profession, not ignoring small details. Generalizations cannot effectively define your target audience.
For instance, if you’re a personal injury lawyer serving New Jersey, you can define your target audience as “People recently involved in a traffic accident within New Jersey, looking for a criminal defense or personal injury lawyer.”
Choose the Right Social Media Platform
Knowing and defining your target audience will help you decide on the best social media platforms for your law firm
Ideally, this should be the platform your target audience is the most active in.
For instance, if your target audience comprises professionals, LinkedIn and Twitter may be the best social media platforms in which to be the most active. If millennials and retired seniors fall into your demographic, Facebook and YouTube may be better choices.
If your target audience is very young, Instagram and newer apps such as TikTok are excellent selections.
Most social media platforms give a breakdown of their demographics, allowing you to make better decisions about where your target audience is.
Create a Content Strategy
Once you know your target audience and preferred platforms, you need to develop an effective content strategy. A content strategy allows you to plan and deliver effective content to your audience that aligns with the most popular and effective types of content on your selected platform.
For instance, when considering advertising as part of your strategy, there will be significant differences between different ad forms. As an example, Facebook ads for law firms differ from Twitter ads.
Typically, you’ll take the following steps to develop an effective content strategy:
- Conduct a competitor analysis – Most social media platforms allow you to find other law firms in your practice area that are active on the platform and analyze their content and engagement. This gives you insight into the types of posts you should create.
- Create a posting schedule – Posts on social media perform best only when your target audience is active. You should also post at a frequency that works best for the specific platform. For instance, posting once to twice daily is an effective schedule on Facebook.
- Build a content calendar – A content calendar helps you organize your schedule, ensuring you post regularly and consistently on each platform. You can use social media management tools to create and manage your content calendar.
Make Use of Graphics Sharing Useful Information
Visuals are powerful in social media. They easily stand out over text content, attracting more audience to your posts.
Therefore, your law firm should invest in quality visual content, such as useful stats and facts, when creating posts on social media. These posts include industry updates, blogs, useful legal tips, inspirational quotes, and basic legal information.
Video content should also be predominant in your posts, especially if you’re on supporting platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Monitor Conversations Around Your Firm
Successful law firms on social media leverage social listening and brand listening. This involves monitoring conversations about your brand online and deciphering the general sentiment towards the firm and its services.
Monitoring conversations helps you identify where to provide professional input and stand out as a thought leader. It also helps with PR allowing you to spot rising controversies and steer your firm away from potential negative publicity.
Analyze and Interpret Key Metrics
Social media platforms provide vast data that law firms can use to make sense of and measure the success of their social media marketing efforts. The key metrics your law firm should observe include:
- Website link clicks
- Engagement in terms of likes, comments, private messages, and shares
- Conversions from social media
- Best performing posts
Consult a Professional
Law firms have much to gain from maintaining an active and effective social media presence. Social media will get you to your audience faster and deliver more clients who trust your firm’s legal services. Contact a law firm marketing specialist today and learn how you can transform your online presence.