Essential social media tips for lawyers and law firms – 12 Top Social Media Marketing Tips

We all know that social media marketing for lawyers is one of the secret weapons or bugbears of law firm marketing, depending upon your viewpoint.

However, there is no ignoring the importance of social media platforms to build profile, relationships and business.

But many law firms are clueless on the way forward with social media and struggle to come to grips with how it works and how to work it, let alone how to become as lawyer ‘influencer’.

Indeed search engine optimization and social media marketing are two areas that lawyers in either big law or sole practitioner outfits can struggle to work with.

Just creating brand awareness alone makes social media a key asset. Although written a couple of years, ago SproutSocial’s report on social media marketing for law firms indicated that 44 per cent of consumers right back in 2019 were using social media for their spending – consumer or services.

An Attorney at Work survey reveals that 96 per cent of the more than 300 lawyers surveyed use social media, so the usage factor is high, but the strategy to project a great brand and develop relationships and authority is also high. .

And as another report indicated, pointing out the obvious, good social media marketing will drive business to your website – and produce new clients.

Growth of Social Media

In 2020, there are 3.96 billion people actively using social media in the world, and this is an increase of 10.9 per cent year-on-year from 3.48 billion in 2019, according to a report from Backlinko. In 2015, there were only 2.07 billion users – that’s an overall increase in users of 92.76 per cent in just five years.

5 Year Social Media Growth Statistics:

2020: 3,960 million active users
2019: 3,484 million active users (+9.2%)
2018: 3,196 million active users (+9.0%)
2017: 2,796 million active users (+21%)
2016: 2,307 million active users (+11%)
2015: 2,078 million active users.

And the key statistics are also fascinating in terms of social media growth –

Key Statistics by the total population

On average, 49% of the world are active social media users, regardless of age
On average, 63% of the world’s population aged 13+ are active on social media
USA has 70% regardless of age, 83% for only those aged 13+ years
UK has 66% regardless of age, 79% for only those aged 13+ years
Canada has 67% regardless of age, 77% for only those aged 13+ years
Australia has 71% regardless of age, 85% for only those aged 13+ years
India has 29% regardless of age, 38% for only those aged 13+ years

12 Key Factors To Look At For Your Social Media Marketing

A recent article from Lawyers’ Weekly from marketing expert Jacqueline Burns pointed out 12 key pointers to help focus your social media marketing as a lawyer.

Among the 12 key points –

Define your target audience Your goal should not be to have the most followers, it should be to have the right followers. You must identify your target audience before you can choose the best platforms to reach them.
Don’t spread yourself too thin. There are scores of social media platforms and new channels emerging every other week. Start with one or two. Master them.
Don’t use social to sell your services! Your social media accounts should not be an endless advertisement for your firm. Use social media to build an online community around your business. Give your target audience a reason to follow and engage with you by posting educational and entertaining content.
Don’t think everything has to be polished. On social, self-recorded video works as well, often better, than professionally produced content.
Interact! Don’t just automate your posts and then walk away. Too often, businesses focus on posting and forget to engage. Comment, share, and participate.
Respond to questions and feedback. The number one reason consumers will unfollow a business on social media is poor customer service or support (credit: Sprout Social Index).
Experiment. Don’t be afraid to try new things. For example, participate in relevant Twitter chats as this can be a great way to build a following and demonstrate expertise.
Leverage partnerships. To boost your visibility, collaborate with other accounts that have similar audiences. Instagram, for example, is making partnering possible by allowing you to go live with up to three other people.
Post real written and video testimonials. Your audience will relate and respond to people who have first-hand experience. And resist the need to stage-manage – you want your clients to come across as natural and spontaneous, not scripted and rehearsed.
Make it personal. Understand that people use social media because they crave a connection. Be authentic, relatable. Give a glimpse behind the scenes. Allow your audience to get to know your people on a personal level.
Evoke emotions with images. Without a doubt, imagery is the weakest element of most law firms’ visual identities. Most law firms use near-identical stock photos – photos which usually represent the lawyers themselves. Men and women wearing suits in high rise offices, loitering in corridors, and sometimes shaking hands. The occasional barrister’s wig or judge’s gavel. When marketing a service, you should try to evoke an emotion with your imagery, especially on social media. Use powerful, interesting, surprising, and emotive images that reflect and, will help you connect with, your audience.
Be patient. It takes time to grow a social following.

Work at Your Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing may not be easy, but the results are worth it. Social media still hasn’t reached its peak usage, but an incredible 3.5 billion people, or 45 per cent of the population use social media platforms.

You need to ensure your law firm is part of that process, even if you start small and develop your social media expertise and experience.