Social media isn’t just for consumer brands: professional services can benefit from a comprehensive social media strategy, too. Consultants, accountants, sales professionals, and attorneys can all use social media to improve lead generation, brand awareness, and client satisfaction.
Social media marketing for lawyers is a powerful way to win new business and build your firm’s reputation. In fact, an Attorney at Work survey found that more than 70% of respondents say social media is “very” or “somewhat” responsible for bringing in new clients. Law firms that aren’t using social media may miss out on opportunities to connect with clients, become leaders in their industry, and win more business.
If your law firm is new to social media marketing or is seeking to improve your social media metrics, these tips can help you build a strong online presence and reach your business goals.
The importance of social media for attorneys
While it may not seem like a valuable resource, the American Bar Association found that 35% of lawyers who use social media report getting clients from it. Social media is a good source of new leads, but it has several other non-quantifiable benefits that can strengthen your business and lead to sustainable growth.
Social media marketing for lawyers increases awareness.
It’s difficult for law firms to get media attention, especially without a PR budget. Marketing on social media gives law firms the space to generate their own positive public relations. Use your profiles to post attorney-authored content, curated news, and industry insights. And then, make sure your team is sharing your content, too.
The average person spends 151 minutes per day on social media, and regularly posting on these platforms allows you to boost awareness with potential clients.
“If your blog posts and client alerts aren’t getting as much readership as you would like, compared to the amount of time you’re spending writing them, social media can help with this IF you get your lawyers involved in spreading the word about them,” wrote the National Law Review.
Clearview Social can help your team get the word out. With our Employee Advocacy software, your attorneys can choose which content they wish to share on their channels in just a few clicks—spreading the reach of your content beyond your company’s followers.
Social media for attorneys helps build a strong reputation.
Clients are wary about working with lawyers who don’t have an online presence. Statista’s research shows that one in four people won’t hire a lawyer with no recognizable web or social media presence.
Sharing content on social media builds the reputation you need for a client to sign on with your law firm. Post about your wins on social media, share testimonials, and talk about your industry to create a presence people trust.
Social media can help improve client experience.
Clients often get frustrated when their requests aren’t acknowledged promptly. When asked about hiring a lawyer, 48% of people said response time was the most important factor—even more important than cost. Social media provides a fast, easy way to respond to client queries and direct them to the right contact.
Best practices for social media marketing for lawyers
Not all social media channels are well-suited for law practitioners. For instance, Instagram marketing for lawyers may feel less authentic than using LinkedIn. It all depends on your target audience. Ultimately, the channel you choose is less important than the quality of your content and the consistency of your posting.
The American Bar Association reports that 79% of legal firms on social media use LinkedIn, with 54% using Facebook. You should choose the channel that resonates best with your content and clients. For instance, lawyers in the entertainment industry may benefit from Instagram or YouTube, while lawyers working with B2B companies should prioritize content on LinkedIn.
The content you choose to share should also be tailored to your audience. Law Rank’s research on social media for lawyers shows that on Facebook, users are looking for news, client reviews, and testimonials. On LinkedIn, on the other hand, people are seeking out individual lawyer profiles—so focus on optimizing your profiles for credibility.
No matter your chosen channel, your social media marketing strategy should include a plan for amplifying your content, measuring the results, and implementing tools that streamline the entire process.
The best social media marketing tools for lawyers
One of the biggest mistakes that lawyers make when implementing social media campaigns is posting to the wrong account, according to Law Rank. Encourage your team to focus on sharing content through their professional social media pages, not their personal ones. One way to make this easier is through a platform like Clearview Social.
Clearview Social’s publishing tool allows law firms to connect to as many Facebook Pages, LinkedIn Business Pages, Twitter Pages, and Instagram Business pages as they would like. It also has fine-tuned controls over who can post, what gets posted, and when to post. It also features amplification tools that help distribute your content better, making it easy for employees to share content on the right channels at the right time.
To make social sharing super fast and engaging simultaneously, use Clearview Social’s Social Shuffle AI, a feature that allows for Chat GPT integration so you can generate multiple captions. Social Shuffle then distributes these unique captions to your team members in a round-robin way so they can share your firm’s content without taking time out of their busy work day.
Read more: AI in Social Media Marketing: Navigating the Path to Success
Finally, make sure you invest in consistent branding to make your social media strategy feel cohesive and organized. Branding can go a long way toward helping clients remember your firm. And, with your lawyers and support staff sharing content on behalf of your company, you’ll want your team to present a united front. Tools like Stockimag.ai can help you get AI-created photos, wallpaper, posters, and logos to illustrations, stock images, and art. Design tools like Canva are also great for templates you can use as starting points.
Learn more about building a content strategy that works for your law firm. Get in touch with the experts at Clearview Social to find out how our platform can help—starting with a free demo.