Let’s face it: social media is here to stay, and it’s how people consume news and information. To remain competitive in today’s constantly evolving digital world, law firms need to continually adapt their social media strategies to ensure optimal performance of their posts.
Moreover, prospective clients are increasingly using social media for research, networking and vetting law firms. Effective social media posts can build brand recognition, credibility and trust. Firms can provide added value and stay top of mind by posting engaging, relevant and timely content that targets their current and potential clients.
1. Target Marketing: Identify your law firm’s target audience and how they are using social media. The better you understand how your target audience is engaging on social media, the better you can adapt your strategy to improve your content’s relevance and drive higher-performing posts. A law firm’s target audience consists of clients, prospects, alumni, recruits, referral sources and media.
Tools: Sprout Social and Audiense
2. Social Media Management: Social media management platforms allow users to streamline their campaigns. They allow users to manage their law firm’s multiple social media profiles in one place, schedule posts in advance and post to multiple platforms at once. In addition to saving time, they also provide useful analytic reports you can use to measure the impact of your social media campaigns.
Tools: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer and CoSchedule
3. Influencer Marketing: This is a big trend in marketing, and the legal industry is no exception. Influencer marketing is a way to connect with and leverage the solid reputations of industry leaders, bloggers and experts by having them share your content so you can gain exposure to a new audience — their followers. Think of it as an electronic referral to your firm’s services. Today's consumers are looking for “reviews,” and there is no better way to position your law firm’s posts than to have a top influencer share your content.
Tools: BuzzStream Discovery, BuzzSumo and Pitchbox
To remain competitive in today’s constantly evolving digital world, law firms need to continually adapt their social media strategies to ensure optimal performance of their posts.
4. Images: Visual images bring your content to life and increase engagement. Statistics show that posts with an image are shared more than those without one. The tools available to create custom images can also correctly size your images to meet the dimensions required for each social media platform.
Tools: Canva and Crello
5. Hashtags: Hashtags (#) are used to aggregate posts that relate to the same subject. Typically, you should only use hashtags for one word, without spaces or punctuation, and be certain to include them within your message. It’s best to post any links directly following the text of your post and insert any hashtags after the link. Users find it easier to access the link after they read a post rather than having to scroll through a list of hashtags. To optimize your hashtags, use any of the following tools to determine the top trending and most relevant hashtags associated with a particular topic.
Tools: Hashtagify, Tagboard and HashAtlt
6. Videos and Podcasts: Video content marketing is a powerful tool in today’s social media landscape. Video usage in a law firm’s marketing content strategy is increasing and will continue to reach new heights over the next year. Many consumers would much rather watch a short video clip than read text, especially while browsing on social media. Videos also personalize a user’s experience and help you connect with current and potential clients on a more personal and relevant level.
Tools: Blurbiz, Rocketium, Wavve and Spark Video
7. Google Alerts: Create a Google Alert for your law firm’s current clients, prospects and attorneys. Google will scour the internet daily on each alert you set up, and you can receive any resulting information via email “as it happens” or “once a day.”
Tool: Google Alerts
Creating consistent, engaging thought leadership posts provides value to your target audience. It positions your law firm so that your message hits the key marketing goal of ensuring your content is delivering the right information to the right people at the right time. But just having a presence on social media is not enough; networking online is just as important as making in-person connections. Remember, it is called social media for a reason — because it’s social engagement! Interacting on social media includes liking, commenting and sharing others’ posts.
By employing some of these strategies and tools, law firms can uncover a deeper understanding of their social media footprint and develop smarter content strategies.