We’re living in the age of social media overload as usage numbers are higher than ever. In fact, half of the entire world’s population is active on social media (Statista). This has created an unparalleled challenge for new and established law firms as they struggle to break through the cluttered social media landscape to engage their audiences.
In a past post, we talked about the social media trends law firms should follow to remain relevant in the current landscape. Along with those trends, here are a few tips to keep in mind when crafting social media posts. Follow these tips to stand out from the crowd, garner more attention and improve follower engagement.
1. Share happy and encouraging content.
Researchers at Cornell University partnered with Facebook to conduct a study on 500,000 users and found that happy social media content is shared faster and wider than sad content.
As a law firm, you should leverage happiness with your social media strategy, because it’s an opportunity to affect the well-being of your target audience. Simultaneously, your brand name reaches further and wider. For instance, amuse followers with your wit or post inspirational achievements (preferably ones that your lawyers have accomplished).
2. Stir a controversy.
A great way to garner engagement from your followers on social media is to take sides and request a healthy debate. The downside, though, is that discussions elevate very quickly on social media platforms. Therefore, it’s important to keep track of comments and engagement (there are tools you can use to set up email notifications for engagement) and of course, ensure that you have sufficient data and proof to make your point.
3. Include a video or image in posts.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. According to Facebook, a post with a photo makes up 93% of the most engaging posts. Furthermore, Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those without and LinkedIn videos earn 3x more engagement than text-only posts.
Video has become a crucial component of social media, while animated gifs and infographics continue to gain attention and provide real value to your followers. Studies show that multiple forms of media capture more attention than text alone, so your post is much more likely to stand out with the right graphic or multimedia attached.
Related: Video Marketing for Law Firms: 10 Techniques That Will Drive Success
4. Keep things short and sweet.
No doubt you’ve heard this before, but that’s because it’s good advice. Everyone is busy and our hyper-connected world means people have a lot of demands on their attention. People visiting social media are simply scrolling, they aren’t there to really read long-winded content. The shorter and more concise your post is, the more likely it is to be read. We suggest keeping posts to 40 characters on Facebook and 100 for Twitter, while LinkedIn research says 25 words is ideal for their posts.
5. Create headings that draw attention.
Your goal is to intrigue your followers right away and “stop the scroll”. Interestingly, the best way to do this varies by social channel. For example, on Facebook, questions tend to get great responses. However on LinkedIn, “How to” headings perform the best. Do some research on every channel and observe the best practices for how to garner the most attention for each.
6. Incorporate two-way communication.
Do not treat social media as a broadcast platform for your own agenda. Social media is really about creating conversations. Your law firm’s goal should be to engage with your target audience, not simply talk at them. Try to encourage likes, comments, shares, etc by sharing a real point of view and quality content.
Savvy law firm marketers take things a step further by commenting on posts, joining groups, asking questions and responding, tagging others, and replying to comments on their own posts.
7. Be authentic and provide value.
If people take the time to follow your law firm on social media, then they want to engage with your firm, hear what your firm has to say, and learn more from your firm. Post consistently, with a genuine voice and point of view. Share your law firm’s personality through your posts. When it comes to following a law firm on social media, audiences are looking for real insights and expertise, along with an understanding of what they stand for. Try to convey these elements in each post.
Related: A Legal Marketer’s Guide to Writing for Social Media
Takeaway
These tips are a good place to start in refining your social media strategy to get more attention in a crowded space. It’s always a good idea to review what your competitors are doing, too. Take inspiration from their great ideas, and see what is resonating with their audience.
Do you need help engaging your audience and driving real business results through social media? Our social media offerings can be customized to your law firm’s needs and realities. In addition to social media management, we offer social media consulting and training for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.
