How Law Firms Can Use Facebook Live to Connect and Engage

In this year’s soon to be released Social Law Firm Index, we measured metrics like engagement, likes growth, and People Talking About This (PTAT), within our Facebook category. Most law firms on the AmLaw 200 have a Facebook page. However, not all use the platform to its full potential.

Unlike LinkedIn, Facebook is appropriate to show your company’s culture and connect on a more personable level with clients and potential clients. Using photos, and even more so videos, is incredibly important in order to catch users attention. Facebook Live, the social network’s  live-streaming platform, allows its users to create their own unique video anytime and anywhere.

The tool has been allowing users to broadcast videos in real time to their followers since it fully launched in August 2016 after it was available to top users the previous year. Facebook Live was the service behind several viral videos by individuals, but it has quickly become a popular tool for businesses.

For law firms, it might seem difficult to connect with followers and clients on a more personal level on social media. Yet those who understand the importance of engagement over sheer volume of followers, welcome comments, questions, and leads from their posts. Facebook Live is a new opportunity to do so. It may seem more apt for breaking news from media sources or celebrity Q&A’s, but there are several ways the tool may benefit your law firm and make your social media presence more valuable.

Jackson Lewis scored high on our 2017 Social Law Firm Index Facebook ranking because of their engagement, likes growth, and PTAT scores. They were also one of the few firms to use Facebook Live. Jackson Lewis posts two 20 minute live videos a month on topics ranging from health care updates to interviews with various industry experts. The average number of views for these videos is about 300 which proves they certainly have an audience. However, as always it’s not a realistic expectation that you can just turn on Facebook Live with no plan and expect your followers to engage. Rather you need a strategy and a schedule of topics you would like to cover.

Answer Blog Comments and FAQs

If your company has an active blog, you can use Facebook Live to facilitate conversations between you and your followers about recent posts. In real time you can answer these questions and perhaps expand on ideas you touched upon in your blog post.

In addition, you may just want to broadcast a video answering questions that are frequently asked by clients or prospects. 

TIP: Let your followers know you plan on going live in advance so that they can tune in at the appropriate time. Viewers can always come back to videos that they miss after they’re live, but it’s more interesting to have as much of an active audience as possible.

Industry Updates/Breaking News

Although a law firm is not a news channel, there are many laws and political changes that can impact your practice areas directly. For example, if you’re a lawyer or a law firm that specializes in immigration law, when bills are passed that may affect your clients, you can go live on Facebook immediately, give an update, answer questions, and explain how your firm may be able to help.

TIP: Answer questions in real time! Viewers can leave comments while you are broadcasting and in order to keep them engaged, take a look at the comments and address them in a personal way.

Interviews

Any of the topics above can be in the format of an interview. It may be beneficial to the video to bring in an expert on the topic you’re discussing to allow for a more conversation-like video. The more insights and perspectives, the more the audience will have questions and comments.

TIP: Think more broadly than just your firm! Bring in experts from other industries to give a deeper perspective on a wide range of issues.

Summary

Facebook Live is still a relatively new tool that not all businesses are taking advantage of. However, it opens up the doors for direct, real time communication between law firms and their clients and prospects in a variety of ways. The higher the engagement rate, the more value your social media channels are giving you in terms of generating leads which is why it’s important to continue moving forward to new technology trends like live streaming.