Infographic: Social Media Best Practices for Legal Marketers

Legal marketers have realized the power and influence social media has on their law firm’s brand. There is no better platform that can do all of the following – increase your firm’s visibility, gain clients’ trust and build relationships. Savvy marketers know that it’s not enough to just have a business page with a few captivating images. Instead, they take advantage of the mélange of social channels to connect with other professionals and share educational and thought provoking content. If your firm is on social media and posting frequently, try enforcing the following social media best practices for a better ROI.

Share client centric content at a 70:30 ratio

Always post content that is valuable to your audience and helps them overcome obstacles they’re facing.  Social media isn’t a place where you should be indulging in shameless self promotion, which is a common mistake law firms make. Your firm’s newsfeed on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram should abide by the 70:30 rule – 70% client centric content and 30% promotional content. This includes promoting or re-sharing 3rd party content relevant to your clients’ industries. When you provide your audience with value, they’re more likely to engage.

Include 2-3 relevant hashtags per posting

People follow specific hashtags to stay updated on topics that they are interested in. So if someone doesn’t follow your firm’s account, you still have a shot at appearing in their feed organically if they follow the hashtag in your post. Bear in mind that you should use caution when choosing your hashtags. A phrase that may seem relevant to the content you are posting could have an alternative meaning in a different context that could cause controversy.

Engage with audience content

Engagement is key! Your content will appear more frequently and in more people’s newsfeeds when it’s heavily liked, shared, or commented on – that’s how the social algorithm works. Thus, be sure to encourage commenting, respond to the comments you receive, and always try to continue the conversation. These are great ways to build an engaged community on social media to expand your firm’s reach.

Limit use of stock photography

Stock images have become ubiquitous in the business world. If you want to stand out in the crowded world of social media, include real images of the attorneys at your firm. Inspirational quotes or statistics also tend to work well. And of course, there’s no denying the power of video.

Reach thought leaders on Twitter

Thought leaders influence others, shape percep­tions in their field, and serve as the go-to source for those seeking to understand specific issues. Interacting with thought leaders is a great way to tap into their audiences and gain clout. So go ahead and join their conversations! Tag a news publication in one of your insightful tweets and you may be re-tweeted. When an account with many followers interacts with your content, your audience instantly expands. 

Position the people as the brand

Humanize your firm’s brand to form meaningful relationships with your audience. Being authentic and relatable on social media is an important strategy that will inspire more trust from your prospects and boost engagements along with conversions. For example, use imagery to highlight accomplishments or office events.

Consider industry focused accounts

This exercise is especially relevant for global firms with many practice areas. Establishing many accounts means you can talk to different audiences. Segmenting followers allows specific accounts to focus on certain topics as opposed to trying to engage everybody at once.

Takeaway

These social media best practices will help your law firm achieve greater reach, effectively bringing in more business and remaining top-of-mind with former clients that may require your services in the future. If you don’t have time to keep up with frequent posting and engagement tactics on social media, contact us. We’ll devise a social media strategy that will help you achieve greater success for your law firm.