Many law firms struggle to get the most out of their social media profiles. They may be unsure about the benefits of these platforms, much less about how best to use them.
What should you post? How often should you post? What content are people most likely to engage with? What are realistic goals for your firm on social media?
At PMP, we work with plaintiff law firms to determine their goals for social media and develop a detailed plan to achieve those goals. If you need help marketing your firm on social media, contact us to learn more about how we can assist you. We work with law firms across the country to help them reach more clients, leveraging broadcast TV, websites, pay-per-click advertising and everything in between.
Why Your Law Firm Should Use Social Media
There are many reasons law firms should use social media, but one of the biggest reasons is that your competitors are already doing it. If you want to keep up, you need to make effective use of these platforms.
Social media marketing has various benefits, such as:
Attracting New Clients
Millions of people are on social media, including many people in your local area who could become clients. Social media sites are another place on the Internet where potential clients may search for a law firm, in addition to Google search.
For example, a potential client might read a blog you posted on social media about the type of accident they were involved in. After reading the blog, they may look at your case results, client testimonials or attorney bio pages. They want more information to determine if they want to work with your firm.
You should also consider paid social media marketing. When done correctly, it can be particularly cost-effective.
Increasing Brand Awareness
Social media has increasingly become a place that helps law firms build their brand. You should already be using other marketing channels like broadcast and cable television and outdoor advertisements. However, if you do not have a presence on social media, you are missing another important opportunity to tell potential clients what sets your firm apart.
Establishing Thought Leadership
Social media is a great place to demonstrate thought leadership on legal issues that matter to your clients. Potential clients are going to want to find an attorney that has demonstrated expertise.
Posting blogs about various legal issues is one way to do that. Clients may also be attracted to firms with lawyers who are regularly training and educating others in the legal profession. Posting about that conference where you are presenting can be helpful.
Improving SEO
A strong and active presence on social media may help to improve your firm’s search engine ranking. Google is constantly refining its search results, including incorporating social feeds into search results.
Engage With the Local Community
Social media is the place to promote how your firm has been interacting with the community. In fact, posts about your firm giving to charity or helping the less fortunate in other ways often get a lot of engagement. This is especially true when your posts include pictures of attorneys and staff members engaging with the community.
You can also join lawyer groups on social media platforms like LinkedIn. This allows you to engage with other lawyers and stay updated on what is happening in the industry. These groups are also the perfect place to share your thought leadership on legal issues that are important to you.
Developing a Social Media Strategy
To get the most from social media, you need to have a comprehensive strategy that you can stick to for the long haul. It takes time to build the social media presence you want to build. At PMP, we help plaintiff law firms develop effective strategies for marketing their firms online and offline. If you have questions about social media, contact us to learn how we can help.
Set Goals
The first step in developing a strategy is to set your goals. Once you set defined, measurable, relevant goals for your firm on social media, you can develop the rest of your strategy.
The experienced professionals at PMP can help you develop specific, achievable goals for your social media presence. We have worked with many firms and we know what works and what is possible.
What Social Networks Should I Use?
After setting goals, you can determine what social networks you should use to reach those goals. Each social network has unique features that make it suitable for certain things, but not for others. For example, LinkedIn is a great place to connect with other lawyers and share thought leadership. Facebook is the most popular social network, and it is a great place for sharing your interaction with the local community.
Research Your Competitors
The next step is looking at what the competition in your local area is doing on social media. Do they have much of a presence on social media? What are they doing well? What are they doing that is not getting engagement?
If the other firms are not doing much on social media, you are likely to have a lot of success if you have a detailed plan using proven strategies. While other firms may be doing some things well on social media, they may be doing poorly in certain areas. That is where your firm can step in and potentially have great success.
Getting Started
It is best to start small and increase your efforts over time. Often the best places to start are Facebook and LinkedIn. Over time you could potentially expand onto Instagram and Twitter. The point is you do not want to get overwhelmed by casting your net too wide too quickly.
Determine the Type of Content to Post
What types of cases are you seeking? If you are looking for car accident and slip and fall cases, you should be writing blogs about the many aspects of these cases.
You will also need to consider what types of images to use. Certain types of graphics may garner more engagement than others.
Scheduling Social Media Posts
You need to have a schedule for posting to social media, otherwise you will end up with few posts on social media. Consistent posts over a long period of time can help build your brand and achieve your other goals. Only posting every now and then is not going to yield much benefit for your firm.
Track Your Results
You need to know how your efforts are working. Fortunately, social media platforms provide a variety of analytics to track your performance.
PMP Helps Law Firms Benefit From Social Media
When you need help promoting your firm to reach the clients you want, you need assistance from experienced professionals with the knowledge and tools to help you succeed.
For more than 15 years, PMP has been working with plaintiffs firms to help them grow and assist more clients.
