Here’s a question that’ll give you a deer-in-the-headlights look: what social media platform should you focus on?
You’ve heard a little bit about Twitter, you use Facebook to keep up with your friends and family, and you watch YouTube everyday, but how can you use any of these platforms to advertise your legal services?
That’s not the only question you have about social media. I’m sure you’ve asked yourself one or more of the following:
- Can I be on more than one platform?
- How do I get more people to follow me on this platforms?
- What if I don’t do it right?
- How do I find time to post on social media when I’m already busy as it is?
If you’ve asked any of the above questions, this post is tailor-made for you. We’ll tackle all of them (and more). By the end of this post, you’ll be confident in which social media platform to choose and how to work it like a boss. Are you ready? Let’s do this!
Here’s some totally non-creepy advice: find out where your ideal client lives (online) and set up shop there.
If you’re focused on corporate, tax, or labor law, your clients are probably on the social platform LinkedIn. LinkedIn is for professionals who are looking to hire for their companies. That’s why it would make sense to be there if your law firm services businesses and not individuals.
On the other hand, if you’re focused on individuals and not businesses, you’ll find more success on platforms like Facebook. Family law, personal injury, and bankruptcy lawyers can do well with a representation on Facebook.
We’ll go into more detail a little further down below.
Can I be on more than one platform?
Absolutely. You can be on one or five. That said, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. It takes time and effort to make posts for each platform. If your target client doesn’t exist on a specific platform, there’s no need to be there, no matter how popular that site is.
For example, if your client is all corporate all the time, there’s no need to be on a personal-leaning platform like Instagram.
How do I grow my list of fans and followers?
You’ll grow your list of people who follow you by posting valuable information and doing so consistently.
Don’t post sporadically. If you post multiple times per day every day for two weeks and then go dark for two months, you’ll lose a lot of subscribers when you decide to post again. Why? Because they’ll forget who you are and wonder why you’re posting in their feed—or they’ll just unsubscribe after your lengthy absence because they figure you’ve left for good.
Also, engagement matters. You can’t just post a bunch of self-promotion about you and your law firm. You should take the time to interact with your followers. Answer their questions, even if they’re not directed directly at you.
What if I don’t do it right?
Unless you infuse politics, religion, and too many cat pictures in your social updates, you’re going to be fine. Scratch that last part—there’s never enough cat pictures on the Internet.
Image Courtesy of Know Your Meme
The most important thing to remember in your social strategy is to provide value to your fans and followers.
What does this mean for a law firm? Discuss current topics, especially those related to your area of practice. Are you an immigration attorney? Highlight human interest stories in the media that may inform or entertain your followers. Are you a labor attorney? Your audience may enjoy a series of visual infographics that illustrate (and make plain) current labor laws.
Remember: Don’t aggressively tout your services. Give as much information as you can. They’ll crave more.
How do I find time to post when I’m already busy as it is?
For just about every social media platform, there’s a scheduling service that can help you automate your posts. We’ll highlight them below.
You have 140 characters or less to say something epic. The average Twitter user is between the ages of 18-49 with a college degree. Slightly more men are on Twitter.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Bankruptcy, Business (Corporate), Civil Rights, Criminal, Entertainment, Environmental, Family, Health, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Labor, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Tax
Why you should consider this medium:
Twitter is great for connecting with other lawyers, sharing inspiration with your followers, and providing quick bursts of useful information.
When to post: 1pm – 3pm Monday through Thursday and Sunday
Image Courtesy of Post Planner
When not to post: 8pm – 9am everyday and Fridays after 3pm
How often: three times a day to as much as you’d like
Best practices:
+Use Buffer or Hootsuite to automatically post, even when you’re away from your computer.
+Ask questions and post polls to encourage interaction.
+Use a lot of #hashtags (around five is the sweet spot).
+Follow new people every day to grow your potential followers. Use Twitter’s “who to follow” recommendations to find more people who’ll love your content.
+Favorite retweets to show your gratitude.
Approximately one out of every seven people on earth have a Facebook profile. That’s reason enough to create a business profile here.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Bankruptcy, Civil Rights, Criminal, Entertainment, Environmental, Family, Health, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Labor, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Tax
Why you should consider this medium:
Use Facebook to grow your community, promote events, and help explain complicated subject matter. There are a lot of people on Facebook, so it’s a good place to start no matter what type of law you practice.
When to post: 1pm – 4pm Mondays through Thursday
When not to post: 8pm – 8am or on Saturdays
How often: No more than five times per day
Best practices:
+Ask questions.
+Include photos with every post to grab people’s attention.
+Upload a cover photo that shows off who you are.
+Keep your posts to 40 characters or less.
This visual medium appeals to the young crowd (under 30). It’s used mostly by women in urban areas.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Criminal, Entertainment, Family, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Personal Injury
Why you should consider this medium:
Instagram is all about visual stimulation. Use this platform to share daily inspirational quotes, post behind-the-scenes images, and share a day in your life. You can also post graphics that illustrate a complicated law or idea.
When to post: Daily
When not to post: n/a
How often: Two times per day
Best practices:
+Hashtags are your friend. Use them to get discovered in organic search.
+Follow hashtag trends and engage in the conversation.
+Encourage user-generated content by asking your followers to post under specific themes with your personalized hashtag.
+Use captions for clarity.
+Follow those who follow you and like your posts.
+Use high quality images.
+Use services like Schedugram, Onlypult, and Latergram to schedule out your Instagram posts.
YouTube
The largest demographic on YouTube is between the ages of 25 to 44. It’s highly targeted to millennials, though.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Bankruptcy, Business (Corporate), Civil Rights, Criminal, Entertainment, Environmental, Family, Health, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Labor, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Tax
Why you should consider this medium:
YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. It also serves as a wonderful discovery engine. Your client can reach you simply by typing in keywords like “bankruptcy law for Florida.” As long as you’ve added this term to your video, you’ll pop up in the search results.
When to post: Monday-Wednesday: 2pm-4pm EST
Thursday-Friday: Noon-3pm EST
Saturday-Sunday: 9am-11am EST
When not to post:
Over the holidays (July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas, end of December and beginning of January)
How often: It’s more about consistency than how many per week
Best practices:
+Keep your videos under three minutes long.
+Unless your law firm is moonlighting as a sitcom, don’t include a long intro with a theme song. It’s a waste of your three minutes.
+Post on a regular schedule, whether that’s once per week or specific days each week.
+Respond to comments.
+Film your video in landscape mode, not portrait.
Approximately 69% of Pinterest users are women. Sorry James Brown: on Pinterest, it’s a woman’s world.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Bankruptcy, Family
Why you should consider this medium:
If most of your clients are women or families, you should definitely consider creating a profile on Pinterest. It may even be a good idea to pay for promoted pins (this is a paid ad on Pinterest).
When to post: 2pm – 4pm and 8pm – 1am
When not to post: 5pm – 7pm
How often: Five posts per day
Best practices:
+Add a thorough description on your pins (this is what they call a post on Pinterest) to make it easy for people to find you.
+Vertical images are better than horizontal.
+Use Tailwind, Viraltag, and Viralwoot to schedule your pins on Pinterest.
LinkedIn is the social platform for professionals, most between the ages of 30-64. It’s strictly business here.
Types of lawyers who should consider this medium:
Business (Corporate), Entertainment, Intellectual Property, International, Labor, Real Estate, Tax
Why you should consider this medium:
LinkedIn is the best place to reach businesses who may need your service.
When to post: 7am to 9am and 5pm to 6pm Tuesday through Thursday
When not to post: 10pm to 6am and the weekends
How often: One post per day Monday through Friday
Best practices:
+Give endorsements and get endorsements.
+Write posts on your legal discipline to increase your expert status. +Focus on writing how-to and list-based articles.
+Add photos and videos to spice up your posts.
+Join legal groups.
+Don’t include #hashtags (it’s not useful).
Overall Tips
+Interact with your audience whenever possible. Respond to comments.
+Use the 80/20 rule. Post helpful content 80% of the time, and market yourself 20% of the time.
+Only focus on the social platforms that provide you with the most engagement.
+Create a consistent visual brand on your social media platforms. Check out this post for more details on how to build a visual identity.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the perfect social media platform isn’t so hard now that you’ve got this guide to help you out. Remember that there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution for your legal practice, and you may have to experiment with different platforms to see which one gives you the best results. If you need extra guidance, we’re here to help you every step of the way.