Guide to Social Media for Your Law Firm

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Why Should My Law Firm Embrace Social Media?

When it comes to marketing for your law firm, we understand how it can be easy to overlook the power of social media. However, in a digital landscape dominated by social connectivity, law firms can no longer afford to remain on the sidelines.

Social media has become an integral tool for law firms to connect with clients, establish authority, build brand awareness, foster engagement, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

Our guide will dive into why embracing social media is not just an option but a necessity for today’s law firms. You’ll learn the benefits of social media, which platforms to use, how and what to post, and much more.

A Facebook post by Hendler Flores Law Firm featuring a positive client testimonial from Mark Aylward about their services, alongside a nighttime cityscape image. A link to their site is included.

So get your notebook and pen ready. We’re about to give you the keys to navigating the ever-evolving world of social media and upgrading your marketing game from “motion to dismiss” to “motion for success!”

What Are the Benefits of Social Media for My Law Firm?

First things first, what ARE the benefits of social media for your law firm? We’re so glad you asked. This is a great question that deserves exploration since the advantages are numerous. Let’s dive in and uncover how harnessing the power of social media can elevate your firm’s online presence and success.

Attract Potential Clients

Social media is a powerful tool for law firms seeking to connect with potential clients. Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram offer unique opportunities to engage with audiences, share valuable insights, and showcase your knowledge. By actively participating in conversations and providing timely responses to inquiries, law firms can build trust and credibility, ultimately attracting new clients.

Foster Engagement with Your Community

Not only will leveraging social media help you attract new clients, but it can also significantly strengthen relationships with existing clients and the broader local and legal community. Law firms can foster a sense of connection and trust by engaging with followers through regular updates, informative posts, and interactive content. Social media platforms offer a space for firms to showcase their involvement in community events, share success stories, and provide valuable resources to clients. This ongoing engagement not only reinforces loyalty among existing clients but also positions the firm as an active and supportive member of the community. Additionally, by participating in conversations and addressing concerns raised by clients or community members, law firms can demonstrate their commitment to client satisfaction and responsiveness, further solidifying their reputation and relationships within the legal community.

Build Your Law Firm’s Online Brand and Authority

Establishing a robust online presence is paramount for law firms looking to stand out in a crowded market. Social media platforms offer a powerful avenue for firms to cultivate their brand identity and showcase their knowledge. By consistently sharing valuable content and thought leadership pieces, law firms can position themselves as authorities in their respective fields. Through strategic social media efforts, law firms can effectively build their online reputation, extend their reach, and ultimately solidify their position as leaders in the legal industry.

Drive Traffic to Your Law Firm’s Website

Social media serves as a dynamic platform for law firms to share website content that has the potential to lead people to their online domain. By regularly sharing informative blog posts, news updates, and valuable resources, firms can pique the interest of their audience and entice them to visit their website for further information. Additionally, sharing links to specific pages or landing pages on the website can drive targeted traffic to relevant areas, such as practice area pages, service offerings, or contact forms. This strategic approach not only increases website traffic but also enhances user engagement and fosters credibility within the firm’s online community.

Text image from Hudson Injury Firm explaining that rear-end crashes can result from distracted or slippery road conditions. Provides a link to learn more about winter accident types. Tags: #injurylawyer #accidentattorney.

Enhance Your Law Firm SEO Strategy

Using social media can turbocharge a law firm’s SEO campaign by enhancing online visibility and indirectly boosting search engine rankings. Engaging on social platforms and sharing valuable content not only expands the firm’s online presence but also generates valuable social signals that search engines consider when ranking websites. While there’s no direct correlation between social media activity and search engine rankings, a robust social media presence can indirectly improve SEO by driving traffic to the firm’s website, increasing brand awareness, and fostering engagement with the legal community.

Generate Backlinks to Your Law Firm’s Website

Social media platforms provide law firms with an excellent opportunity to generate backlinks to their website. By sharing valuable content and engaging with their audience, law firms can attract attention from other websites and influencers within their industry. When these sources find the content valuable, they may choose to link back to it from their own websites or social media profiles, effectively creating backlinks. Additionally, social media platforms themselves often have high domain authority, and links from these platforms can also contribute positively to a website’s SEO.

Which Social Platforms Are Best for Law Firms?

You’re sold on the idea of harnessing social media’s power for your law firm, but the million-dollar question remains: which platforms should you focus on?  Don’t worry; we’ve got the lowdown on that too!

Read on to discover the unique advantages of each platform and why your firm should use it.

LinkedIn

Why LinkedIn is Beneficial for Law Firms

LinkedIn has emerged as a powerhouse for law firms seeking to expand their professional network, establish thought leadership, and cultivate meaningful connections within the legal community.

With a reported 1 billion users, including an extensive roster of legal professionals, LinkedIn provides an ideal environment for firms to showcase their knowledge, share valuable insights, and engage in industry conversations. By maintaining an active presence on LinkedIn, law firms can position themselves as authorities in their respective fields, attracting potential clients and fostering trust and credibility among their audience.

A law firm's Facebook post promoting their criminal defense services. The image includes text about their expertise from DUIs to federal cases and links to their website. Hashtags are included at the bottom.

Facebook

Why Facebook Is Beneficial for Law Firms

Facebook remains a cornerstone of social media marketing for law firms due to its extensive user base and versatile advertising options. With billions of active users worldwide, Facebook offers law firms a vast audience to engage with and establish a strong online presence. By creating a professional Facebook page, law firms can showcase their knowledge, share valuable content, and engage directly with clients and prospects.

It also presents law firms with a unique opportunity to humanize their brand and build authentic connections with their audience. Facebook can be used to introduce the faces behind the firm, allowing users to connect on a more personal level. By sharing team photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and engaging content that highlights the firm’s culture and values, law firms can humanize their brand and foster trust and rapport with potential clients. This human-centric approach resonates with users, who appreciate seeing the people behind the legal services they’re considering.

Additionally, Facebook’s advertising platform provides law firms with powerful tools to target specific demographics, interests, and geographic locations. Whether promoting legal services, sharing educational content, or driving traffic to their website, law firms can leverage Facebook ads to reach their ideal audience effectively.

An office setting with three diverse professionals smiling and conversing. The poster discusses reducing employee turnover through job satisfaction and DEI initiatives. There’s a link provided for more information.

X (Formerly Twitter)

Why X is Beneficial for Law Firms

Twitter/X is one of the top social networks for keeping a pulse on trending topics and newsworthy conversations. It’s the network where active conversations are taking place around the hottest news and have great potential for your business to be seen and talked about.

Content posted on X is easily searchable, which is why it is so appealing from a business perspective. You can quickly partake in relevant conversations surrounding your targeted topics and organically spark more engagement than most other social platforms. Law firms specifically can search for trending conversations around new laws, local issues, and other legislative topics. Once you are able to see what is currently of interest to the masses, you can use this data to continue the conversation and share your own valuable insight.

Another great feature of X is that it doesn’t require you to use a personal account to get started. Business profiles can be totally separate from your personal profile, which makes sharing access across your marketing team easy.

Facebook post by Hamil Little promoting a Health Law Book that covers topics on opening and operating a medical practice, including types of medical practices, compliance, and more.

Instagram

Why Instagram is Beneficial for Law Firms

Instagram is the star when it comes to photo-centric content. It allows you to visually appeal to your audience while still allowing space for storytelling. This is the platform for your law firm to show off its beautiful office space, behind-the-scenes, and event happenings. It’s also great for digital guides, ebooks, or any other downloadable product. They can be promoted via slideshows or custom graphics.

Beyond images, it is also perfect for video content, specifically shorter videos with facts and statistical tidbits. This is where law firms should get creative and share legal knowledge that is not typically known by the general public. The more unique and interesting it is, the more likely users will share it and follow your brand.

How Do I Create a Social Marketing Strategy for My Law Firm?

When picking a social media strategy, you must ensure you create a plan that will best meet your goals and be feasible within your time and budget.

You may like the idea of posting daily, but if you are unable to execute it, the plan will ultimately fail. Take the time to think about what is most important and then decide how you can realistically apply it.

Scout the Competition

Reviewing the competition is a good starting point for figuring out your overall social plan. You never want to copy your competitors exactly, but understanding what and when they post can give you a good idea of what the industry shares on social networks.

While evaluating, you should look at the following elements:

  • What networks do your competitors participate in? Are there networks that your industry omits?
  • What type of content do they share? Is it more creative or traditional? Do they share more articles, videos, announcements, etc.?
  • How much engagement do they receive? This will help determine how competitive it may be to spark conversation on these topics.
  • What seems to work well for them, and how can you do it better?

Master Social Media & Legal Guidelines

As a business, you want to stay professional on social media, but lawyers especially need to be careful about what they post. Be sure to follow the bar rules provided by your state when it comes to posting and interacting with accounts.

A few general rules to keep in mind are:

  • Avoid controversial topics. Sometimes, brands will use this to spark conversation, but if you are ever in doubt about how it could come across, skip it.
  • Understand what content performs better on each network. For example, LinkedIn is a more professional network, whereas Twitter is for shorter, newsworthy information.
  • Don’t spam or talk too much about yourself.  Sharing information directly about your business is fine as long as you balance it out. Share relevant articles within your niche, valuable facts, and other topical content outside of your own website.

Two firefighters work next to an overturned vehicle at an accident scene, with dust and debris in the air. Text above discusses the legal implications of vehicle rollovers.

Maximize Impact by Focusing Your Efforts

It can be intimidating to go all in and try to be the best at everything all at once. A better strategy is to start with the social networks you feel most comfortable with and expand from there. Once you get a handle on posting and can see what works best, you can start engaging in more places.

One of the easiest types of posts you can start sharing is blog posts and valuable website content. Share a summary of the post or an interesting fact and post it to all of your networks. Over time, you can incorporate more advanced posts with custom graphics or videos.

Identify & Track Social Media Goals

Part of figuring out your social media management plan is identifying what type of goals you want to reach. For example, you may be starting off with 0 followers/likes and first want to focus on attracting an audience. Or perhaps you have a decent following but no engagement. Another possible goal could be to attract new subscribers to your newsletter.  The types of goals you may have are endless, and they will most likely change over time. But once you nail down what matters most to you, it will be easier to establish a content calendar that focuses on these goals.

Keep in mind that your strategy will continue to take shape as you work through your initial plan and start posting. You should keep an eye on the results (or lack thereof) and tweak your strategy as you deem necessary. Social media is all about experimenting and finding the right fit for your individual audience.

What Type of Content Should I Share?

In general, your firm should post a variety of content on social media. What that entails will depend on a combination of your goals, audience, and content you have available. A typical list of content types you should consider includes:

  • Blog Posts
  • Firm Announcements/News
  • Topical Articles from Niche Publications or News Sources
  • Firm Videos
  • Local Sponsorships or Events
  • Information On Your Services/Products
  • Company Culture
  • Holiday Greetings

Image shows a promotional Facebook post from The AR Group, LLC featuring a colorful hot air balloon. Caption reads: "Soaring to new heights with our training solutions." Hashtags include #workplacetraining and #hrservices.

How Often Should I Post?

Determining how often your law firm should post on social media can vary based on the firm’s schedule and the time it can dedicate to social marketing. The key is to maintain a consistent posting schedule that you can realistically stick to without compromising the quality of the content.

Posting regularly with authentic, valuable content is more effective than pushing out forced or filler content. This approach ensures that the firm’s social media presence remains engaging and relevant.

Legally Branded: Craft Your Law Firm’s Social Persona

Consistency in branding is crucial for a law firm’s social media strategy. Utilizing branded templates that align with the website’s color scheme and design ensures a uniform look across all platforms. This consistency helps build a recognizable identity that clients and potential clients can easily associate with the firm.

Additionally, developing a unique voice that reflects the firm’s values and professional style will set it apart from competitors. By consistently applying these elements, the firm’s social media presence becomes a cohesive extension of its brand, fostering familiarity and trust among its audience.

Shane Hudson is announced as a Georgia Super Lawyer by Hudson Injury Firm, noting his selection to this list for his legal excellence. The post includes a photo of Hudson and congratulatory message.

Turn Posts into Shares

To maximize the impact of its social media presence, a law firm should aim to produce content that others find valuable and worth sharing. Shareable content includes informative blog posts, engaging infographics, and insightful legal updates that provide value to the audience.

For instance, a post breaking down a recent legal change in simple terms or a well-designed infographic explaining workers’ compensation benefits can prompt users to share with their networks. By producing high-quality, relevant content that encourages sharing, the firm can increase its visibility and establish itself as a trusted authority in its field.

Ready to Elevate Your Social Media Presence? Let’s Get Started!

Phew! We know that’s A LOT to absorb, but we hope we’ve convinced you of the incredible benefits of social media marketing for law firms.

If you’re ready to dive in but need a helping hand, reach out to PaperStreet. We’re always excited to chat about our social media campaign offerings and help your firm shine online!

 

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