Social media is the key to a solid marketing strategy for your law firm. It is the best way to get your firm to reach as many eyes as possible. At Third Eye Insights, we know how to help your law firm leverage social media to set you up for success. Here’s our ultimate guide to making the most of social media to help you attract, engage with, and retain your clients.
1 . Master the basics
Make sure you know who your target audience is, and make sure you choose platforms that are intended for that audience. For example: young adults are primarily using Instagram, whereas older adults prefer Facebook. Pick platforms which meet your needs best, and allow you to connect with your target demographic.
Consistency is key. Make sure that if you are using multiple platforms, your handles (names) are consistent across each platform – that will help your audience find you. Pick a few colours that represent your brand and use these colours frequently in your brand messaging.
2 . Your visuals matter
Creating original and relevant content is key to building a relationship with your base. Customized graphics are a must: an picture is worth a thousand words! Canva and Snappa are excellent online design tools that you can use to make graphics in a snap, and they are free too.
Here are some content ideas you can use:
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- Inspirational quotes
- Client testimonials and reviews
- Relevant statistics and facts
- Milestones and achievements
All of your content should tie back to your brand, and your firm. Make sure your logo is apparent, that your firm name is clearly visible, and that your brand colours are represented in all your content pieces. Eventually, your audience will associate your content with your firm immediately.
3 . If a picture is worth a thousand words, what can a video say?
That’s right. You can use videos to communicate with your clients. Be it long-form informative videos on YouTube, or short video bites on TikTok, video content can help you grow your client base even more! With YouTube, you can present video podcasts, webinars and other informative pieces. With TikTok, you can stay on top of trends, demonstrate creativity, and create short-format informational videos (such as tips).
4 . Monitor conversations around your firm
What are clients and competitors saying? With social media, you can keep a close eye on conversations happening around your firm, and you can participate. This includes thanking clients for positive reviews, or providing your input on relevant conversations, redirecting potential clients to your firm.
5 . Share valuable posts and updates
By sharing relevant content posted by others you can engage with other voices and create a space for dialogue, which can be helpful in attracting clients and demonstrating your influence in the industry space.
6 . Respond to comments and queries
These days, clients will reach out to firms on social media to obtain quotes, seek advice or consultation. You can take advantage of this to responding to queries in a timely manner – demonstrating excellent customer service from the get-go.
7 . Use social media to tell your brand story
Your clients want to know what makes you unique, what sets you apart from every other law firm. Social media can help you humanize your brand and create an emotional connection with your clients.
Facebook Advertising for Law Firms: The Ultimate Guide
With almost 3 billion active users, Facebook is the number one social media platform in the world. It can be the very best tool to engage with clients. Here at Third Eye Insights, we specialize in implementing full-scale marketing strategies for a variety of clients, especially law firms. Here is our guide in helping your firm leverage Facebook for all it has to offer.
1 . Your Facebook page
Your Facebook page is where clients and your Facebook community at large will see you on Facebook. It is also the hub for your Facebook advertising. Here, you will:
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- Share your original content – videos, blog posts, and eBooks
- Share upcoming events and webinars
- Connect with your target audience with stories, ideas, questions, and informative content to encourage engagement and build relationships
- Share special professional milestones
- Use Facebook Messenger as a customer service tool
Make sure your page is clean, clutter-free, and that your contact information is easily accessible. As we move through this article, we will discuss how you can use your Facebook page to deliver content that secures clients as well as advertise your firm to as many eyes as possible.
2 . Targeting Facebook advertising to your client-base
Utilize Facebook’s strategic marketing tools to target your clients. You can directly tailor your ads to match your clients’ gender, age demographic, professions, income, languages and geographic location using Facebook’s targeted system. You can also use Facebook’s marketing tools to identify key characteristics of the audience that frequents your page, and derive novel insights from this data. You might be surprised at what you find, and who your clients really are!
3 . Set clear, SMART goals to help you achieve your social media needs.
The social media goals that you make should follow the SMART format below.
SMART: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
One of the best ways to make a goal SMART is to break it down into chunks, and tackle one chunk at a time.
Start with identifying achievable, realistic numbers of clients you want to attract. Budget how much you are willing to spend on your marketing. Consider what kind of content you want to publish, and when. Most of all, have specific deadlines in place as to when you wish to achieve all your goals and see results!
4 . Pro tip: Create multiple versions of ads and test them.
Testing ads is a surefire way to discover what types of ads resonate best with your audience. Try testing:
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- A more direct headline
- Brighter colours vs. muted colours
- A more emotional text
- A stronger call to action
- And, more enticing imagery
By testing ads, you are trying different formulas on your target audience and seeing which content and which ads work the best. With this data, you can tailor all your future content and ads to optimize the number of prospective clients you reach.
5 . Visuals make an impact
Visuals matter. Consider a wall of plain, black text on white vs. compelling, colorful imagery that tells a story – which do you think your clients will gravitate towards more?
Utilize the power of psychology: pick bright, attention grabbing colours that invoke positive emotions. Always pair your advertisements with photos of people – this is how your clients will identify with and “see themselves” in your brand. Select pictures of smiling, successful people, that your clients might aspire to be more like. Make sure your visuals tell a story, and effectively communicate your brand and what it has to offer, to your clients.
6 . Utilize video
If an image is worth a thousand words, what can a video say? Today, everyone wants their information packaged neatly, clearly, and delivered to them – and video is the best way to achieve this. An informative and engaging video will attract more clients than pure text and image-based ads. So how do you best incorporate video into your ads?
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- Keep it short, attention-grabbing and compelling
- Include a call to action in the video – by text or verbally
- If possible, deliver your message without sound. Consider using text captions.
7 . Be creative with different advertising formats
Facebook has a variety of different advertising formats, beyond the standard single image ad. For example, carousel ads allow you to show two or more images and/or videos, headlines and links or calls to action in a single ad. This is extremely user-friendly, as clients can scroll through the ad to view different images or videos with a simple swipe of their smartphone screen or tablet – seeing multiple items at once. While it is most commonly used for retailers to showcase their items, this is also an excellent way for your law firm to showcase the various services offered, to showcase various testimonials and client stories, or to tell your story from multiple angles.
8 . Track the metrics that matter the most
Facebook has an extremely sophisticated metric measurement system, which you can utilize to your advantage. Facebook tracks engagement metrics, including:
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- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- Video Views
- Video View Length
- Ad Frequency
These metrics measure the level of engagement that your content has with your audience. Facebook also measures conversion metrics, which measure the frequency that your content is able to generate paying clients, including:
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- Lead Form Submissions
- Landing Page Lead Submissions
- Telephone Calls
- Content Downloads
- Cost Per Conversion
By tracking these metrics, you can see what you’re doing right – and what you need to fix.
9 . Lead ads: Getting your foot in the door to attract clients
Lead ads make it foolproof for clients to fill out forms by populating it with information that Facebook already has, like full name and email address. Best of all, a user never needs to leave Facebook to complete the form. They can enter their information directly into Facebook, which will be sent directly to you.
This enables you to get the info you need directly from the mobile ad. And, that’s one step closer to becoming a paying client.
10 . Retargeting ads: Facebook’s secret weapon.
Have you ever gone online “window” shopping, and then returned to Facebook, only to find an ad of the exact item that you were previously looking at? This is Facebook’s Retargeting advertisement system – a way for stores to re-attract you to convince you to purchase their product. This is also an effective tool for you to attract clients. Perhaps you have a client who has visited your website, thought about your services, and then “moved on”. Facebook’s retargeting ad system will remind them of your brand, and compel them to give you a second look.
Choosing the Perfect Social Media Platform for Your Law Firm
Social media is now a core component of any communications strategy – the law industry is no exception! Social media drives traffic to your website, integrates with SEO, expands your reach, and builds a network and a community around your firm. It impacts how you’re perceived. But in order for it to be effective, you need to choose the right social media platform for your law firm. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to build an effective social media strategy.
1 . Determine your target audience
Some questions you should be able to answer about your clients are:
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- What is their age group?
- What is their gender?
- What is their income/education level?
- How well-versed are they with social media?
- Where do they live? What geographical location do you serve?
- Which of your products and services are they interested in?
2 . Define your goals
As a law firm, you may be primarily concerned with obtaining new clients. Other goals may include: retaining existing clients, being referred to new clients, expanding reach, and providing excellent customer support. Determine what these goals are, and what your expectations are from your social media strategy. Identifying your goals will help you streamline your social media strategy
3 . Reach your audience
Now that you have your audience and goals defined, the next stage is to reach your audience. This is done by choosing the right social media platforms to help you connect with your target audience and achieve your goals. Each major platform has a different user base, is optimally used with different content, and has different functions. Here is a breakdown of all the major social media platforms and how they can help you.
Facebook
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- 2.7 billion users
- Users: general population, typically skewing towards middle aged and older adults.
- Ideal content: images, blog-posts, videos, webinars
- Best for: retaining existing clients, reaching out and providing updates to a dedicated network
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- 1 billion users
- Users: general population, typically skewing towards younger adults and youth
- Ideal content: images, short-form videos
- Best for: reaching out to new clients, generating new leads and building brand awareness
YouTube
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- 2.3 billion users
- Users: general population
- Ideal content: videos
- Best for: sharing educational and lifestyle content, building brand awareness
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- About 700 million users
- Users: almost exclusively professionals, typically young and middle-aged adults
- Ideal content: blog posts, images, short videos
- Best for: reaching out to professionals, lead generation, hiring and building brand awareness
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- About 200 million users
- Users: typically, young and middle-aged adults, professionals, and public figures
- Ideal content: images, very concise posts
- Best for: building brand awareness
TikTok
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- 1 billion users
- Users: mostly youth
- Ideal content: very short form videos
- Best for: building brand awareness