Dan Hodges
Social media for law firms doesn’t need to be a time-consuming full-time job, but it also can’t be done well if it’s the bottom of your list, where you post every now and then when something comes up.
For your law firm to be successful on social media, you need to have a strategy in place; this doesn’t mean it has to take hours and hours every week, but it does mean you need to give what you are posting some time and thought.
If you are new to the social media responsibilities in your firm, a social media audit for law firms might be beneficial. By conducting a law firm social media audit, you can gain valuable insights into what is working, what needs improvement, and how to align your social media presence with your firm’s goals.
Once you’ve completed a law firm social media audit and know where you are performing well and what could be improved, let this help to define your social media strategy.
1. Define Your Law Firm Social Media Objectives
First things first, define your goals. What did your social media audit show? Are you getting traffic back to your law firm’s website from social media? Are you getting lots of engagement on your social media posts? Are you getting direct messages on social media enquiring about your services? Or are you seeing not a lot at all? How do these answers align with your law firm’s goals for social media?
There is no point in spending time investing in social media if you don’t have objectives and success metrics in mind because these are what shape your social media strategy.
If you want to grow brand awareness in the local community, then…
…focus on community-led posts, supporting and engaging with local community pages and organisations and work on building your following in the local area. Use local keywords and local hashtags.
If you want to get new enquiries from social media, then…
…link back to your website, answer FAQs about your services, link back to service pages, and write content about the services you can help with. Use keywords related to the services you offer.
If you want to use social media for recruitment purposes, then…
…showcase your employees on your profiles. Discuss what makes your firm different and a better place to work than other firms. Use hashtags related to job searching.
These are just a few examples of objectives your law firm might set, and how you might begin creating your law firm’s social media strategy.
2. Identify Your Target Audience
Once you’ve identified your law firm’s social media objectives, the next thing to determine is who your target audience is. This will again depend on your social media objectives, and, once identified, will help to determine which social media platforms your law firm should try.
A couple of years ago, organisations were using every platform available to them. Businesses thought TikTok would help them to go viral and get new clients, Facebook groups were being utilised and people were trying out Clubhouse. However, in 2024, we are seeing more and more organisations, including law firms, strip back the number of platforms they are using. For example, we have had little success with Facebook and X, and most of our clients engage in our LinkedIn posts. Therefore, we dedicate our effort to LinkedIn and the other platforms that work for us.
Once you know who your target audience is, think about their demographics and identify which social media platforms they are using and when to determine which platforms your law firm should consider.
- Think about the Time You Can Put Into Your Law Firm’s Social Media
Consistency is key when it comes to success on social media. I mentioned above that your law firm’s social media doesn’t need to take hours and hours, but you should be booking in enough time to ensure you are posting regularly. The number of posts your law firm puts out is dependent on the time you have available, but we’d recommend 3-5 posts per social media platform to really achieve your goals.
4. Create a Content Calendar
At Conscious, we love using a content calendar to organise our posts, identify awareness days we can utilise and ensure we are covering all of our content pillars equally. These content pillars will again be determined by your audience and your law firm’s social media goals.
If you want to grow brand awareness in the local community, then…
…your content pillars might include the local organisation you support, your employees and how they are involved in the community, initiatives you support and posts about the local area.
If you want to get new enquiries from social media, then…
…your content pillars might be educational content about the services you provide, answers to FAQs that your firm has been asked for, testimonials about services you provide and blog posts that send people back to your website.
If you want to use social media for recruitment purposes, then…
…your content pillars might be awards and accreditations your firm has, meet the team posts, posts about extra-curricular activities within your firm, your firm’s values and culture and the initiatives your firm implements to support staff.
5. Develop a Brand Voice
Your law firm needs to establish a consistent tone and style that reflects your law firm’s values and professionalism. Whether it’s formal, approachable, or informative, ensure it’s consistent across all platforms. This makes it easier for other people to step in to cover your law firm’s social media presence if someone is off or leaves the business. Your tone should also be similar to your website and other marketing collateral, so it is consistent throughout.
6. Engage with Your Audience
It’s not all about posting on social media to be successful; it’s about being an active member of the social media community! You also need to be booking time in to your diary to respond promptly to comments, messages, and reviews. This shows you’re attentive and care about your clients’ needs.
In addition to this, you should aim to engage in relevant conversations and participate in industry hashtags and content from other reputable sources where your target audience might be.
7. Utilise Canva for your Law Firm’s Social Media Visuals
Your graphics and video content are as important as the content you are sharing. You need to be sharing high-quality, professional looking content that is eye-catching. Canva is a tool we love to create this type of content for your law firm! It’s simple to use, has features for beginners or more advanced designers and creates high-quality content every time. If you are new to Canva, have a look at this webinar on top tips for creating content for your law firm using Canva.
8. Create a search engine optimisation (SEO) guide
Like anything online, SEO-optimised content is key. Have a look at this article on optimising legal copywriting, and follow these top tips in your social media content, too. Social media is always changing, so features that once worked to get posts more visibility, such as hashtags, can be less important now. Think about creating valuable content, include keywords, choose a good visual and let your firm’s experience and expertise speak volumes for you.
9. Look at the Analytics
The final step of your social media strategy is to make time to track your law firm’s social media analytics regularly. We’d recommend once a month, regularly reviewing your KPIs and adjusting your strategy based on what works and what doesn’t. You could decide to experiment with different content types, posting times, and engagement strategies to find the best approach.
So, let’s round up the law firm social media strategy process:
- Define your law firm’s social media objectives
- Identify your law firm’s target audience and determine which social media platforms they are using
- Think about the time you can put into your law firm’s social media
- Create a content calendar
- Develop your law firm’s tone of voice
- Engage with your law firm’s audience on social media
- Utilise Canva for your law firm’s social media graphics
- Create a search engine optimisation (SEO) guide
- Look at the analytics
By following these steps, your law firm can create a robust and effective social media strategy that builds brand awareness, engages clients, and supports your business objectives.
At Conscious, we help law firms become more successful, and one of the ways we do this is through social media for law firms. If you need support with your law firm’s social media, why not start with a law firm social media audit? We can help. Get in contact at sales@conscious.co.uk or 0117 325 0200 to find out more about social media for law firms now.