Have you ever logged on to social media only to feel overwhelmed and confused about where to begin? In the digital landscape, it can feel like a crowded room where you are competing with others to have your voice heard. So, how do you cut through the noise and make a meaningful impact?
TLDR:
- With the rise of AI, fostering community trust by showcasing your unique voice remains crucial.
- People utilize social media like search engines, and that trend will continue to grow.
- More people want law firms to have an active online presence across social media platforms.
Over the past decade, we’ve watched social media grow from a “nice to have” element of overall digital marketing into a much more essential piece.
What has contributed to that?
A client’s website presence is only one piece of their overall online footprint. Now, more and more people utilize social media platforms like search engines. Not only that but your average website visitor also checks your social media links. It’s crucial to have a consistent presence across the board to ensure your potential client that you are still active and practicing.
Research confirms this. 1 in 4 people (22.5%) don’t hire an attorney without a recognizable online presence.
Consultwebs is here to teach you how to establish a strong social media presence, create engaging content, leverage your community, and amplify your law firm’s unique voice. Establishing your presence begins with setting your goals for both – paid and organic objectives.
What is the difference between organic and paid social media?
ORGANIC: Organic posts reach your existing followers and are generally for brand awareness and current follower engagement. These posts are the bulk of your content and often receive lower reach and engagement numbers since they are not paid promotions.
Example of organic content:
So, what is the point of organic?
Keeping up with organic posts helps existing followers establish a connection with your brand and lets potential clients get to know who you are. There are also some scenarios in which an organic post can be recommended to users who have similar interests to your page via AI suggestions on platforms.
PAID: This side of social is where we get into things like lead generation, boosted posts, video ads, etc. They generate more engagement, more video views, and more impressions.
Example of an ad:
‘What goals can my firm set for organic social media?’
Some organic social media goals your firm can set up include:
- Post frequency
- Networking
- High-Quality Content
Organic social media is a long-term game. The more consistent you are with it, the better results you will have. Optimal organic post frequency can also help build authority for your brand in the eyes of platforms. Our data suggests that a fully rounded organic and paid strategy heavily compliment each other. Setting posting frequency goals as well as a goal to respond to followers promptly is a great place to start.
‘What goals can my firm set for paid social media?’
Some paid social media goals your firm can set up include:
- Number of Leads
- Cost Per Quality Leads
- Increased Followers
- Increased Engagement
- Website Traffic
- Video Views
- Number of Impressions
It’s important to remember that each of these goals has a different key metric that signals success. So if your goal is website traffic, an engagement ad will not be the correct method of achieving it. If your goal includes more than one objective, you will need a well-rounded strategy to support it. Many of these objectives can work in tandem.
Claim Your Marketing Metrics Checklist
‘Which social media platforms should my law firm be on?’
This answer is very dependent on your personal preferences, goals, and intended audience.
Facebook is a great platform for almost everyone to be on. The audience is vast and the posting type that performs well varies.
Instagram tends to be a younger crowd and is a highly visual platform. The photos and videos need to be eye-catching and not just stock photos. Vertical videos are very popular along with informative carousels. It’s important for the content that goes here to be highly shareable for optimal results.
TikTok is a short-form video platform. The audience base on TikTok leans slightly younger, but there are people of all ages on there. This platform is great for firms that can create multiple vertical videos. They do not need to be fancy! Casual videos from phones perform extremely well. This platform often requires a heftier time commitment.
See the Top TikTok Topics for Lawyers
LinkedIn is a professional platform. It’s highly unlikely that an attorney will gain a client there, but it is a good place to showcase achievements and network with other legal professionals.
‘Are there any social media platforms my law firm should avoid?’
We do not typically see a huge return on Twitter/X efforts. The results from Twitter will not yield the same results that we see in spaces like Facebook unless it is a personal account that is extremely active (10+ posts per day and additional networking with other accounts.)
‘What type of content should be posted to these platforms for optimal results?’
There are many types of content that can be posted, and posting a healthy mixture of them works best. In most cases, your audience does not want to see the same type of post over and over again. Post a video one day, a static photo the next, throw in a carousel or live video here and there.
‘What is high-quality content for law firms?’
The quality of your content is incredibly important. When you post, make sure you have something of value to add. Posting for the sake of posting only muddies up the waters of your social channels. Your important posts can get lost in all of that noise. Think about who you are, who your firm is, and let that guide your content strategy. Ultimately, you want to make authentic connections with real people.
‘How do I create high-quality content?’
Have a HOOK. It’s easy to scroll past things on social media by default. The first line of your post, the largest text on your photo, the beginning sentence of your video – there needs to be something to grab attention.
An example of a hook could be a variation of the following:
“This may be a hot take…but”
“You need to hear these 3 key pieces of information”
“Red flag to look for in…”
Historically, CALL TO ACTIONS (CTAs) have been the most important elements of a post, but arguably hooks outweigh that these days.
CTAs are still important, but in order for them to work, you’ll need people to pause long enough to read your post. There are also several phrases that algorithms do not like. For example: “Click our link to read our blog.” Platforms do not want you stealing away their user base. They want them to spend time within their app. Instead of linking directly to your blog, try piecing out the information from it into engaging carousel posts, or turn it into a conversation with your followers instead of a presentation of information.
‘How can I foster authentic engagement and meaningful reactions?’
Prompt responses to comments and messages paired with high-quality content that gets them talking will set you on the path to become a memorable name to people. Engage in relevant conversations about pop culture, partner with other local small businesses to amplify your voice to their followers, showcase commonalities you have with followers (sports, pets, etc.), host events, and be the most authentic you that you can be. In a world where AI usage continues to grow, it’s more important than ever to build trust with your community by showing them there is a face behind the screen!
‘How can I measure my firm’s social media success?’
Measuring success will always be unique to your specific brand. Track your goals by setting realistic objectives and continuing to record results. We recommend checking in at least monthly for goal setting and tracking.
Are you ready to amplify your social media presence? Learn more about our advanced digital advertising services on a 1-1 with one of the top law firm marketing leaders, Tanner Jones.
