Nearly three-quarters of lawyers use social media as part of their digital marketing strategy. Family lawyers can use organic social media posts and paid social media ads to present their unique value proposition and convert viewers into new clients. Social media marketing is often part of a more robust digital marketing strategy but can be an important way for you to grow your following.
Although social media platforms can be a great place to grow your brand, there are pitfalls. Organic social media, much like search engine optimization (SEO), requires investing your time and focus upfront. As you grow in followers and deliver good messaging on social media, there's a chance people who see your content will hire you or recommend you to others.
But it's not as immediate or likely as a pay-per-click (PPC) ad or a pay-per-lead situation like Google Local Service Ads. That means you need a solid strategy for making the most of social while also not counting on it as your only source of lead generation.
Know the Rules
Be aware that much like anything in your content marketing strategy, including your law firm website content, you need to be mindful of American Bar Association advertising rules as well as any state rules for advertising.
Be sure to review all these materials before posting any content, and any contractor or in-house staff member responsible for content creation on social media should also review these before posting anything on your channels or running paid ad marketing campaigns.
Learn What Platform Your Audience Uses
Where do your clients spend time? A good place to look is where you already have an audience or where you get the most engagement from that audience on social media. As a family lawyer, your clients probably don't spend time on LinkedIn, but they might on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. You don't need to be active on every social media profile, but it's important to know where it's worth investing your time so you can build trust with your target clients.
Each social media platform has its own demographics, so you must know which ones your audience uses. You also need to feel confident in learning the algorithms specific to that platform and your ability to post in the right format. For example, if you're not comfortable on video, YouTube and TikTok could be challenging for you.
Align your social media strategy with the social networks where you can be consistent in posting and where you have the best chance of prospective clients seeing your information. Since family law clients can run the spectrum in terms of age, location, and gender, consider which groups most of your clients fit into and which social platforms match with that.
Write for Your Audience
Knowing your target market is crucial for connecting with them through your social media posts. Mixing up your posts with a variety of approaches can help you balance what you share. If you ever share complex information, avoid jargon, but also don't talk down to your audience. Your goal is to present yourselves as knowledgeable experts in your practice areas.
If you don't write for your audience, this will attract the wrong kinds of clients, reduce conversion rates, or both. Your online presence says a lot about your firm, so it should clearly communicate who you are and who you help.
Here are some examples of target audiences and how you might speak to them via social media.
Prenuptial Agreement Clients
These clients may not have an active disagreement or dispute with a family member but are instead trying to prevent them in the future. That being said, it's not always easy to bring up the idea of a prenup before a wedding. By explaining what prenuptial agreements can and can't do, who should use one, and how they can be effective in getting on the same page financially before the big day, you can break down some of the myths.
Include testimonials from previous clients, too, to help build your online presence with social proof.
People Contemplating Divorce
Someone thinking about filing for divorce probably has many questions about what the process looks like and how to best prepare for the case itself. By recognizing the difficult situation ahead of them and breaking down some of the most confusing aspects of how your state considers things in divorce, you can make this process easier for them. Touch on topics of high priority to them, such as child custody.
Divorcing Couples Who Don't Want Litigation
If your family law practice is focused more on mediation or collaborative divorce, tailor your social media strategy with this in mind. Talk about the benefits of going an alternative route and break down misconceptions about these approaches. Everywhere you maintain a social media presence, make sure to cover topics most relevant to this audience who may be looking for a solution outside of a trial.
Mix Paid and Organic
A good social media strategy for a law firm includes both organic and paid social media options. Organic social media is more of a long play where you continue to improve brand awareness with potential clients. With a paid strategy, however, you can increase your chances of conversion when the ad shows up to the right people.
Even when you run ads on social media, you still need to write engaging content in order to encourage that person to take the next step. Continue to create organic content on social media during this time, too, so that you can target the maximum number of new clients.
Collaborate with an Expert to Maximize ROI on Social Media
Most family law attorneys need to spend the majority of their time helping clients. Starting and maintaining a social media strategy can feel like a lot, especially when you're already busy with the day-to-day aspects of running a law firm. Finding a marketing agency or other marketing expert to handle your social media strategy and implementation ensures that you show up on these social media channels without adding further things to your plate.
When outsourcing your social media plan, try to find someone who has experience in the legal industry. There are nuances to reaching a target demographic on social media for law firms and specific advertising rules to be followed, so it's to your benefit to only work with a marketing partner who understands this from day one. Rankings.io has been serving law firm clients with robust online marketing strategies, including social media assistance, for years. Our knowledge of law firm marketing means we can step in right away to build an effective plan for your social media growth.
