Social media has exploded in popularity.
Try finding someone without at least one social media profile and you would be hard pressed to do so. Facebook is by far the largest platform with well over one billion active users. But other networks are widely used including Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and more.
This massive growth has naturally caught the attention of major corporations. One study shows that 74% of Fortune 500 companies had an active Facebook account and 78% had a Twitter account. This number continues to increase each year as more brands begin to implement social media in their marketing.
But many businesses have yet to adopt.
A study from eMarketer found that four out of ten US small businesses do not use social media.
Even those businesses that did have social accounts, only 55% updated their profile monthly while 30% did so weekly and 15% daily. Additionally, only a small number of law firms responded publicly to comments on social platforms. The data from the study indicates that law firms are ineffective at using social media to drive engagement.
Any industry can benefit with a strong social strategy.
But engagement is key to driving growth.
Here we provide tips on how law firms can drive engagement with social media.
1. Actively Share
Social media is all about interaction.
People use social platforms to converse about practically every topic imaginable from sports to politics and niche hobbies. One mistake that businesses make with social media is using it to constantly promote their products or services. If you don’t provide any value, users would be less inclined to follow your profile.
One way to increase engagement is to actively share new content.
This could be from the latest news in your firm’s practice area (e.g. family law, insurance, etc.) or other news in your industry. If you find anything interesting, take a few minutes to post it on your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account.
One law firm in North Carolina actively uses Twitter to share industry news:
Another law firm shares updates from the company blog to its Facebook page where others can comment:
Most businesses neglect their social media accounts. So take some time out of your day to actively share and participate in conversations that are relevant to your industry. Making these efforts will help your profiles steadily gain attention.
2. Tell Your Story
Every business is made up of people.
And behind each firm is a story.
Share more of the personal side of your practice to connect and increase engagement. This can be anything from simple celebrations in the office to recent promotions or miles. If your firm has recently been honored in the community or has contributed to an event, those are also worthy stories to share.
One law firm recently made this post celebrating the birthday of an employee:
Attorneys are hired for their expertise.
Telling stories helps visitors connect with your firm on a more personal level.
3. Feature Your Attorneys
One way to promote your law firm is to highlight the professional achievements of your attorneys. If a lawyer has been recognized in a national case or has received some type of award, be sure to share that information on your social profiles. Any positive recognition in the media should absolutely be shared.
Here is an excellent example from a law firm that does exactly that on its Facebook page:
Highlighting the accomplishments of their lawyers helps to further boost the firm’s reputation.
4. Be Responsive
Potential clients are everywhere.
Gone are the days of opening up the Yellow Pages to find local service providers. Nowadays most people go online to search for local businesses and read reviews before making a purchase. This is why social media is such an important channel as your potential clients are researching your firm.
But they are likely to leave with a poor impression if your profiles are littered with irrelevant content or your firm has been unresponsive to several comments. So maintain a regular posting schedule and continue to update your profiles with engaging content. Most importantly, stay on top of any comments you receive and respond to any questions or feedback you receive.
Conclusion
Social media is an excellent platform to increase brand awareness and even attract clients.
But a number of studies have shown that most businesses are not effectively managing their social media profiles. Most are simply neglected and rarely receive any updates aside from a random post every month or so. To distinguish your profiles and increase engagement with your target audience, actively share new content that is relevant to your industry, tell a story about your firm, feature your attorneys or any recent awards received, and be responsive to any comments you receive.