Social media in the legal field can be just as important as keeping up with emails and phone calls from clients.
Other than your website, it’s the first impression that many potential clients will get from your firm, and you want it to be as effective as possible.
We’ve put together a list of six tips that every law firm should include in their social media practices.
This includes everything from legal contests to how to use a meme correctly.
Create & Share Content
Having a social media outlet alone is not enough to make it effective.
Posting original content on a regular consistent basis
(i.e. through a blog or other means) is what gets on onto the newsfeed of your followers.
It serves as a link to your site to help improve traffic,
while also aiding to keep your practice and services in mind of clients through regular brand name exposure.
If any of your follows like your content, they may also share it as a tweet or status update.
Doing so exposes your content and a link to your site to all of their friends and follows who may also share your post, helping traffic and exposure grow.
When it comes to social media, the more content you have to share, the better.
Respond
Whether it’s current or prospective clients, engage and respond those who interact with you on social media.
Respond to messages or questions. A quick response shows people you not only that you’re prompt, but that you care.
Your response on social media is just as important as answering emails and phone calls when it comes to marketing your firm and illustrating how easy it is to approach you or colleagues through lines of communication.
Responses can be answered yourself or by staff who are knowledgeable enough to provide adequate answers to prospective clients’ questions.
Integrate Your Web Page & Social Media Platforms
Your website should be designed so users can easily get to your social media outlets from your home page, and vice versa with no more than a click.
If someone following you wants to make an appointment, they should be able to go right from your page to your website.
Furthermore, integration of these aspects help someone go from your page to social media platforms where they can immediately find evidence of satisfied clients and relevant content.
Easy access between your social media and website also signals legitimacy and a stronger online presence.
If a user can’t find one or the other, they may assume it just doesn’t exist or grow tired and visit some other site.
Legal Memes
For a serious profession in law, humor isn’t expected or commonly found in matters such as criminal law or personal injury.
However, the use of legal memes can drastically improve the following of your social media if used appropriately and tastefully.
There is a vast source of memes relevant to many legal topics ranging from law school to Judge Judy references.
Some light quick witted humor can appeal to clients, showing that even in such a serious profession you can manage to keep a sense of humor.
Memes are also effective attention getters from the way they stand out on a feed in contrast to normal posts.
For a profession that can be all too serious at times, many clients might appreciate a bit of light hearted fun.
Contests
Give your followers an incentive to share or post on your social media outlets through contests.
The contest itself can be entirely up to you. It may be anything from who can best impersonate a Supreme Court justice to who can find the most ridiculous laws.
You can have competitors tag or retweet your practice, helping demonstrate that your law firm can still be fun while keeping with a relevant legal theme.
The prize for the winner can be a free hour or two of legal services.
Consultations
Take advantage of consultations to inquire as to if your prospective client has their own social media outlets.
This way if you friend request on Facebook or LinkedIn, doing so helps act as an effective follow up and reminder to help them keep your practice in mind.
Blair Carroll is an experienced DUI/DWI attorney at Carroll Troberman Criminal Defense law firm in Austin, Texas.
The lawyers at Carroll Troberman offer criminal and DWI defense, with a membership in the prestigious national college for DUI Defense.