According to recent statistics, 60% of lawyers prefer Facebook to build a social presence (ABA, 2020), and 70% of law firms said social media is part of their overall marketing strategy (SproutSocial, 2019).
For those that do maintain a social media presence, they find a clear benefit. 35% of lawyers who use social media professionally can gain new clients as a result (SproutSocial, 2019).
Barry Walker, the Managing Partner at Walker Law, explained, “Social media marketing is the future for lawyers. Most people perform research on their smartphones. I get one to two significant cases per year from paid marketing efforts on Facebook for a minimal investment.”
These days, it is also essential for law firm owners and partners to have an active presence on social media because they become ambassadors for their law firm and strengthen their brand as thought leaders within the industry.
Here, we explore Facebook for Lawyers and show you how it’s not as difficult as you think. We’ll show you how exciting content such as video can increase engagement, and the press can pick up posting soundbites or opinions to position you or your law firm better. With this in mind, let’s dive into a few ways you can harness Facebook effectively.
Determine your Goals for Using Facebook
What would you like to achieve within one year?
Whom would you like to attract and engage with on Facebook?
How would you like to position your law firm? Or yourself?
These are just some of the questions you need to consider so that you can use Facebook effectively. Once you know where you want to be, you can now build a roadmap for achieving those goals.
Craft a Social Media Calendar
Now that you have a goal, you need a roadmap. This comes in the form of a social media calendar to keep you on track so that you’re not posting content that’s off-brand or posting on the fly. A content calendar helps ensure that your key messages are consistent with your brand and keep in sync with your staff’s existing workflow, which can help bring your firm’s social media to life. If your staff are busy, hiring a social media team can effectively help you achieve your Facebook goals.
As a rule of thumb, 2 or 3 Facebook posts a week works well. Ensure that the posts range from promoting your firm’s services to answering common client questions or publishing a blog post. This is the approach that we’ve used at CoreMatter, and it has served us well. We highly recommend that you try this out for your law firm too.
Create Great Content
As a law firm or a lawyer, you will have many strengths you want to portray via social media content. Use a mix of interesting static images, infographics, animation or short videos to capture attention. For the caption, ensure that it is thoughtful yet concise with a clear call-to-action (CTA) to make it easier for your reader to comprehend.
Consider developing a mix of the following types of content:
- Podcasts and blog articles to display your thought leadership
- Behind-the-scenes at your law firm (like photos of people or company pets)
- Humour
- Common client questions
- News on latest legal developments
- Live Events
- Testimonials
- Services and products you may want to promote
Above all, ensure that your content maintains your law firm’s brand consistency through its colour palette, key messages, typography, visual style and matching tone throughout all communication channels. Having a unified visual brand identity helps people to recognize and remember your brand. It also helps potential clients understand who you are, what you offer and how they can connect to you.
For law firm partners, being social is a great way to build emotional connections and relationships with the right people. Posts can be crafted for strategic development of the firm, to help manage risks, leverage opportunities or even boost a creative and productive culture. Carefully crafted posts for suitable times can be beneficial for law firm partners and the firm. Oftentimes, the press picks up quotes or opinions from law firm leaders which can help generate extra brand awareness for your personal brand or your firm.
Track Your Facebook Performance
Facebook comes inbuilt with tools to help you track your marketing ROI. Tracking with tools like Facebook Insights helps you identify areas of improvement, what kind of content your audience likes, and what creates engagement. Access to your Facebook performance also helps build accountability for marketing ROI.
Boost your Law Firm’s Facebook Presence
To reach your prospective and existing clients easily, include your Facebook or social pages onto your name card, printed material, website and email signatures.
You can also invest in Facebook advertising to draw in new audiences and prospective clients. However, be sure to keep your essential information updated, such as your About section, operating hours, practice areas and description of your business.
Don’t have time for Facebook? Outsource.
If your legal duties are overwhelming, consider hiring a social media team as part of your internal or external staff. Their duties will include:
- engaging with visitors in the comments,
- managing direct Facebook messages,
- reaching out to prospects via advertising or reviewing social media posts.
They can ensure that your social media presence fits your goals and are vital to creating a client-centric experience. They can also help you obtain positive reviews and boost your firm’s visibility and reputation.
CoreMatter’s platform makes it easy for you to manage collaborations and set reminders with your social media team. Reporting on Facebook performance and work in progress also becomes a breeze. Learn more about CoreMatter’s features here.
To Sum it Up
Facebook marketing is an essential part of your firm’s social media strategy. It can also help build your personal brand. It’s not difficult to use and can help your law firm build awareness, reputation and leads that could turn into clients. However, if you lack the time, you can always get a social media team to ensure brand consistency, key messages, and performance to meet your goals.
To learn more about how CoreMatter works, sign up today for a free demo!
CoreMatter, the leading cloud-based case management tool in Southeast Asia, frees your firm from the mess of the mundane to focus on what matters most.
