Instagram, Twitter, TikTok: Which One Is Best?

In the social media age, things are constantly changing. Sometimes, so quickly that it’ll leave you behind.

We’ve got news for you: it’s not going anywhere. So catch up, or sit out.

On the bright side, you’re not alone. We’ve created a handy guide for you to help decide which of these popular social media platforms is best for your firm. Buckle up!

Beginning Your Social Media Strategy

There are a ton of social apps out there; you’re not just limited to Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. However, these three apps are among the most popular in the world, so we recommend getting on at least one of them in addition to Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, which are must-haves for any law firm.

Social media is a powerful tool, no matter what industry you’re in. It can lead to exponential growth — if it’s managed well. So where do you begin? By picking platforms.

Some forms of social media are able to connect you more directly and immediately to your audience. While platforms such as Facebook and YouTube are great for sharing your videos and giving information about your brand, they don’t allow for as much direct and sustained engagement as other platforms, like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

We’ve sifted through the strengths and weaknesses of each platform so that you can easily decide which is best for your law firm. Here’s an excerpt from a recent chat with Crisp Founder & CEO Michael Mogill, about leveraging the right social media platforms.

Instagram

90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account. There’s no doubt it’s a beneficial platform for businesses to be on, so here are some reasons you should use Instagram for your law firm’s marketing.

• Incredibly thorough insights available.
• Over 1 billion active users every month, of which 500 million use the platform every day.
• 83% of users surveyed reported that Instagram has helped them discover new products or services.
• The platform is owned by Facebook, which allows for cross-platform promotion and the security of being backed by a large, fast-growing company.
• Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes per day on the platform.
• Brands can generate over 4x more interactions from users than Facebook.
• Instagram helps 80% of users decide whether to buy a product or service.

Here is a breakdown of Instagram users by age and gender:

While Instagram has a lot to offer for brands, there are some things to consider that might make the platform less appealing for your firm.

• Instagram requires photo or video content to accompany every single post, so unless you have plenty of content at your disposal, it might be difficult to post consistently.
• Posting consistently on the platform is essential to your Instagram strategy, as the Instagram algorithm favors consistency. This also requires a good amount of prepared content to do.
• High-quality, original, and engaging content is essential to competing for users’ attention. Stock photos aren’t going to cut it.
• An effective Instagram strategy takes time, creativity, and sincere engagement with your audience.

Instagram is excellent for brands that are able to provide valuable content that is appealing to their audience. It’s a great way to visually showcase different aspects of your firm, and the payoff is high engagement with a targeted audience.

Twitter

Introducing the king of two-way engagement: Twitter. This versatile platform has been around since 2006 and has exponentially evolved since, just like most social media giants.

Twitter is versatile, allowing you the ability to post words without photo or video content to accompany them.

On Twitter, it’s all about finding your brand voice. Many Twitter users are looking for quick-witted, authentic tweets.

Here are some reasons you should use Twitter for your brand.

• The platform makes comprehensive analytics available.
• There are 145 million monetizable daily users.
• You have the option to include photos, videos, links, or just text.
• 42% of Twitter users are on the platform daily.
• 80% of Twitter users are affluent Millennials.
• Twitter content can be put out quickly and concisely.
• Brand video on Twitter outperforms benchmarks, with +80% increase for memorability and +53% for relevance.
• Twitter marketing campaigns can deliver 40% higher return on investment compared to other media channels.

Here is a breakdown of Twitter users by age and gender:

If Twitter sounds appealing to you so far, consider the following before deciding if it’s the right platform for your brand.

• While you can post any form of content on Twitter, the most popular content on the platform is video content.
• Twitter is the preferred social network for news consumption because of its fast nature. This can be great if you want to share news stories from your account, but not as exciting if you want to make your account more about your brand.
• There are fewer daily active users on Twitter than on the other two platforms discussed in this guide.

Overall, Twitter is a fast-moving platform that is a great place to put your brand’s voice on display. It can be an effective way to market your firm if the objective of the platform matches your goals.

TikTok

Time to discuss the most exciting and controversial of them all — TikTok.

As the new kid on the block, TikTok came onto the scene full force, jumping from 269th in global app download rank to 4th in February 2019 alone, then surpassing 2 billion downloads worldwide in April 2020. This explosive growth makes its parent company, ByteDance, the most valuable private company in the world.

The app is taking the social media world by storm, without a doubt.

• Worldwide, the app has 800 million active users. In the US, there are roughly 26.5 million monthly active users.
• While many point out that TikTok’s audience is relatively young, the number of US adult TikTok users grew 5.5 times in less than 18 months.
• Posts on TikTok average a 52.1% engagement rate, and accounts with fewer than 1000 followers have an average engagement rate of 144.9% (for reference, the average engagement rate on Instagram hovers around 3%).

Here is a breakdown of users by age and income:

TikTok’s growth is unparalleled by other social media platforms. However, here are some things to consider before placing all your chips on this one.

• The US government is considering banning TikTok, because the Chinese-owned company has access to personal user data of millions of American citizens, and could potentially be used as a spying tool.
• The average TikTok user is very young — 41% of TikTok users in the US are between the ages of 16 and 24.
• The platform is 100% video content. Luckily though, it is almost entirely organic and easy to shoot and edit natively in the app.
• Paid ads on TikTok are exceptionally expensive in comparison to other platforms.

It’s undeniable that TikTok could be a beneficial medium to use for your firm, but it completely depends on your audience and your commitment to creating content.

Listen here to David Christensen of Christensen Law speak to Crisp Founder & CEO Michael Mogill about how his firm is using social media to build their brand and provide value to their followers.

Your Business, Your Decision

Utilizing these three apps for your practice can be tricky. Creating a strategy for legal marketing poses a unique challenge, but it can be very rewarding when done right. Take into consideration the budget you have for marketing, the importance you place on each social platform, the return you would need on the investment, and your ability to pump out consistent content.

Consider your own law firm’s target audience age, gender, and income when deciding which social platform will be most beneficial for your firm. Every practice area is different, so results will vary.