Social Media Strategies for Law Firms: Which Platforms to Use to Reach Your Ideal Audience
7 minutes to read
These days, there is a massive number of opportunities for law firm marketing online. It can get pretty overwhelming trying to figure out which avenue you’d like to utilize for the best return on your investment.
But one thing is for sure: You must harness the power of social media to reach your target audience where they’re spending their time.
What is a target audience, you ask?
Sprout Social explains it as a group of people defined by certain demographics and behavior that guide your marketing efforts.
Not every message resonates with every person, so when you have a defined target audience it is much easier to create marketing materials that are more likely to connect with the people you determine as your ideal client.
In this post, we’ll be diving in to share the top 4 platforms your law firm needs to be leveraging in order to achieve your marketing goals, as well as the best way to reach your target audience on each one:
Facebook for Law Firms
Facebook Basics
It’s no secret that Facebook has forged a path of digital dominance over the last decade. With 2.6 billion active monthly users, there is a diverse, active audience browsing through Facebook profiles and feeds regularly — which gives your law firm seemingly endless opportunities to make the most of it for your social media strategy.
On Facebook, users have the ability to connect with friends and family, watch videos, share thoughts, and participate in a community that virtually reaches every corner of the globe. While it originally started as a platform solely for college students, Facebook’s demographics have rapidly evolved throughout the years, catering to both younger and older generations alike.
This past year, however, it was reported that Facebook’s fastest-growing age group of users were adults aged 65+ — a whopping 40%.
On top of that, the number of American teenage users ages 13 to 17 has decreased significantly from 71% in 2015 to 51% this year. Instead, they’ve opted for Generation Z-centric platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.
The Best Way to Reach Your Ideal Audience on Facebook
With this in mind, your law firm needs to curate its Facebook presence to ensure it gets the best possible audience engagements from the potential clients you’d like to work with.
According to Statista, 88% of Facebook users log on to keep in touch with friends and family. Taking this into account, focus on creating a personalized connection, keeping things lighthearted and fun, and providing content that encourages interactions between your page and your followers.
A great example of this strategy in action can be found on personal injury attorney Alexander Shunnarah’s Facebook page.
With over 17,000 page followers, Shunnarah’s firm has mastered the art of Facebook, using the channel to connect with their community and build their brand with fun initiatives that get their ideal audience excited to be a raving fan of Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys.
Instagram for Law Firms
Instagram Basics
Instagram, AKA Facebook’s cool little sister, has a user interface built entirely around photos and videos, making it your best avenue for rich visual storytelling and content when integrated into your law firm’s social media strategy. Since its launch in 2010, it surpassed 1 billion users in 2018, making it one of the most used social media platforms around.
However, when looking at who is actually using the app, you’ll see that it has a much younger crowd than the majority of other social channels. According to Statista, a whopping 63.1% of users are between the ages of 13-34.
The Best Way to Reach Your Ideal Audience on Instagram
So, what does this mean for you, the law firm owner trying to market your business on social media? Well, for one thing, you have ample opportunity to make a splash with a younger crowd.
Take advantage of this by creating quick bites of interactive, fun, and visually pleasing content that can be digested easily on their morning train to work, while they’re waiting for an Uber, or on their lunch break — you know, channel your inner Millennial.
An example of a great attorney Instagram presence is Ali J. Awad AKA @ceolawyer, who shares amazing content regularly with his 266k followers.
View this post on Instagram
Here’s a video of my typical day at work. (Watch til the end!) #ceolawyer
Awad combines informative legal content with humor, which helps him reach a younger demographic and position himself as a subject matter expert with ease.
LinkedIn for Law Firms
LinkedIn Basics
LinkedIn is the preeminent social media platform for professionals looking to network, share their business insights, and more. Boasting over 660 million users worldwide, it is the social media platform to be on for your law firm to connect with your ideal audience and establish thought leadership.
When looking at LinkedIn’s user demographics, you’ll see that it’s a hub for young professionals and established trailblazers. However, according to Sprout Social, the majority of LinkedIn’s users are anywhere from 30-49 years old.
The Best Way to Reach Your Ideal Audience on LinkedIn
If you’re looking to add LinkedIn to your law firm’s social media marketing portfolio (which we suggest you do), it is best to utilize by publishing a variety of informative articles, long-form thought leadership posts, and other useful resources.
As a bonus, LinkedIn is also a great social media channel to use for referrals. Why? On LinkedIn, you can seamlessly connect with other attorneys and professionals that may have a case you’d be perfect for. It’s a win-win for everyone!
An example of a law firm that’s really using LinkedIn to its fullest potential is Tork Law. Just one quick scroll through their page and you’ll suddenly have access to a vault of valuable content that does a perfect job of establishing them as the go-to firm for personal injury in their market.
YouTube for Law Firms
YouTube Basics
With more than 2 billion active users and 1 billion hours of videos watched daily, YouTube is one of the most engaging platforms available online. YouTube is the largest online video platform and the second-largest search engine, next to Google. It also happens to be one of the most underutilized social media platforms available to law firms.
As you can see in the graph below from Hootsuite, adult usage of YouTube surpasses their usage of Facebook. This means that if you’re missing out on the influence of a YouTube channel, now is the time to get your videos online.
The Best Way to Reach Your Ideal Audience on YouTube
In order to make the most of YouTube for your law firm, we recommend channeling a strategy similar to Facebook since the demographic you’re trying to reach is similar.
So, what does this look like in action? Take a page out of The Crone Law Firm’s book.
They’ve used their channel to post commercials, FAQ videos, and full episodes of founder Alan Crone’s podcast, Ask Alan!.
Plain and simple, this law firm leverages YouTube to show who they are, what they do, and why they do it using easy-to-view and digestible videos.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell, utilizing these platforms is a surefire way to create a robust social media marketing strategy for your law firm.
With the force of all four channels, you have the ability to create multiple touchpoints for your ideal audience to connect and garner interest for potential partnerships in the future.
To add some real “oomph” to your social media marketing and get measurable results, we suggest putting ad spend behind your content. Not sure where to start? Check out our DIY Ad Spend Calculator for Law Firms.
