Digital marketing is revolutionizing the way attorneys do business, and social media is driving how law firms reach and engage with potential clients. With 5 billion people active on social media today, the question is no longer whether law firms should market on social media, but how they can do it effectively.
To provide a roadmap, I recently talked with Ruby Powers, an immigration attorney and founder of Houston-based Ruby Powers Group. Ruby has successfully built her practice through strategic digital marketing, social media, and brand storytelling.
This article distills our insights into actionable advice for lawyers and legal professionals to help you elevate your law firm's brand and grow your practice through digital storytelling on social media.
How can social media help law firms?
First, let's level-set on what kind of impact social media can have on law firms.
"What I love about social media is it lets firms that are on a smaller budget be competitive in the field with the big players who have lots of funds," Ruby shared. "Social media is a great way to enter the legal marketing space and a great way to captivate people."
There are many benefits of using social media for law firms. At a high level, these include:
Increased visibility and awareness of your law firm
Targeted lead generation for clients you really want to serve
Improved client relationships
Reputation management
Establish a competitive advantage
But using social media to tell your firm's story—convey your firm's values, highlight your team members, share helpful information with prospective clients—can be one of the most powerful and accessible aspects of these digital marketing platforms.
Why storytelling matters for law firms
Storytelling is a method to communicate your firm’s values — what your firm stands for and what clients can expect when they work with you.
Sharing narratives about your firm's cases, successes, expertise, community involvement, and other topics can help create an emotional connection with people, increasing trust among potential clients. You don't have to be a natural storyteller. Instead, let your experience speak for itself and share your journey authentically.
6 tips to tell your law firm's story on social media
1. Have a clear message
Be clear in your message about how you can be prospects' guide through their legal journey. Just because you state your practice area, don't assume potential clients understand the full extent of your area of legal expertise.
"Even as a lawyer, I sometimes get confused when someone says what type of lawyer they are," Ruby says. "What exactly does that mean they can do? It doesn't necessarily mean they do everything you would think underneath that umbrella, so be as clear as you can about what you offer and how you can help people."
2. Share information that's useful to your audience
How do you decide what types of information to post on social media? It starts with understanding what's useful to your audience. You can distill this from conversations with your existing clients, knowing their challenges, and identifying how you've helped them.
For example, you could make a list of the most common questions you hear from prospects and clients, and then post short videos on social media that answer each question.
Once you start publishing information that's useful and helpful to your audience, they start to see you as a trustworthy source of information, which makes them want to hire you.
"If your prospects go to your social media profiles and see all the useful information you've posted, they're likely to have a positive impression and view you as knowledgeable," Ruby says. "That's really what people are looking for."
3. Be authentic
Regardless of what content you post on social media, just be you.
Ruby says, "I think it's important for us as lawyers to tell our network what we do and who we are."
People want to know who they'll be interacting with if they hire you, so it's your job on social media to help them understand that.
While you'll share information about your law firm on your firm's social channels, Ruby suggests also sharing your firm's updates periodically on your personal channels as well.
That level of personalization makes an impact on your firm's business success because prospects and clients alike feel they know you better. And generally, people are more likely to do business with people they know.
4. Encourage conversation
Create engaging conversations on social media by asking questions or sharing a short personal story. This approach invites people to interact with you by commenting on your social posts.
"A friend of mine mentioned that [encouraging conversations on social media] is similar to when you give a speech and people come to talk with you afterwards," Ruby says. "People can add their comments to your social media posts, you respond, and you create a conversation."
Of course, this means you must monitor your social channels, but this level of interaction boosts your reputation as personable and helpful. Digital marketing platforms for law firms can help you build and monitor your law firm's social presence, so you don't have to do it all yourself.
5. Embrace social media's agile nature
The informal nature of social media encourages quick content creation. It takes less time to take a photo from an event you're volunteering at, for example, and post it on social media with a short caption compared to creating a full web page about the same event.
You can also repurpose content in multiple ways for different channels. Recorded presentations and educational webinars can be remixed into short video clips, takeaways, quotes, etc., that can all be used on social media.
All combined, your content published across multiple digital platforms builds your credibility with search engines, which will present your firm higher in search engine results pages, making it easier for prospects to find you.
6. Update your law firm's branding
With more people visiting and engaging with your social media content, you want to make sure your law firm's brand presents you and your firm in the best light possible.
Photography: Current photos of you, your team, and office go a long way. Professional photography for your law firm establishes your credibility and creates a positive first impression.
Branding: Establish your firm's identity and differentiate yourself from competitors with a cohesive law firm brand, in the form of your logo, colors, and fonts.
Once you have professional-looking photography and branding, you can apply these across your social media and other digital marketing platforms to create a cohesive and consistent brand presence.
The Need for Specialized Partnerships
Remember, you don't need to be a marketing expert to experience the benefits of social media and brand storytelling. Start small and consider partnering with a digital agency specialized in legal marketing to help you conduct and maximize your social media and marketing activity. These partners understand the unique requirements of the industry and can guide your firm through the complexities of legal marketing.
To hear our full conversation about using social media and storytelling to build your law firm's brand, check out the on-demand webinar with Ruby Powers and Legalfit.
