Law Firm Marketing Tips: 3 Ways Social Media Can Help Advance Your Firm

Your firm is going to be at a disadvantage when it comes to reaching consumers aged 35 and younger if it is not active on social media. Why? Because, when millennials have a legal issue, they will in most cases turn to the internet for help. And one of the best ways to introduce millennials to your business online is through social media pages.

A recent FindLaw survey found that 54 percent of consumers say they would be likely to hire an attorney who has an active presence on social media. That number rises to 72 percent for consumers aged 18 to 34.

Social media is a platform that millennials trust and are constantly on, which is what makes it such a great tool for boosting your online presence, attracting new clients, and interacting with your legal community.

By not being active on social media networks, you could be missing out on reaching a large portion of your client base. Clients you could be connecting with will instead end up in the arms of competitors who are keeping up to date on the latest social media trends. You cannot afford to let this happen. Here are three reasons why your firm should dedicate time to being highly visible on social media.

Social Media Can Lead To SEO Success

If you have dabbled in any kind of online marketing before, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with SEO. What you might not know is that having a strong social media presence can be quite beneficial to your firm’s SEO results.

Here are just a few ways social media can positively impact SEO:

• Sharing links on social media can help drive traffic back to your firm’s website and indirectly increase the organic search ranking of your pages.
• Social media profiles are often indexed near the top of brand related searches. Having multiple pages show up in search results for your business will add to your firm’s online credibility.
• Having social profiles makes the user experience of learning about your business more personable and fun. Offering a better user experience can often lead to more page clicks and lower bounce rates.
• By promoting your content on social media, you increase the chances of gaining external links. External rankings are extremely valuable when it comes to SEO ranking.

With more and more people devoting a sizeable amount of time to social media usage, and Google’s search engine algorithm always evolving, there is speculation that social data could play an even larger role in SEO rankings in the future. Your firm would be wise to get out ahead of this trend.

Social Media Can Help You Win Over New Clients

Being present on social media will not just get you seen by more people online, but when used right can help convince new clients to invest in your services. Mark Jacobsen, a senior director of Strategic Development and Thought Leadership at FindLaw was recently quoted talking about the incredible impact social sites can make on prospective legal clients.

Jacobsen said, “Having a strong social media presence helps professionals to show that they are actively looking to engage prospective clients, and to demonstrate their expertise, knowledge and experience.”

So what are our two main takeaways from Jacobsen’s quote?

1. If millennials searching for legal help online see that your firm is actively engaged on the communication platforms they care about, they will be more likely to take the time to learn more about your services.
2. After years of practicing law, you’ve likely accumulated a sizable amount of legal knowledge. Social media is a great platform for you to show that knowledge off, by posting links to informative content and sharing your views on important issues. By doing this you will be given the opportunity to not just tell clients you are a more than capable of handling their legal cases, but show them.

Once you get people to follow your social accounts, you’ll have daily opportunities to peak their interest. If clients like what they see, it should result in them viewing your other pages, spending time on your website, and eventually reaching out to you for legal help.

Social Media Is The Ultimate Engagement Tool

It is often said that new technology brings the world closer. Social media is a fine example of that, as it can bring you closer to your law community than ever before.

Social media gives you the opportunity to:

• Introduce yourself to peers in the legal community
• Develop referral connections
• Keep tabs on competing firms
• Stay engaged on the latest news and trends in your particular field
• Affirm yourself as an industry leader by sharing your takes on issues in your field

Being active on social platforms will provide you with daily feedback on what people in the law community think about your firm and subjects relevant to your firm. This will give you valuable insight on how to improve the way your firm operates, and ideas on how to alter your business to meet your target audience’s needs.

Final Thoughts

Having a strong social presence allows you to keep track of your online reputation, and have influence over the way people view you online. Why is this so important? As we stated at the beginning of the blog post, the first place today’s client will go when they need legal help is online. If those people go online and see that your firm has a negative online reputation or cannot find your firm because it has no reputation, your opportunities to gain new customers will be limited. Social media pages not only open the doors of communication for your firm and millennials, but gives your firm a voice in an increasingly digital world.