Social Media for Lawyers: The Ultimate Guide

By now, you know the power of digital marketing for law firms. But are you taking advantage of social media marketing?

Did you know that:

• There are 4.8 billion social media users worldwide, equating to 59.9 percent of the total global population.
• 86% of law firms are active on at least one social media platform
• 87% of law firms use LinkedIn (45% for marketing purposes)
• 78% of lawyers use social media for career development/networking, and 52% for client development.

It’s worth investing time and money into social media. But for your efforts to pay off, you can’t just send any old tweet and image out into the world.

Instead, you need a carefully planned social media strategy. That includes figuring out what platforms are worth the investment, what you should publish, and more.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• Why social media marketing is worthwhile for law firms
• How to build a social media campaign and strategy
• What social media platforms are worth your time
• The best social media tools
• All about paid socials

Let’s begin.

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Why social media marketing is worth the investment for law firms

If you’re serious about marketing your firm, you can’t avoid social media for long.

Some lawyers have convinced themselves that they’re too busy for social media marketing or that it only leads to problems with client privacy or defamation lawsuits.

That’s not the case. It’s one of the best ways to get new clients.

Let’s take a look at why social media is worth it.

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Get new clients through social media

Social media is an excellent place to be discovered by potential clients.

It gives people another popular way to find your firm besides organic search, Google Ads, referrals, or another marketing channel.

With over 59% of the world’s population on social media, there are a ton of potential leads waiting to come across your content.

As long as you’re producing valuable legal content, it’ll make its way in front of the right eyes, and you’ll get more leads.

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Engage with the community

You can use social media to interact with and join communities of like-minded professionals.

LinkedIn is home to hundreds of lawyer groups. Odds are, there’s even a specific group for your area.

The best way to use these groups to your advantage is to treat them as tools to stay updated with the goings-on of the industry and to share thought leadership posts.

You’ll also be able to build your network and find tips and advice should that interest you.

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Get found online more easily

Social media is a crucial part of your marketing funnel — it’s an invaluable way of generating new leads and getting them to your law firm’s website.

Here’s how social media can fit into your funnel.

Your law firm’s (or your personal) social media profiles are great tools for building awareness.

At the very least, consider distributing your blog posts and other content on social media. It can bring an entirely new group of prospects to your website.

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Build brand awareness on social media

You might not think of your law firm as a brand or of yourself as having a personal brand.

But all of the top firms around the world are successful partly because they’re aware that they’re businesses and market themselves as such.

Brand building for lawyers is about more than designing a logo. You need to control the narrative and shape the way prospective clients perceive you and your business. If you don’t, someone else will.

By sharing relevant, thought-provoking, and most of all, unique social media content, you can communicate your brand’s values.

Allens is a good example of a law firm utilizing the full value of social media.

Decide what your unique selling proposition is, and use that to create content that resonates with your audience.

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Establish yourself as a thought leader

Thought leadership is one of those buzzwords people love to throw around, but what does it really mean?

It can be equated, in some senses, to being an influencer. Thought leaders are experts in their chosen fields and usually share their expertise on social media.

A good thought leader becomes the number one source for information related to their field. But it takes time and a lot of effort to become that authoritative.

And it pays off in ways you wouldn’t expect.

You may be an expert in criminal defence or family law. Use your social media platform to share tips, tricks, and other valuable content.

Take these tips into account when deciding on your social media campaigns:

• Create valuable, original content
• Know who your audience is and engage with them regularly
• Network, network, network
• Use a variety of platforms

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Social media for lawyers: What not to do

Social media for business is much different than your personal social media account.

If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be what not to do on social media as a lawyer. You’ve got to keep your profile in top shape to get the most out of social media (and to protect yourself).

Here’s what not to do:

• Only post when you “feel like it.” To make social media work, you need to maintain a regular posting schedule. Try to post on the same days at the same time every week so your followers know when to expect new content.
• Try to be active on every social media platform. Don’t put your eggs in too many baskets. Instead, find one or two social media platforms to really invest in. Once you master those, you can consider branching out.
• Share inauthentic content. If you want to resonate with your audience, you need to be authentic. Make sure the content you share sticks to the voice and tone of your brand.
• Reply to trolls. No one is safe from internet trolls. Expect at least a couple of comments here and there trying to stir things up. The best thing to do is ignore them, block their accounts, and/or delete the comment entirely.
• Only share information about you. Your audience wants to see information that’s valuable to them. While sharing that you’ve won an award isn’t bad, it’s best to focus on creating content your visitors want to see and helps them, like tips and tricks. This will help you build connections rather than resentment or boredom.
• Forget to engage with audiences. It’s easy to forget to engage with your audience when you’re headfirst in creating content. Try to reply to every comment and direct message you get to build your community.
• Not apologize for your mistakes. If you ever put your foot in your mouth and say something controversial, apologize quickly. Taking responsibility for your mistakes will build help you build trust within your field.

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Should your personal social media accounts be public?

This is ultimately up to you.

If your personal accounts are professional and reflect your brand, then you should make them public. Or if you own your own law firm and are front-facing, it should also be public.

Odds are, prospective clients are Googling your name and not the name of your law firm. So, you want your profiles to be discoverable.

At the very least, your LinkedIn should be public.

Jayne Reardon is an excellent example of how to use a personal Twitter account to build authority as a lawyer.

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Building a law firm social media campaign

You now know the value of social media for law firms. But to reap the rewards, you need to be strategic with your approach.

Here are a few things to do to help you get the ROI you deserve.

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Know the rules and guidelines

First things first — you need to familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations that lawyers need to abide by on social media and with lawyer advertising in general.

These will vary with your jurisdiction but are pretty similar throughout.

The main thing you want to avoid is claiming to be an “expert” or “specialist,” regardless of whether you are or not. And don’t give anyone the impression that you’re able to practice law in jurisdictions that you’re not.

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Identify your SMART goals

If you’ve reviewed our law firm marketing strategy guide, you’ll be familiar with SMART goals.

These types of goals should be set for social media as well. They build the foundation for everything you post on social media and guide your overall strategy.

All of your marketing goals should be:

• SPECIFIC. State what you need to do to hit the goal using action words.
• MEASURABLE. How are you going to evaluate the goal? What metrics and measurements will you use to determine success?
• ACHIEVABLE. All goals should be attainable.
• RELEVANT. Is this goal improving your law firm in some way? Why are you trying to hit the goal?
• TIME-BOUND. When will you meet the goal? State a specific date.

Here’s how you can put that into action.

Say you want to get 50 new followers on Facebook per month. To turn that into a SMART goal, say:

“I want to get 300 new followers on Facebook in three months. To do that, I need to get 100 followers a month. I’ll create 3 engaging posts every week to reach my goal.”

You could break that down even further if you wanted, setting a goal pertaining to how much engagement you need on each post.

The point is, your goals are actually attainable and will help move your firm forward.

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Research your target clients

Now that you’ve got your goals set in place, it’s time to figure out how to achieve them.

To do that, you need to identify your client persona.

Your law firm client persona is a representation of your ideal client. It represents the key traits of a large segment of your clients, based on data you’ve collected from user research and analytics.

For example, if you’re a criminal defence firm and you know that a lot of your clients are male, in their 40s, and from a certain area, then you can specifically target that group.

When you determine your client base, you can create social media posts that are most relevant to them. That way, you’ll attract more high-quality clients to improve your ROI.

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Dig into your competitors

Your next step, after researching your client persona, is to look into your competitors.

Finding out your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses can help you position your firm for success.

Take a look at what your competition is doing well on social media. See what’s working for them, emulate the best parts but also elevate it.

You should be able to pinpoint areas where your competition is weak and start to fill the gaps with your own content.

For example, if another law firm isn’t posting on Facebook, you know that’s a platform you need to get on.

And competitor research doesn’t have to be hard. You likely already know who your competition is, but if you don’t, do a Google search.

If you practice criminal defence in Toronto, just Google that and see who pops up.

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Start small and expand

It’s tempting to start posting on every social media platform out there, but that would be a mistake.

Instead, start small.

Choose a few platforms to start and go from there. For lawyers, we recommend LinkedIn and Facebook, as they typically have the best ROI.

If you start too many accounts, you’ll likely become overwhelmed, create fewer valuable posts per platform, and never master any.

Once you’ve gotten LinkedIn and Facebook down, you can consider branching out to Twitter, Instagram, and even YouTube or TikTok.

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Be a subject matter expert

The key to social media success? Position yourself as an expert in your niche.

A trusted and credible lawyer is one that prospective clients will contact.

And it’s easier than ever to do this on social media.

Here are some things to do:

• Share links and reputable resources on your socials to provide value to your audience
• Share the blog posts and other content you’ve created in your niche
• Reply to comments and questions from your followers

It’s all about showing off your expertise in your practice area — something that Oykhman Criminal Defence does well on its Facebook page.

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Create killer content

The most important piece of the puzzle is your content.

To figure out what to post, think about what your audience wants to see. Everything you post should provide value in some way.

Whether that’s through video or images is up to you, but it’s partly “horses for courses.” While TikTok marketing revolves around sharing lights and relatable content, your LinkedIn audience will be different and could be a place for more in-depth, professional articles that might be of interest to peers as well as potential clients.

What matters is that you’re actively posting relevant and informative content.

We recommend a mix of both original content and resharing others’ high-value content. Whether that’s through video or images is up to you — what matters is you’re actively posting.

Try to identify a couple of pillars for your content. Content pillars are sets of themes or topics that you can use to create posts.

For example, as a law firm, your pillars could be.

Let us know what else you would post about!

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Set a schedule

The best social media marketers have a detailed content calendar planned months in advance.

A content calendar is where you plan out what you’ll be posting on your social profiles and when. It gives you a clear roadmap of what you’ll want to do over the next couple of months, so you’re not left scrambling for ideas at the last minute.

Pre-planning your posts also gives you time to double-check everything from an ethical standpoint.

You can use tools like Hootsuite to create a content calendar or go old-fashioned and use a spreadsheet.

Here’s a sample template for your inspiration.

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Measure your results

Like any type of law firm marketing, you want to track, measure, and report on the results of your campaigns.

Most social media platforms have built-in analytics, so you won’t need to invest in third-party apps to measure your success.

If you don’t track what types of content are successful, you won’t know what to create and could waste time and money on content that doesn’t resonate with your audience.

Take a look at some of the things you can track using Facebook’s built-in analytics.

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Create a social media policy for your firm

For law firms with more than one or two employees, it’s a good idea to create a social media policy that everyone follows.

Lawyers and assistants usually have personal social media accounts, but consistency is important if they’re representing the firm on business accounts.

This will not only guide your people in what is expected of them, but it can avoid some of the potential problems associated with social media presence and protect your reputation.

You need to answer the following questions:

• Which platforms can we post on?
• What type of content can we post?
• What are acceptable promotional strategies?
• Who is responsible for posting content?
• Who will do the copywriting?
• Who is responsible for interacting with comments?
• When will we post?
• How do we address problems that arise with negative posts?

Make sure that your policies are communicated to your people either online, in hard copy or both.

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7 social media post ideas for attorneys and law firms

A solid social media presence relies on sharing content that attracts your target audience and demonstrates your legal expertise.

Here are a few post ideas you can start posting today.

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Industry news and updates

You can position yourself as a thought leader in your field by providing commentary and insights on current legal issues and news.

This can also keep your followers updated on trends and changes in your practice area.

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Legal explanations and advice

Utilize your expertise to break down complex legal concepts and provide actionable advice.

@brinkleylaw #lawyersoftiktok #legal #legaltips #indianalawyer #contract #school #work #video ♬ original sound – Brinkley Law

This kind of content is beneficial to your followers and helps to establish your reputation as a reliable source of legal information.

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Case studies and success stories

Showcase your professional prowess by sharing anonymized case studies or client success stories (with appropriate permissions and confidentiality measures). This helps to build credibility and trust with potential clients.

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Testimonials and reviews

Social proof is a powerful tool. Sharing positive testimonials or reviews from satisfied clients (with their consent) can instill confidence among potential clients about your services.

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Humanizing content

Show the personal side of your firm to forge a deeper connection with your audience.

Posts could spotlight your team members, commemorate firm milestones, or capture snapshots from community events your firm is involved in.

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Legal tips and interactive sessions

Provide practical tips related to your practice area or hold interactive sessions such as Q&As or live discussions. These can increase engagement, foster a sense of community, and provide real-time value to your followers.

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Blog post and article shares

Share relevant blog posts or articles from your website or other reputable sources. This is a great way to distribute your content.

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The best social media platforms for lawyers

Not all social media platforms are made equal.

Depending on your practice area, target audience and other factors, what makes sense for one law firm might not be right for another.

Let’s take a look at which platforms you should consider.

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Facebook

With around 2.66 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the platform to be on if you could only pick one.

And it’s just as popular for legal professionals, with 61% of lawyers active on the platform.

Facebook prioritizes friends-and-family posts, so it can be challenging to get discovered organically. But the platform collects so much information on its users that it’s the perfect tool for paid social media advertising (more on that later).

Facebook profiles are quick and easy to set up to begin getting discovered online.

Here are a few ways you can use Facebook to your advantage:

• Set up a Facebook Messenger chatbot to engage with potential clients
• Use Facebook Live as another way to communicate with audiences
• Use Facebook ads to target your target audience (more below)

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LinkedIn

In our opinion, LinkedIn is about tied with Facebook for the top spot. And lawyers agree, with 87% of firms reporting that they’re active on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn was created for professionals, making it the perfect place for many law firms to connect with prospective clients. It’s ideal for promoting your professional services, establishing yourself as a force in your practice area, and building your professional persona, all of which are keys to getting more referrals.

You can share company news and thought-leadership-style posts and interact with others in the legal industry.

But to be successful, you need to create the perfect LinkedIn profile.

Here are a couple of tips:

• Create a strong first impression. Use professional photos and a headline that says more than just your job title.
• Keep it relevant. Your job experience section should include a thorough list of all of your previous roles that are relevant to your current career. As a lawyer, list all legal-related jobs and explain what you did and achieved while there.

Here’s an example of how your profile’s experience section should look.

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Twitter

If you want to share quick and concise thoughts with your followers, Twitter is the place to be.

A lot of lawyers use Twitter to share quick updates on their firm or to have conversations about legal matters in a microblogging format.

Appellate lawyer Raffi Melkonian is a good example of how to use Twitter effectively to engage audiences.

Twitter is a great platform for establishing yourself as a leader in your industry. We encourage you to share your thoughts on relevant legal matters.

Follow some notable figures in your arena not only for inspiration but for engagement.

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YouTube

While not the most obvious choice, creating video content for your law firm can really help you convert leads into clients.

You can easily showcase your personality to your viewers. And if they feel like they know you, they’ll feel more comfortable and less hesitant to reach out concerning their serious matters.

Trey Porter, for example, shares advice related to his practice area.

Before you start sharing video content, think about the following:

• Make sure you have the resources to create and share professional videos. Shoddy videos can work against you, so really invest in this.
• Whoever is the fact of your law firm should be comfortable on camera and have a strong, authoritative presence when speaking about legal matters.
• Do you really have something unique to say? Don’t create video content “just because.” Instead, ask yourself if you really have something to say.

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Instagram

If your clients are in a younger demographic or if you’re in a consumer-focused area of law, Instagram might be an excellent choice for you. Being able to reach potential clients on an individual level is invaluable when you’re in practice areas like personal injury.

We recommend you use Instagram to humanize the attorneys in your law firm, so prospective clients feel comfortable reaching out.

Consider sharing content like:

• Lifestyle-related posts
• Any community work your firm does
• Firm life (behind-the-scenes peeks)
• Hiring info for new lawyers/intern opportunities

White & Case reach out to aspiring lawyers in younger age groups via Instagram. Check out their feed for inspiration about how to approach content on the platform.

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TikTok

Yes, TikTok marketing is now a “thing” for lawyers.

It won’t be every attorney’s cup of tea, but a lot of lawyers are using the platform to promote their legal know-how and market their firms.

The TikTok hashtag #lawtok has attracted two billion video views and is one of several legal hashtags growing in popularity daily on the platform.

TikTok may be an option if you’re prepared to take a non-traditional approach to law firm marketing, step out of your comfort zone and target a younger audience.

Short, informative, entertaining videos that answer legal questions and provide glimpses into the personality of legal professionals get the best engagement from TikTok users.

Before you consider this option, bear the following in mind:

Be clear on your firm’s target audience, as the TikTok audience is the youngest on social media. If your audience isn’t there, don’t market there.

• Research other legal content on the platform before attempting video-making
• You’ll need to create and share original content regularly to crack TikTok
• It’s OK to be experimental on TikTok
• Use hashtags (like with Instagram) and be prepared to engage with followers
• If you’re not comfortable with showing personality and behind-the-scenes glimpses, stick to YouTube videos

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Best social media tools to use

Social media can be a huge undertaking, but the right tools can make it more manageable.

Here are a few social media tools to consider using:

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Hootsuite

If you’re going to be managing multiple social media accounts, a tool like Hootsuite will be incredibly useful.

You can use it to schedule your social media posts in advance, but that’s just one feature.

Hootsuite lets you view multiple social media streams at once, allowing you to be active on your accounts through one dashboard.

Plus, you can access some pretty in-depth analytics to see which posts are hitting with your audience and which aren’t.

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Later

Later is a similar tool to Hootsuite in that you can manage multiple social media profiles at once. But where it differs is with its advanced Instagram features.

Most of its advanced features center around Instagram, so if you aren’t active on that platform, it might be better to go with Hootsuite.

However, if Instagram is a part of your marketing efforts, you’ll enjoy advanced analytics, hashtag analysis, and what we think is the easiest drag-and-drop scheduling tool out there.

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Canva

Not a Photoshop aficionado? No problem.

Canva is a free design platform that you can use to create professional-looking social media posts without a background in design.

There are hundreds of templates (with even more available under their paid plan) for just about anything you could ever want to make.

So, if you want to level up your social media images without hiring a graphic designer, give Canva a shot.

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Animoto

You’re missing out if you don’t incorporate video into your social media marketing campaigns.

Around 85% of social media users want to see more video content from brands they love, and that includes your law firm.

With Animoto, you can make killer social media videos without spending hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars hiring a professional team.

Check out this example.

It’s similar in ease of use to Canva with a focus on video. Give it a shot if video marketing is in the plans for your law firm.

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Consider paid social media advertising

It’s one thing to post on social media, but another to start creating paid social media ads.

Over ten million active advertisers use Facebook ads. The ability to pinpoint hyper-specific audiences helps get ads in front of target audiences, making it a very lucrative form of advertising.

Here’s an example of how Dennis and King use Facebook ads.

If you can learn the ins and outs of Facebook ads, you’ll undoubtedly reap the rewards. But it’s challenging to optimize social media ads on your own.

That’s why we recommend working with a professional to optimize your ad campaigns to make sure you’re getting the highest ROI possible.

Note also that advertising on LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media channels is also a possibility.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Is social media important for lawyers?

Yes, social media provides a unique opportunity for lawyers to connect directly with potential clients, showcase their expertise, and build a strong brand. It’s a key element in digital marketing strategies.

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What social media is most used by lawyers?

LinkedIn tends to be the most popular for its professional networking capabilities. However, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram also provide valuable platforms for engagement, depending on the firm’s target demographic.

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Is Facebook Ads good for lawyers?

Yes, Facebook Ads can be highly effective for lawyers due to their expansive reach and advanced targeting options. It allows firms to display ads to potential clients based on specific demographic and behavioral data.

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Can social media help lawyers acquire new clients?

By building a strong social media presence, lawyers can attract and engage potential clients, showcasing their expertise and understanding of client needs, ultimately leading to new business.

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How can lawyers measure success on social media?

Lawyers can measure social media success through various metrics like engagement rate, follower growth, and conversion rate. Tools like Google Analytics can also track website traffic originating from social media platforms.

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Build authority with social media marketing for lawyers

Attorneys are paid to be professional communicators. But communicating with potential clients on social media is a different ballgame.

You’re now equipped with the tools you need to build your social media campaign and attract new leads.

With the right strategy and a select few platforms, you can create killer content your audience wants to see. And you can do so for free while spending only a few hours a month scheduling your posts in advance.