If you’ve ever checked how much time you spend on your phone, you’re aware that social media takes up a large chunk of that pie chart (even if you’re not aware of the stranger you’re about to bump into while you’ve been staring at your phone). Social media networks are a great place to see your aunt’s new puppy or your old roommate’s cute baby, but social media isn’t just for dogs and kids…social media is also for your personal injury law firm.
Why? Well, because, as we’ve already mentioned, your target audience (clients and prospects) is already glued to their phones—so all it takes is a consistent social media presence and a well-designed digital marketing strategy to turn those views into consultations. Plus, social media marketing is something personal injury law firms of all sizes can implement today (for cheap). So without further ado, we’ll stop buffering and share with your PI law firm our favorite social media practices for converting your online likes into real-life dollars.
1) Post with purpose
Unlike with your personal accounts, your PI law firm can’t just post any time you take a cute selfie; because the consequences are a lot worse than annoying your friends—by inundating your followers with needless posts, you risk losing them as clients forever. Before you start posting, sit down and figure out what you’d like to accomplish with your online presence (e.g., attract more clients, strengthen your community profile, drive website traffic, engage with leads, all of the above) and then devise a social media marketing strategy that accomplishes those goals.
2) Get engaged
Personal injury attorneys can’t expect results from your social media marketing if your posts are never seen. Major social sites use algorithms that reward posts that get a lot of engagement (e.g., likes, shares, comments) by making them more prominent in your followers’ feeds. It may sound circular, but in order to get engagement, you need to be engaging. You can accomplish this by being timely and compelling. A great way to accomplish this is by asking your audience questions that require responses (thereby sparking a conversation that you can also participate in). If all else fails, use pictures, videos, or GIFs—it’s prettier than text and people like pretty.
3) Give them what they want
Social media is a two-way street—don’t just talk to your audience…listen to them. By setting up a social media dashboard (e.g. Hootsuite), you can monitor what legal search terms and hashtags people are interested in—so you can spend less time figuring out what to write about and more time interacting with an engaged community…it’s like a content wish list and you’re their social media Santa.
Also read: Key in on Your Marketing KPIs and Unlock Your Personal Injury Firm’s Success.
4) Share your story
Your personal injury law firm’s social pages are a great way for prospects and clients to get a more complete understanding of who you are and what you excel at—use these pages to profile your employees and clients, highlight your specialties, show off your work in the community, and share some key firm info. And don’t be afraid to brag a little—your social profiles are the perfect place to tout milestones, awards, and big wins for your clients.
5) Direct your messages
No two social platforms are the same—for example, LinkedIn is primarily used for professional networking, while Instagram is a visual medium; instead of making the same posts across the board, pick and choose by playing to each network’s strengths. And the same goes for followers—many platforms (such as Facebook) allow you to target your messages to specific groups (e.g., customers, prospects, influencers) so you can speak directly with your various audiences without diluting your message.
6) Pay to play
Sometimes it’s hard to get noticed—so like any other type of marketing, you’ll likely have to spend some cash to get momentum going; but unlike other types of marketing, social media platforms make it super cheap, super customizable, and super easy for PI law firms (sometimes all it takes is a click of a button). While you can promote any type of post, it’s best to promote ones that will encourage your prospects to submit contact info so you can continue to nurture your leads well after your post disappears.
7) Ask for help
Legal technology can make your life easier and your practice more efficient—and digital marketing tech is no different. There are a bunch of social media tools that can help you better manage your accounts (for example, Hootsuite lets you monitor mentions and keywords and schedule future posts with ease) and others (like Feedly) that allow you to stay on top of trends so you can better serve your clients wants and needs.
8) Check yourself
You should always be analyzing the success of your social media strategy; lucky for you, most social platforms make it easy, with readily available measurable statistics such as impressions, clicks, and demographics. Use this info to inform your future decisions; keep what’s working and experiment with what’s not by posting at different times, using different tones, adding more photos, calling for different actions, etc…mixing it up will help you to figure out the right social media formula for you.
Also read: Feed Your Law Firm More Than Just Case Management Software with CloudLex
And while you’re at it, experiment with CloudLex by signing up for a free demo. Our next-gen legal platform will be your favorite because we’ll follow back with unprecedented efficiency for your PI Law firm.
