Change is the only constant. As cliche as it may sound but who can deny it. Changing times and generations have severely transformed the way we interrelate and communicate with one another. This has revolutionized how law firms or lawyers approach brand communication in modern times, especially in a country like India where an advertisement for legal professionals is considered unethical – lawyers and law firms have found themselves a beneficial alternative in the guise of social media platforms.
Millions of people actively using social media platforms in today’s digital age have made it a powerful tool for any business or profession to grow in the market. It is no wonder why lawyers and law firms, in bulk, are turning to these platforms to maximize their impact and reach. It has now become one of the sought-after places for lawyers and law firms to connect with their target clientele and spread their brand awareness on a level that was once almost impossible.
LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and whatnot have made life easier for lawyers and law firms in terms of establishing a brand, but how successful you become in leveraging this opportunity depends on how wisely and strategically you do it. Branding on social media platforms can significantly help increase brand visibility, establish credibility and thought leadership, attract prospective clientele, and further engage your target clientele and turn them into prospects. As you read this article further, you will have a fair understanding of how to leverage social media to maximize its impact and how to measure the ROI of your efforts in branding.
LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA TO MAXIMIZE YOUR IMPACT
Here are a few best practices to remember and follow to leverage social media once you establish your brand identity – your brand’s voice, visual identity, values, personality, and target audience – the unique fingerprint that sets you apart from the competition. So, start with choosing the right social media platform considering the type of practice, your target audience, and the kind of content you would like to share because it is not very useful to brand on platforms that might not be suitable and meet your objectives. Let’s find out!
LinkedIn is for business and is a legitimate professional space. So, it is an excellent platform for lawyers and law firms to build a professional network. It allows you to highlight your expertise and connect with potential clients in a space primarily meant for professional engagement.
Twitter is a short and quick content platform. It is an excellent platform for sharing industry news, insights and engaging with your audience. It is a great place for independent lawyers to showcase themselves as a brand. However, remember that it is more of a casual space, unlike LinkedIn, where you can showcase your raw side through personal commentary to the audience watching closely.
Instagram is a platform that is image and short videos centred. It can be a place to showcase something more personal to you as a lawyer or law firm, including your lifestyle, or keeping it knowledge centred. Any content which connects you with your target clientele and builds a credible relationship would do.
Facebook, the most used social media platform today, is not very relevant amongst the younger generation, who have already moved to other social media platforms. Also, do not forget Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes friends and family posts, so it automatically makes it difficult for your content type to reach your target clientele unless you present the range in a manner that favours Facebook’s algorithm to the best.
YouTube allows you to connect with your target clientele even before they have approached you in real life. It is where you can showcase your physical personality and authority, which helps you gather the trust of your potential clientele.
Choose the platforms that best fit your target audience and brand messaging.
Now, moving on to optimizing your profiles on these platforms to reflect your brand messaging. Ensure your profile is complete and up to date, as it helps establish credibility and trust with your audience.
Create engaging content: You can begin creating content that is engaging and, at the same time, aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your existing or potential clientele. The content can range from sharing insights on industry news, sharing educative and informative writing pieces, case studies, and analysis, or maybe success stories; remember to keep it interactive, appealing, engaging, and shareable – as it keeps them returning for more and increases the chances your content shooting up.
Whether it’s a witty tweet, an eye-catching Instagram post, or an informative LinkedIn article, your content should be relevant, informative, and entertaining. And don’t forget to include visuals! As it can go a long way in capturing your audience’s attention. Keep your content relevant and valuable to your clients and potential clients.
Using appropriate keywords and hashtags in your posts to improve visibility and searchability is the right move in addition to others.
Engage with your audience: Engaging with your audience on social media platforms becomes essential as it is a two-way conversation and enables you to understand their needs and preferences, which further helps in refining your social media strategy. What’s better than promptly responding to comments and messages, asking questions, or encouraging discussions around any relevant or hot topic. This will immensely help you build a community based on trust with your audience.
Consistency and Frequency: Maintaining your brand identity and messaging across all social media platforms is essential. Moreover, posting regularly on social media helps maintain a strong presence amongst your audience.
Keep up with your competitors: To stay relevant and amongst the top law firms in the market, it is essential to comprehensively analyse your competitors’ social media accounts. Keep a check on the kind of posts they are making and try to analyse their content strategy and the category of people engaging with their account. It is also helpful to keep a check on – how they interact with their audiences.
MEASURING THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF YOUR BRANDING EFFORTS
But how do you know if your social media branding efforts are working? This is where measuring your Return On Investment (ROI) comes in. ROI is essentially a way to measure the efficacy of your social media strategy. By tracking metrics like engagement, reach, and conversion rate – you can determine if your efforts are paying off and make data-driven decisions about your plan moving forward.
Engagement metrics measure the level of interaction with your content, including likes, comments, shares, and followers. Reach metrics calculate the number of people who have viewed your content. Conversion metrics measure the number of people who have interacted after visiting your content, such as purchasing or signing up for your services. To calculate ROI, setting specific goals aligning with your objectives is essential.
Define your goals: Ask yourself – What are you aiming to achieve through branding? Do you want to increase brand visibility, attract potential clients, or establish yourself as a thought leader? Defining your goals will help you determine what metrics to track and how to measure them.
Track website metrics and social media engagement: Your law firm’s website is often the first point of contact for potential clients, so tracking metrics of your website traffic and other related measures are essential. To calculate the ROI of your social media efforts, track metrics such as followers, likes, comments, and shares. By analysing this data, you can identify which branding efforts are driving traffic to your website/social media account and which page or content on your website/social media account is converting visitors into clients.
Measure your results: Measuring your social media results is essential to determine what’s working and what’s not. Regularly inspecting your analytics data can help you identify trends and patterns, which can guide your future content creation and engagement efforts. Using this data can refine your social media strategy and improve your results.
Monitor your reputation: It is vital to keep track of your online reputation in the legal market as it helps in knowing how the firm is being perceived by your audience. If ever your reputation deflects negativity, you can always protect yourself from happening that or can rebrand if required.
With the right strategy and its execution, social media can be leveraged in growing your legal profession and moving up the ladder. Social media platforms can maximize your impact and take your branding efforts to the next level. And do not forget to measure the ROI of your efforts to build your brand. Happy branding!
Congrats on making it to the end of this article. We hope you found the information helpful to your firm’s branding strategy!
If you need assistance or have specific queries about the above procedures, we will gladly walk you through them. Please be unhesitant in contacting us to discuss preparing and executing a positioning and branding strategy that aligns with your goals!
