4 Myths Law Firms Need to Know About Paid Social Media Marketing
You probably know this fact of practice life all too well: Competition between law firms has intensified in the past few years.
So how do you stand out from other legal practitioners? One strategy many firms have tapped, and yours might be one of them: social media. Social posts can allow you to target your audience more precisely than other marketing platforms. You also can easily measure how well your message is performing.
And if you really want to stand out from the crowd, take a close look at paid social. FindLaw has produced a playbook called “Why Should I Pay to Post? Adopting a Paid Social Media Strategy at Your Law Firm.” It demonstrates how paying to make your firm’s social posts more visible can pay off as a marketing strategy.
You or some of your colleagues might be skeptical. Many law firms resist using social media for marketing – or at least using all of its capabilities. Generally, that’s because they believe one or more of the following myths:
[1] Social Media Doesn’t Really Bring in Business
Not directly, perhaps. But what it can and does do is build relationships over time with potential clients. The goal isn’t a hard sell. You want to build trust. That way, when the users you’re targeting need legal advice or representation, your firm’s name is more likely to come to mind.
[2] Facebook is the Only Option
Facebook is a powerful platform. In early 2019, the Pew Research Center reported 69 percent of online adults were Facebook users. The same survey found 68 percent of online adults age 50-64 were on Facebook, as were 74 percent of online adults with an annual household income of $75,000 or more. Needless to say, that’s a desirable demographic.
But don’t overlook LinkedIn. True, it isn’t as big as Facebook. But particularly if businesses make up most or all of your firm’s clientele, LinkedIn is where you can connect with potential new sources of work. According to one recent marketing survey, 61 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers, and 40 million are in decision-making positions. In addition, 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies use LinkedIn.
[3] You don’t Need to pay to Reach Potential Clients
Many attorneys think that social media’s selling point as a marketing platform is that it’s free. So why pay for posts?
Here’s why: Most businesses, including law firms, don’t get the visibility they want from unpaid social. People receive a lot of social posts in the course of a day, and they don’t look closely at all of them. (What’s more, competing firms might also be posting on Facebook or LinkedIn.)
In order to stand out from all the other posts your target market receives, your firm can pay to make it more likely that your message will get potential clients’ attention. Paid social posts and ads can also let you reach people to whom your firm isn’t already connected with.
But even if you’re sold on paid social, there’s another myth requiring rebuttal:
[4] Paid Social is all I Need to Stand Out
It’s really just the start. Your firm should still craft its posts so that they truly connect with the legal consumers you’re targeting. You need to create informative, engaging content. That’s a key part of building trust – and building a platform for future business.
If your firm is looking for ways to boost its presence in the legal marketplace, start by downloading FindLaw’s paid social playbook here. It is free, by the way.
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