Best Practices for Law Firm Social Media Marketing

Law firms should follow these essential tips for effective social media marketing.

Develop a profile for the firm on the primary social media platforms before someone else does. Since clients search for lawyers and law firms on social media, having a professionally branded profile will allow potential clients to easily find a firm and its lawyers’ social media profiles and prevent others from usurping its name. To reserve and create social media profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, follow the step-by-step instructions provided later in the Social Media Guide for Lawyers.

Consult with an experienced legal social media professional to create and manage a social media strategy for the firm. This person could be an internal or external marketing professional. The following guidelines are recommendations to be included when developing a firm’s social media strategy:

• Develop a plan. Social media are tools to accomplish a particular objective. Once a firm and its lawyers develop their marketing goals, a marketing professional can help implement effective social media strategies to accomplish those goals in a manner that fits within the firm’s culture.

• Use privacy features. Become familiar with privacy features offered by each social media platform to control the content and the ability for third parties to interact with lawyers’ and the firm’s social media profiles. This Guide provides instructions on how to implement appropriate privacy features.

• Redirect traffic. The firm’s blog and website should still be the focus of its online presence. Use social media to direct potential clients, current clients, and firm contacts to the blog or firm website.

Following these best practices will help law firms leverage the power of social media for marketing. Click here to learn more about social media marketing strategies.