How Lawyers Can Use Social Media

Most people are under the impression that lawyers will not do well with creating profiles for their firms on social media. However, this idea is very, very wrong. Law firms can actually benefit from creating social media profiles and could possibly use them to get more clients. There are a few things that law firms should do on social media to help them. At first, it is recommended for a law firm to focus on two to three social media sites. Facebook and Twitter are usually the two most popular social media platforms for law firms.

What Lawyers Should Do On Social Media

Before jumping into social media head first, a lawyer should spend some time researching what the target audience is talking about. It is easy to see what they are saying about your law firm by searching the name of your law firm on google first. This way, you will be able to see if your law firm was mentioned in any blog posts. If not, that is something to consider. You will also be able to search the name of your law firm on Facebook and Twitter and see if your name has been mentioned and if it was positive or negative. Doing this helps you get a feel on how they are viewing your law firm and you can either try to change negative opinions or reinforce positive opinions.

Lawyers can also gather information about what their target audience is talking about. Creating a list of keywords can help discover what is being said about each topic and how the law firm could possibly reach out to those talking about them. If a law firm specializes in criminal defense, a few good search words would be arrested or court date. If the law firm notices these topics being discussed by users in their area, engaging with them is a great way to get new clients. Introducing the law firm and what it specializes in with a link to the firm website can help direct more online traffic.

Asking questions on social media is a great way for firms to get feedback from their target audience. Ask questions that you actually want answered. Another great way to capture their attention is to post relevant articles for them to view. If you aren’t writing them yourself, or having a marketing agency write them for you, posting relevant and related articles to your services can help as well. Blogging is a great way to go into depth on what services your firm offers and provide information that could reach potential clients.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for lawyers to use. This social media platform will allow lawyers to reconnect with old friends and colleagues that could possibly turn into new clients.

What Lawyers Should Not Do On Social Media

There are a few things that a law firm should not do on social media and that could potentially harm the reputation of that firm. A law firm should not:

• Talk about clients and cases over social media
• Talk WITH clients about cases over social media
• Engage in conflicts of interest
• Give legal advice over social media

There is a lot of good that can be done with social media for lawyers, but social media is also a double edged sword. It must be used with caution.