Social media has long been gaining prominence as a means for businesses to increase their visibility and customer base. In the time of COVID, it is more important than ever for attorneys to utilize digital marketing in order to reach new clients. According to the ABA’s TechReport 2020 on Websites and Marketing among law firms and lawyers, theleading channels for marketing across all firm sizes in 2020 were event sponsorship (48%), LinkedIn (42%), email (41%), Facebook (33%), and print (21%).
Solos reported using email (28%), LinkedIn (28%), event sponsorship (23%), Facebook (20%) as major channels. Small and midsize firms reported similarly – event sponsorship remains a top marketing channel for firms, as does Facebook and email marketing.
What does that look like from a practical aspect? How exactly are attorneys leveraging the various social media platforms to grow their business? To find out, I spoke with area attorneys in solo practice, small and midsize firms, as well as marketing experts with Dinsmore and Shohl and Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
Dinsmore and Taft shared similar social media strategies. They see their attorneys as ambassadors for the firm, both the creators of content but also the disseminators of the content through their own professional social media accounts.
“We post a mixture of content including our attorney’s thought leadership, community involvement (speaking engagements, board nominations, etc.), and welcoming new hires to the firm,” said Ashley Crossland, Taft’s digital marketing coordinator.
“Our team has been quite busy the past year posting regular legal developments related to COVID-19 and more recently have been providing updates on the White House transition.
In addition to legal updates, we recently shared about how the firm celebrated International Women’s Day and announced the opening of our new Washington, DC office and creation of a new Public Affairs Strategies Group.”
Selecting the right platform for the right content is just as important as creating the right content.
“LinkedIn is the epicenter of legal advertising. If you can only choose one, choose this one,” said Jacob Bourne, media relations manager with Dinsmore. “Use LinkedIn Groups to establish yourself as a known entity in your area of practice. Create a keyword heavy summary and make the page as professional as possible.
Facebook is a good place to make big announcements (mergers or hiring new staff) and to highlight community engagement.”
In a world where everyone and every business has a social media presence, it’s imperative to engage with the audience.
“Make sure your profiles are very searchable and produce content that aligns with your expertise,” said Bourne.“Don’t post and leave. Social media is supposed to be social. Engage, foster conversation and participate.
Promote reality. Embrace your strengths rather than trying to be part of the conversation just for the sake of being part of the conversation. People will see through that. Play to your strengths. You are a subject matter expert in an area, embrace that. You can’t be everything to everyone. Be really good at who you are and what you do.”
Social media marketing is rife with platforms for scheduling planned content, but sometimes inspiration strikes without warning. Adaptability is key.
“I have an outline of content ideas and posts for the upcoming year, but also allow flexibility to post content as it comes up,” said Crossland. “Being agile on social media is important to stay relevant. If this past year has taught us nothing else, it is that we can’t predict what will happen and what people will be talking about a year in advance,” Crossland said.
Scott Hoberg, who practices in estate planning, probate and real estate, was unique among the solo/small firm groups in using social media primarily to run video ad campaigns specifically geared toward expanding their client base.
“I use software called Repurpose, which will take a video I create and turn it into a Facebook-ad ready format, an Instagram-ready video, a YouTube video, and audio for a podcast,” he said. These platforms can be scheduled to run regularly and allow Hoberg and his firm to directly target demographic matches for their ideal clients.
“[Social media] has allowed us to generate new business and provide a substantial rate of return on our investment in the social media platforms,” he said.
James Bogen, a criminal defense attorney who also handles DUI cases, uses Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to draw attention to DUI checkpoints, traffic crackdowns and general information prospective clients might need. Bogen recently tweeted information about upcoming DUI checkpoints along with a link to an article he had written giving advice on what to do if stopped by police. Every tweet includes a link to his web page and contains relevant hashtags to make them easier to find.
Bogen also posts images with attractive text to draw attention to a particular skill or training he has undergone and why that makes him the right choice for someone seeking a DUI attorney. “I believe that it has helped me get my name out. People have called me because they have seen my social media posts,” Bogen said.
Free applications like Canva are a great tool for creating dynamic, eye-catching posts.
Erik Laursen, who practices criminal defense and First Amendment law, also listed Reddit as a tool for both research and as a means to increase business.
“I am generally just a reader of Reddit, but when the George Floyd protests were taking place, I offered information and comments regarding protest rights and criminal defense. I know I reached people there because I received calls at the office,” Laursen said.
“Reddit is the most undervalued social media site, because it allows you to browse by subreddits, which are essentially about some specific area of interest. The easiest example to provide of a sub is /r/WallStreetBets, which has been in the news lately. People there discuss stocks and due diligence about stocks. The /r/cincinnati subreddit contains posts and comments about things happening in Cincinnati… You can find just about everything good and bad about the internet on Reddit.”
Using social media and digital advertising as a means of increasing business will remain essential long after we retire our face masks. Choosing platforms that are comfortable to you, creating or sharing content that speaks to your personal expertise, and remaining engaged in the conversation will establish your expertise in the eyes of potential clients and colleagues alike.
Note: The Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 through 7.5 address marketing and advertising.
Seeger is the outreach librarian for the Hamilton County Law Library and a digital marketing dabbler.
References:
Shields Johs, A. (2020, November 9). 2020 Websites & Marketing. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice/publications/techreport/2020/webmarketing/