With the right local social media tactics for lawyers, you can find the perfect mix of authority and reliability. Your social media presence can become a compelling argument that clients want your firm on their side—not their opponents. And you can reach people locally without spending significant resources.
So, all rise to learn some local social media methods that work!
Why Localizing Your Online Presence Matters
You can sigh a breath of relief. You’re not expected to build a social media presence for the nation like those big national law firms.
Those aren’t your clients.
Your clients are local or maybe regional. They may even be in a specific zip code. You can target them with the right local social media tactics for lawyers.
And here’s the thing.
It’s a lot more time- and cost-efficient to reach people locally than it is to cast a broad net.
When folks need a lawyer, they’re going to start with a Google search. The search engine’s algorithm determines where the searcher is to deliver the most relevant localized results.
Social media complements search because having a social presence builds trust. When someone finds a lawyer on Google, they then go to social media and review sites to make sure they’re legit.
If you have no online presence, they move on to the next lawyer on their shortlist (page one of Google search results).
Social media also plays a significant role in increasing your name recognition. Now, imagine someone going to Google to look for a divorce attorney. In the results, they see a firm they’ve seen before because they’ve run across you on social media. The fact that they recognize your name subconsciously gives you instant credibility.
It’s like when you craft the perfect opening statement to get into the heads of the jury early. You’re shaping their perception of the evidence presented and, eventually, the verdict. You can use that same mind power on social media.
Finally, there’s social listening. Social media isn’t just for cat videos. It’s where your next clients hang out and discuss their needs.
Through hashtags, comments, and analytics, you can listen in on these conversations to learn what local clients care about most and how best to reach them.
Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms
You have Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest…and the list goes on! Each platform has its own quirks, unwritten rules, strengths, and weaknesses as they relate to specific industries.
It’s important to explore the platform where your firm can take the stage and shine. You don’t have to be everywhere. It’s better to choose carefully and focus there.
Even though each social media platform is unique, it’s important to showcase a consistent image across the sites.
It’s like the saying, “The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts”.
When you build a consistent presence on a handful of platforms, each one helps the others, amplifying impact beyond what one could do alone.
Optimizing Social Media Profiles
Your social media profiles becomes an interactive digital business card. As your presence grows through consistent publishing, social sharing, referrals, and geo-targeted ads, people will take the path back to your core profile information and in turn your firm.
So, make it snappy! Use local terms and reference local ideas and places that make your community special.
Did you know that you can use tools to do local keyword research? This allows you to incorporate the words that people in your area use. Are you a lawyer, attorney, solicitor, representative, legal team, or something else to your local audience? It’s vital to use the words they use.
Don’t forget to tell people where you are by including a consistent name, address, and phone (NAP) across platforms.
Content Localization Tips
Local social media tactics for lawyers include posting stuff that your community will find interesting because they can relate. These can consist of mentions of, comments on, and content on topics like local:
- Events
- Businesses
- Charities
- Media outlets
- Festivals
- Locations
- Activities
Even better, get involved in a local event, such as a charity run or fundraiser. Bring your team, too! Then, document the event with pictures, short videos, and social media posts about your great time, how you felt inspired, etc. This is a great way to show you’re connected in the community and that you’re a person first and then a darn good lawyer.
You’re growing your local presence through content strategy.
Engage the Neighborhood
You can do even more to localize your online presence by collaborating on an event with some other non-competing businesses that share your audience. This event could be a virtual Q&A or a real-life meet and greet among your corporate clients.
It’s up to you.
Not only are you sharing the costs of hosting an event. Each of you will share the event with your respective audiences, giving you more reach.
Utilize Social Media Advertising
Don’t underestimate the power of social media advertising. Even if you’ve tried running ads before, know there is a right way to use social ads. And it’s very different from traditional advertising.
You can retarget people who’ve visited your website and social media profile with ads. You can also target people who have friends who’ve commented on or liked your posts.
You can boost a post that people liked to reach a lookalike audience. But here are the local social media tactics for lawyers most relevant to this conversation.
Did you know you can use geo-targeting to show ads only to locals? Or run a specific promotion for people in one zip code and then the other. Geo-targeting is like a spotlight on the local map. People know where you are, and you’re reaching people in your area.
Get People to “Market” for You
This is what you do when you generate buzz with user-generated content. UGC includes posts, videos, and other content you encourage people to make in response to a prompt.
These marketing campaigns can generate a lot of word-of-mouth and referrals. Let’s look at some examples:
Encourage satisfied clients to share short video testimonials of their positive experiences with your firm and the problems they faced that led them to you. This is the kind of personal 1st person content platforms like TikTok and Instagram eat up. But it works well anywhere.
Run a photo contest where people take a picture outside your office and post it with a catchy positive statement overlay.
With permission, interview a client on video. Splice the sections to turn them into ads and posts.
When you get people involved, you become more than a faceless law firm. People see you as part of the community.
Track, Monitor, Analyze
It’s important to identify what’s working for you so you can continue to improve your campaign performance. These local social media tactics for lawyers will get you moving swiftly and efficiently in the right direction.
But every audience is a little different. It’s important to listen to what they’re saying through their actions—or lack of interaction.
Local Social Media Tactics for Lawyers
Localizing your social media isn’t a one-time deal. But it certainly can work into your flow with the right small business marketing software to manage your online presence.
On social media, you can build a winning case for choosing your firm. With the right all-in-one small business software, you can maintain the consistency and local content quality your audience needs to see without you or your team pulling all-nighters.
Social media is becoming increasingly important in the lives of your clients. The small businesses that thrive use today’s digital-first customer journey to guide more clients through their doors.
It’s possible to geo-target your social media down to the zip code, for better engagement with real potential clients to grow your firm.
Surefire Local becomes your sidekick for this adventure. We help small businesses localize their marketing, so you spend less time marketing and more time consulting clients and winning cases. Just check out some of the great features on our all-in-one marketing platform:
- Website / Local SEO optimizations – Grow your local digital presence and authority by creating geo-tagged content you can publish across multiple platforms
- Online review management – Build a solid reputation by automating review requests and analyzing how clients feel about your firm based on their online activities (sentiment).
- Content marketing software – We make creating locally-relevant content easy for your blog, socials, Google Business, and key directories.
- Social media management – Manage your social presence in less time with tools for scheduling, comments, social listening, and more.
- Analytics and reports – Learn what works quickly to hone your skills and maximize results
- Educational resources – Don’t try to do this alone. We’re here with you, providing webinars and blogs to help you get the most out of our small business tools.
Don’t keep your audience in the dark. Turn on the light and show them all your firm has to offer the local community digitally and in real life. To learn more, attend a Surefire Local demo.