Social Media Marketing for Personal Injury Law Firms

It may come as a surprise that most lawyers report using social media. Some 70% incorporate social media advertising into their overall digital marketing strategy. In this article we will look at the benefits of social media marketing for Personal Injury Law Firms and provide some tips for getting the most out of your marketing efforts.

Benefits of social media advertising

There are many benefits of social media marketing. Here are a few of the most important.

Brand awareness

One of the most significant use cases for social media marketing for personal injury law firms is building brand awareness. In 2020, there were over 3.6 billion people using social media around the world. That number is projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion by 2025. With nearly 1/2 of the world using social media, it is a great place to expand your reach.

Generate leads

According to the ABA, 35% of lawyers that use social media have been able to gain new clients as a result. Even if you attract just a few new legal leads each month through social media, it is worth the effort.

Thought leadership

Many lawyers use social media to establish themselves as experts in their respective fields. For instance, lawyers post blog articles on LinkedIn to gain exposure and build credibility.

Improve SEO

A lot of law firms focus on SEO, incorporating initiatives like writing optimized web content and blog posts. Yet they fail to supplement their SEO efforts with social media marketing. Research suggests that while authority of a social account does not impact search rank, links published on social media likely influence a page’s rank.

Social media marketing tips for lawyers

Listen to what people are saying

Ever wonder how others view your firm? One of the benefits of social media is the ability to search for conversations involving your law firm. If the buzz is positive, then play up your strengths in future marketing campaigns. If negative, figure out ways to improve your image.

You can also look for conversations that involve your area of expertise. For example, if you specialize in personal injury law, look for related topics – join forums and groups with people talking about what do to after a car accident, for example. Add value to the conversation to build credibility and potentially attract some new personal injury leads.

Choose the best platform(s) for legal leads

There are many social media platforms. The following 5 platforms, however, are generally considered the best for generating high quality legal leads.

  • Facebook. Facebook is the largest social network in the world with some 8 billion monthly active users. It is also a popular platform for lawyers to generate quality personal injury and workers comp leads. According to recent survey data from the ABA, 63% of firms use Facebook.
  • LinkedIn. According to the same ABA survey results, LinkedIn is by far the most popular social media platform for lawyers with 82% of respondents reporting that they use it. Ensure that your profile is complete, up-to-date, and compelling.
  • Twitter. Twitter is not as commonly used by lawyers as Facebook or LinkedIn. Yet many lawyers like the convenience of short posts and have some success generating legal leads.
  • YouTube. Posting videos on YouTube is a great way to establish trust with prospective clients and to showcase your expertise. Be sure that your videos are high quality, relevant, and engaging.
  • Instagram. As a visual-centered platform, Instagram is not a great fit for all firms. Those that specialize in consumer-focused practice areas tend to experience the most success. For example, firms specializing in personal injury law find that the platform is an effective way to connect with potential clients and generate quality personal injury leads.

Create and share visuals

Visuals play an important role in social media marketing. Even if you do not elect to go the Instagram route, use appealing photos and/or graphics to make your posts and paid ads stand out. Research suggests that social media posts with images see approximately 2.3x more engagement that those without.

Create informative YouTube videos

According to experts, YouTube has replaced Facebook as the #1 platform that affects consumer behavior and is the #1 purchase-driver for social media.  An estimated 70% of YouTube viewers report watching videos for “help with a problem.” Posting videos on YouTube is a great opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, provide legal leads with useful content by answering their questions, and drive traffic to your website.

In a recent article on video marketing for personal injury lawyers, we provided some tips for researching topics. Pick topics that are relevant to your audience. For instance, if you want to find personal injury leads, you might create a video explaining how to write a demand letter.

Share blog posts

Many lawyers have the blog writing process down – consistently posting informative articles on their website. Yet many fail to promote blog articles across multiple channels. Social media platforms are a great place to share links to recent articles and other informative content.

When promoting your articles, include an appealing headline to increase user engagement. Also, be sure to consistently post other relevant and interesting content for your followers. For example, if you are trying to generate personal injury leads, you may want to post news regarding recent verdicts.

Respond to comments

One of the advantages of social media platforms is the ability to interact directly with your audience. Answer questions from potential clients to demonstrate expertise. And thank your followers for their contributions. Consider setting aside a few hours each week to review and respond to comments, doing your best to acknowledge as many as you can.

Paid ads

Paid social media ads are an excellent option for getting more legal leads since they tend to be more affordable than other forms of paid advertising and they offer advanced targeting features. Social media platforms like Facebook allow you to leverage vast user datapoints to reach your target audience. For more information on paid advertising, read our recent blog post here.

Involve everyone

Managing social media marketing initiatives on multiple platforms is a lot for one person to handle. Yet by splitting the responsibility among the firm’s lawyers and support staff, the process becomes far more manageable.

More than that, widespread participation adds an element of personability to your brand. And research suggests that content shared by employees gets significantly more user engagement than content shared through the firm’s own social channels.

Evaluate your results

Like any type of digital marketing campaign, it is important to monitor and measure the results of your social media marketing efforts. This helps you to understand what works, what does not, and what you can do differently. Law firms that fail to do this will waste time, money, and will not get as many quality legal leads as they otherwise could.

Social media marketing for personal injury law firms is not easy, but can pay huge dividends if done right. If you are not already using social media to promote your firm’s services, consider starting small using some of the tips mentioned in this article to help you attract more legal leads and grow your practice.

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