BEYOND BROADCASTING – UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LAW FIRMS
: Bhavya Bhatt
: 27-10-2023
In this digital age, the concept of social media as a mere “e-bulletin board” does not do justice to its enormous influence. Social media has evolved into a complex ecosystem with far-reaching implications for our lives. It enables people worldwide to communicate with one another, share their thoughts and experiences without boundaries, and gain instant access to a wealth of information. This article will look at the evolution of social media, how it is a tool for growth and its future.
THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA
The evolution of social media is an intriguing chapter in the history of the Internet. Social media platforms were much less dynamic when they first emerged than they are today. Chat rooms and simple online forums from the early 20th century laid the groundwork for modern social media.
Due to technological advancements and increased connectivity, social media has undergone a remarkable transformation. Online discussion forums have become vibrant political organising, creative expression, and leisure communities.
In legal marketing, social media has an untapped potential beyond being a digital bulletin board. There’s more to deal announcements, awards, media mentions, sharing laws, and legal documents. Here’s a hands-on roadmap to showcase how you can amplify its impact:
– Engage in meaningful conversations –
Generate content that sparks insightful conversations within the legal communities. Create thought-provoking content. Pose open-ended questions, seek opinions on recent legal developments and engage in dialogues. First, have posts that ignite conversations, and second, engage in the very same post with your audience. No such protocol prohibits a firm from engaging with its audience. You can, and you must!
– Knowledge sharing at your fingertips –
Break down complex legal concepts, making them digestible and accessible to a broader audience. How can you do that? Disseminate legal insights through posts, visually appealing infographics, or short informative videos. This isn’t just it. Suppose you have a content team or a few people readily available to contribute to generating content. In that case, you can have many content formats, like videos and webinars, legal tips, podcasts, Q&A sessions, legal guides, legal quizzes, book reviews, legal glossaries, workshops, etc.
– Unveil the human side –
Share glimpses of your firm’s work culture. Include team victories and notable milestones of not just Partners but also of other team members. It only humanises your brand and establishes trust and relatability amongst your audience. Share moments that reflect the ethos of your workplace—a team brainstorm, an office celebration, or a simple ‘thank you’ note to your colleagues. Let your social media feed be a reflection of your authentic, relatable, and human brand identity.
– Implement Client Education Series –
Creating informative posts for the audience is one thing, but implementing and ideating content for educating clients and prospects is another. When the firm is trying to get a prospect’s attention, it becomes imperative to note what the prospect wants and the triggers. Providing valuable information on various legal processes, rights or industry-specific legal updates can position the firm as an authority and foster trust amongst prospects and clients.
– Have themed content days –
Themed content days is an interesting strategy (if implemented well) where the firm assigns specific themes to particular weekdays for your social media. This approach helps diversify the content while giving an audience soething to look forward to that day of the week. Here’s how you can go about this:
a) Choose themes relevant to your audience
b) Assign themes to days, like Monday Legal Tips, Wednesday Spotlight (highlight one lawyer a week), Legal Fact Fridays, etc.
c) Create and curate content like a creative infographic, videos, quotes, curated articles, etc, and post weekly.
The Future of Social Media with AI
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the future of social media will be significantly different from the present. Understanding potential developments is important as a law firm navigates this evolving landscape. Artificial Intelligence, or ‘AI’ as we call it, is at the top of this list, which law firms must look at to stay ahead of the competition in the near future.
AI is set to revolutionise the way law firms use social media. AI can optimise content creation and distribution based on what’s resonating with the audience. It can analyse the performance of various types of content and suggest the best strategies that may work for a law firm, ensuring it aligns with its marketing efforts. AI is undoubtedly here to stay, as AI tools, if used correctly, can grow a firm’s practice by leaps and bounds. Firms can use AI to generate ideas on content, create outlines of content, create content calendars, and schedule content. At this point, the firm should not rely entirely on AI for legal content as that is subjective, and firms should do so themselves, but AI responses can be used as a nudge to start from somewhere and stay at it. Several AI tools help you make carousels, videos, and images from scratch, transcribe videos to blogs, help with SEO and grammar, etc.
AI is here to ensure social media don’t become just notice boards. Leverage it!
CONCLUSION
Adopting the right strategies in consonance with current trends is the only way to ensure their social media platform isn’t just another noticeboard. Exciting opportunities lie ahead of every law firm that wishes to embrace this transformation and use social media as a powerful platform to enhance their brand, engage with their audience and shape conversations around the law. Remember, Social Media is no longer just a broadcasting tool!
In July 2023, we launched The Law Firm Digital Footprint Report, 2023, sharing LinkedIn Activity analysis of 20 Top Law Firms in India. Take a glimpse at our highlights and know more about how social media is more than just a noticeboard in our report. Download now!
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Building your Legal services brand
Legal services marketing as a discipline is mostly unheard of, at least in India. As marketers, we did not get the opportunity to learn this in any school. There are no specialized legal/professional services marketing firms that can provide a 360-degree view either.
Those who work in this field must know the business of law, policy environment and deal market in order