According to analytics experts at Avacado Social, around 71% of adults in the UK use social media, and as of 2019, there were more than 90 million active business accounts registered on Facebook. Experts predict these numbers will continue to rise, with video and audio content set to dominate the cyber-world.

So what does this mean for law firms in the UK? Well, the good news is that this surge in social media use presents a fantastic opportunity to increase awareness of your company.

On the face of it, adding an extra platform to your marketing catalogue might seem daunting. But fear not. Not only is social media an affordable way to boost hires, but also a low effort, high return investment. With this in mind, here are some of the key advantages of upping your social media game.

Be Seen

OK, this one might seem a little basic, but you would be amazed by how many law firms forget just how effective social media is at getting your company name out there. Alongside being listed on web-based legal directories, social media is one of the best ways to establish yourself within the local community.

Facebook community groups often attract thousands of members from across the geographic location they have been created to serve, and often admin allows local businesses to post ads on certain days.

Build Authority

Did you know that an active Facebook page can help you appear higher on Google search results? Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of increasing how many people are able to find your website through search engine queries, and social media can directly impact your law firms SEO results.

One of the factors Google uses to calculate your position on search result pages is how authoritative you are on a given subject. For legal experts, this means that the more you can prove your expertise across a range of platforms, the more likely you are to get seen.

The most successful online marketing strategies employ a variety of techniques, because what you do on one platform can directly impact how your company appears on another.

For example: by establishing expertise and authoritativeness via a Facebook or Linkedin page, you boost your chances of appearing near the top of the search results when someone uses Google to search for law firms.

Make the company more approachable

We don’t need to tell you how important it is for law firms to connect on a human level with prospective clients. Often stereotyped as stuffy, archaic, and uptight, social media can help you to defy public expectations and emerge as an accessible, people-focused service provider.

Obviously, you want to appear professional, but by sharing content like photos, articles, and videos answering common questions people might have, like "when should you get legal representation?", you can encourage more people to reach out to you should they need advice.

By showing the public the people behind the machine, you are helping future customers to feel more confident asking for help, which in turn will help you to build trust, rapport, and increase your client base.

Improve customer service

Not only is social media the perfect place to make your company more approachable, but its also a great tool for demonstrating excellent customer service.

This may look like responding to direct messages and queries, thanking customers for interacting with your posts, or simply answering quick questions posed by potential clients. All this helps to create a customer-first persona, and testifies to the responsive, helpful customer service people should expect if they hire you.

Sites like Facebook also offer their own review systems which allow companies to respond to comments left by customers. This means that should issues arise, you are in a prime position to publicly counter any negativity, nipping it in the bud before it has the chance to cause further bad publicity.

Making the Most of Social Platforms

The benefits are myriad, the costs are minimal, but how can law firms ensure they get the best results from their social media efforts? Here are some of our key pointers.

Be Selective

With so many to choose from, it can be tempting to sign up to every social media site in the hope of engaging maximum users. Not only is this method time consuming, but also ineffective, and even damaging if not executed properly.

Your firm will be far better served creating pages on one or two sites, and focusing on ensuring they are well maintained, active, and up to date. As the world’s largest database of social users, Facebook is an ideal choice for businesses looking to secure new clients.

If expanding your professional network is a priority then you should also consider Linkedin (which would also be a good option for lawyers working in the business sector).

Post Engaging Content

As well as posting promotional content and deals on your page, make sure you share posts that engage your customers. This could be links to law-related articles, photos of your team, case studies, and even the occasional funny video.

The more people engage with your content the higher up your followers’ news feeds you will appear.

Be Consistent

It is worth spending a bit of time creating a content calendar, to ensure that you are posting regularly. A good way to do this is to post about recent legal news so as to show that your firm is also current and up to date with the latest legal changes.

The internet moves fast, and without consistent posts, people are likely to forget about you. Making sure you have at least 3 - 4 good quality posts each week will keep your law firm fresh in the minds of potential clients, meaning that the next time they need a lawyer, you will be top of their list.