Let’s face it - we are not getting any younger. It really started to hit us when we consistently saw younger and younger clients walking in our doors (with more and more money as well). How do you market to such a clientele? Social media is where it is at! Not only is that generation all over the internet and browsing lawyer websites, they are on their social media accounts, whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or even… TikTok. While some of the newer social media platforms may be a little too hip for us, we recognize that you can market your law firm professionally, ethically, and tastefully on social media, particularly to younger clients. Even more than marketing your firm, social media is a great venue for creating your own personal brand.
November 19, 2020 Practice Management
Tik Tok, You Don’t Stop - Diving into the Social Media Marketing Band-Wagon
November 2020 Tech Talk Corner
By Brian M. Karpf and Melissa A. Kucinski
Some basic ethics rules
Be careful what you post. You need to pay attention to whether you are infringing on someone’s copyright, posting something that might be seen as defamatory, inappropriate, or abusive, or something that might be insensitive or outright bigoted. Not only do these types of post make for bad marketing for your firm, they may also implicate your jurisdiction’s professionalism rules. Be cautious if you are posting client testimonials - tread carefully whenever it comes to sharing information that might step on your client’s right to confidentiality and their privilege with you.
Marketing 101
Just like with your website and other firm marketing, be sure to include meaningful, accurate content on your social media. Be careful to not offer legal assessments (particularly since social media may be seen by consumers in jurisdictions where you are not licensed). There is a big difference between providing legal advice and pointing a person in the right direction (such as noting a statute). But, by providing meaningful content - like your law firm’s blog or white papers - you will engage a whole different audience. Be sure to link back to your firm’s website so that you can drive search engine traffic. Also, make your posts consistent, and tasteful. Choose a color scheme (or use your firm’s color scheme), post your photo consistently so that you have a personal presence on the posts, or use your firm’s logo so that people can immediately relate this high-quality post to your firm. Be sure to keep it classy. Some posts can share basic content, like, “Should you consider mediation for your divorce?” while other posts can share your personal accolades, for example, “Congratulations to Melissa for her recent Tech Talk Corner article for the ABA Family Law Section.” Consider using www.canva.com to help you create these classy, flashy visuals, which are great for Instagram, Facebook, and even Twitter. For LinkedIn, consider writing an article with more substance about your niche practice area. If you are a little ambitious, take an hour or two each week to pull together a full-week’s worth of posts that you can schedule to go out at strategic intervals. If you are marketing your law firm, set up a specific page on the social media platform for the law firm, and include others within your firm in planning content for posts (while making sure everything remains consistent). If you are marketing your own personal brand, you may want to create a personal social media page, like @FlaFamilyLaw on twitter or @BrianKarpf_divorcelawyer and @growngirldivorce on Instagram. You probably do not want to use your personal page so that any new followers (and potential clients) see what cake you ate on your birthday last year or where you went on your family vacation in 2017.
Until next month’s Tech Talk Corner, you can find us at www.techtalklaw.com where you can see lists of tech resources and watch our webinar series. Please reach out to us so we can have a dialogue about our changing profession.
Melissa is a family lawyer in Washington, D.C. and can be found at www.mkfamilylawfirm.com. Brian is a family lawyer in Southern Florida and can be found at www.ybkglaw.com.
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