Law Firm Marketing Agency
For many law firms, a social post is just the name of their most recent blog article and a link. If you’re fancy, it might be an excerpt with an automatic thumbnail. But great content needs a great posting strategy—otherwise, what’s the point?
The content marketing process is incomplete if you stop at creating the content. You also need to be strategic about how to promote your content so it can reach your target market and help you achieve your visibility and conversion goals.
So, once you have chosen the content you want to share and identified which platforms make the most sense, then you can begin crafting the perfect post.
Here are seven ways to craft an effective social media post, from the visuals to the hashtags and everything in between.
Start with an eye-grabbing caption or headline
Headlines should be extremely clear while also inciting emotion.
Be explicit about what the reader will discover when they click. Then, give them an emotional reason to click. Explain what they have to gain, or tease what they don’t know.
Here are some proven techniques for click-worthy captions and headlines:
- Use a number or data point (Ex: 7 Tips for Documenting Your Custody Case, Ex: Why 25% of All Car Accident Victims Miss Out on Full Compensation)
- Tap into urgency (Ex. The Legal Deadlines You Can’t Afford to Miss This Month)
- Ask a question (Ex. Do You Know Your Worker’s Compensation Rights?)
- Surprise them (Ex. Scandalous Legal Loopholes and What Jellyfish Have to Do with Fintech)
- Highlight the benefits (Ex. Protect Your Assets with Ironclad Estate Planning)
Length matters. Be as brief as you can while still being clear and captivating. Each platform has its own best practices for caption length, too.
Finally, adapt your headline to each platform. You can definitely use the same seed of an idea across all platforms, but the wording and length should be optimized in a slightly unique variation to each different platform.
Emojis can be helpful—if they’re on-brand
Emojis can add visual interest and humanize your firm. They can also be a clever substitute for headers or bullet points to break up text.
The general rule is to use emojis to enhance what you’ve already written, not to repeat yourself.
For instance, use the downward pointing finger 👇 to nudge readers to click on the post link below. Use a red crossmark ❌ to draw attention on an article about things to avoid.
Pro Tip: Encourage people to use emojis to engage with your posts. Invite them to leave an emoji that represents how they’re feeling about the topic, or a thumbs up if they agree.
Every emoji should have a purpose. Don’t overdo it with a stream of unrelated emojis. The wrong emojis can distract from your message and confuse the branding.
Hashtags can help with discoverability, depending on the platform
A hashtag makes your posts instantly searchable, which can improve discoverability.
One option is to tap into trending topics by using existing hashtags, like #LegalTips or #LGBTQ or #EarthDay. When someone clicks that hashtag, it reveals all the posts that use the same hashtag. Be careful when using trending tags, as they can have hidden context and unintentional associations.
Another option is to create your own hashtags, like #DenisonLegalTips.
Hashtags should be brief. Think catchphrases and categories instead of complete thoughts. Remember to tailor the number and style of hashtags to each platform’s recommendations.
Pro Tip: Use camel case for improved readability. For instance, #LegalTips is more readable than #legaltips at a glance.
Photos can help push someone to click
Social media is first and foremost a visual experience.
While you don’t need to add a visual element to every post, combining the right photo with an exciting title can improve your engagement rates. Data shows that posts with photos get more clicks and more engagement than text-only posts.
A photo can inspire an emotional response in the viewer or make them see the topic in a new light.
Play with a variety of visual options like photos, videos, and photos with the title overlaid in text. Be careful with stock images. They can be used by your competitors and they may be far less memorable than branded photos.
Mention and tag appropriately
Social media algorithms love to see engagement between accounts—but you need intention and consent to get the most out of tagging.
If you’ve partnered with a brand on some kind of event or promo, this is a great opportunity to tag the other party and ask them to reshare your post. You will get double the exposure, plus a little visibility boost from the algorithm.
Try mentioning or tagging organizations that align with your values and target audience.
Here are some accounts you should not tag: Competitors and individual clients.
Include the right call-to-action (CTA)
Always have a CTA! Ask them to read the post, leave a comment, or share it.
Don’t bury your ask in wishy-washy language or hide it in the middle of the post.
Be simple and clear with your CTAs. Boldly how the reader will benefit after reading and sharing your content.
It’s critical to be strategic and adapt your CTA to the specific content and the type of platform.
Don’t use the same text on each platform. For instance, on Twitter you’d ask for retweets. On Instagram, you might ask people to share it to their stories for a signal boost.
Preview it before you publish—and check it again after
Don’t skip this step!
The perfect draft can somehow turn out wonky on the publishing platform. Text may appear one way in your draft or on your social media scheduling software but it can appear completely differently on the actual platform. It might be too big, too pixelated, too long.
To avoid a blunder, preview every post to ensure its appearance is correct. Then, check it again after you hit publish to avoid mistakes. It’s much better for you to find your own mistake than for a potential client to find it.
Review and next steps
Creating content and promoting content are two sides of the same coin. To succeed, you need a holistic content strategy that works for your capacity and your business goals.
Content marketing requires effort. You need to build up a structured bank of high-quality content. You need to keep posting regularly, even repurposing content and updating it to stay relevant. Then, you need to know your audience and know the best practices for posting on each platform.
You started a law firm, not a social media agency. If you need help with your socials, with content planning or with any other aspect of your digital presence, reach out for a consultation. Omnizant builds websites and designs marketing campaigns for growth-oriented law firms, and we’d love to meet you.