Five Instagram Tips for Attorneys and Law Firms

Social media can be a valuable marketing tool for attorneys and law firms if they know how to use it. Although there are many different social media platforms, it may not be necessary to utilize every single one of them. Instead, experts recommend focusing on the few platforms with the most to offer your specific practice. Among the handful of social media platforms considered valuable to lawyers, Instagram ranks among the most popular choices, likely because most brands see engagement rates 10X higher than they do on Facebook, according to Forrester Research. However, Instagram differs from other top-choice social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn in that the type of content shared is limited to pictures and videos. For many law firms, this means branching out in regard to the type of content you typically share.

The following five tips can help attorneys and law firms get the most out of Instagram:

• Be professional but engaging. It’s important for attorneys and law firms to strike a balance between professional and fun on Instagram. Unlike other social media platforms, Instagram users typically open the app looking to be entertained or engaged by something visually interesting. However, lawyers are also expected to maintain a high level of professionalism. This means making sure any profile information, pictures, and videos meet the same standard of professionalism the firm strives for on a daily basis.
• Provide top-notch pictures and videos. Part of coming across as professional is providing professional-quality visual content. If you’re not particularly tech-savvy and/or there’s any question of our videographic skills, it might be a good idea to hire a video marketing service to help produce some incomparable video content. Pictures can be a little more flexible as long as they are of reasonable quality, relevant to the industry, and provide something of value like information or entertainment that remains professional. Graphics are another tool that can be used on Instagram which law firms might find useful as an addition to their existing strategy.
• Post consistently. With any social media platform, it’s important to make a schedule and stick to it; this shows visitors to your page that you are committed, organized, and reliable. What days do you plan to post on Instagram? What type of content do you intend to share on those days? What time of day do you intend to post? It’s important to refrain from biting off more than you can chew, but the goal should be to work up to 1-2 posts per day.
• Learn to use hashtags. Hashtags are an important part of marketing on Instagram, similar to Twitter. However, unlike Twitter, Instagram posts can have a much higher character limit. This allows users to write something about the post itself and follow it up with a series of hashtags chosen to boost that post’s visibility to the people who follow those hashtags. For an idea of what kind of hashtags may be useful for your post, take a look at the hashtags your competition is using successfully on Instagram, or consult with a social media marketing professional.
• Promote high-performing posts. Instagram offers intuitive analytical support and an easy way to boost posts that are already getting good feedback. Consider utilizing Instagram’s promotions to increase your visibility and get more visitors to your profile or website; with each promotion, you will be able to choose your goal for the promotion, budget, and target audience. This is a fast and easy way for Instagram to make sure the people in your target market are seeing the content designed with them in mind.

For more tips on how to use Instagram as an attorney or law firm, reach out to a legal marketing professional.