Instagram is a social network used for various purposes, such as entertainment and information. Those who take advantage of it know how to market a law firm on Instagram, as it is an efficient channel for keeping up with competitors.
Most people who use Instagram aim to consume entertainment content, in addition to searching for quality information.
This factor helps law firms and lawyers offer informative content about the legal world and highlight the potential of their services.
In addition, of course, it’s a key channel for gaining followers interested in legal matters within your area of expertise. This also allows you to strengthen ties and develop a close relationship with your client.
But despite all these possibilities, many professionals still don’t use Instagram as a legal marketing tool. This is due to a lack of knowledge about the platform’s potential.
Knowing this, we’ve prepared this comprehensive article with information that will help you, as a lawyer, develop a strong Instagram profile and thus attract more clients and market a law firm on Instagram.
Understand Instagram’s relationship with legal marketing
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Instagram for lawyers is a tool for attracting clients. Data like this demonstrates this platform’s ability to enhance efforts in lawyers’ legal marketing.
Know that on Instagram, you as a lawyer can promote your institutional communication, that is, highlight the strengths of your law firm online, such as, for example, location, how customer service works, services, opening hours, among others.
Additionally, this is a platform for your law firm to work on content marketing. This is a very interesting strategy for firms looking to attract clients or build a following.
Content marketing involves creating and disseminating valuable content, that is, content that solves or helps people solve a problem in a simple way. Here’s an example of how this works in practice:
A law firm or lawyer specializing in business law can use their Instagram to produce content that helps business owners understand their rights.
This content can be in video, story, image, carousel, live format, whatever format you prefer.
Know that this technique is excellent for lawyers at the beginning of their careers or who don’t have the funds to make a larger investment.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of all these benefits but don’t know how, we’ve prepared 10 tips to help you through this initial period. Check them out.
10 tips on how to create an Instagram account for lawyers
When creating a social network, it’s normal for many lawyers to feel unsure or wonder where to start structuring this new project. With this in mind, we’ve put together 10 essential tips that will certainly help you, as a lawyer, overcome the challenges of this initial period.
1. Plan well
Firstly, every new project requires good planning, understanding that it is through this process that the necessary actions will be defined, so that the plan begins to come to life.
Therefore, one of the first tasks for lawyers who want to create an Instagram account is to take the time to plan. To this end, we’ve selected some topics that should be part of your law firm’s planning meeting:
- What impression should your social media channels convey to your new clients? (an elegant office or a legal intelligence agency?);
- What audience do you want to attract? Understanding this is essential, as it allows you to define the type of content you’ll display on your Instagram.
- What type of content will you produce? Which formats yield the best results for your audience?
- Set the frequency of publications.
These questions will guide the initial discussions of your law firm’s strategic planning.
Understand that the most essential thing in the planning stage is that you, the lawyer and partners of the firm, are clear about the firm’s identity, the image you wish to convey, and who your target audience or potential clients are.
This way, you can calmly organize and schedule everything, so that your Instagram productions are made with the highest possible quality.
A great tip for lawyers who are lacking inspiration for creating their firm’s Instagram is to analyze the social media of competitors in your field or lawyers who inspire you.
It is worth highlighting some points that should be observed:
- How do they position themselves?
- What strategies do they use?
- What type and format of content do they typically share?
- Which content has the highest engagement?
- How often are publications made?
Creating a new social network takes time and knowledge of strategies that will boost your Instagram.
For this reason, we recommend that you look for professionals who have skills in creating and structuring social networks.
It’s also possible to hire marketing agencies, such as virtual assistant for lawyers, which has been helping lawyers to stand out in the digital environment.
2. Separate your personal profile from your professional profile
A big mistake many professionals make is thinking that because they already have an Instagram account with friends and followers, they can use their personal profile for professional purposes. This is not a good option, as it will certainly involve combining your personal and professional life.
It is important that you, as a lawyer, consider social media as an extension of your resume and professional activity; therefore, it is not good form to mix your personal and professional life.
While people like to see that those they follow on Instagram are “people like us,” personal posts can involve intimate situations like family parties or lazy Sundays, as well as exposing people who have no connection with your office.
Of course, if you already have an audience to view your content, you’ve already taken a big step. However, many of these people may not be interested in your services.
So, even if it generates views, it will not have an impact on your revenue.
Furthermore, it’s unprofessional to post informative content during the week and then film videos at parties or nightclubs on the weekend. This can cause your image to lose some credibility.
You can maintain your personal profile and even make some posts or references to your professional profile, as long as the professional profile is active and your main focus.
It can be tiring to constantly be careful not to post personal photos, texts, and videos on your lawyer’s Instagram profile. But you can be sure that this activity will bear more consistent fruit in the future.
3. Use more informal language
To have a successful social media profile, it’s crucial that you reach a wide range of people who are interested in your content, right?
Look, do you think it’s possible to gain a large audience with legal posts on Instagram using complex language full of legal terms that only those in the field understand? Clearly not.
Therefore, when writing what to post on Instagram, use language that everyone can understand. In other words, “translate” words whose meaning people don’t normally know. They’re easy to spot. A client has probably asked you what a case law or a court record is.
Therefore, whenever possible, moderate the use of complex words or clarify the terms used to explain a certain legal action.
Consider this practice a matter of empathy. People connect with those who demonstrate a genuine interest in helping them understand a difficult topic in a pleasant way.
It’s important to follow this tip. After all, one of the goals of online legal marketing is to bring knowledge of difficult legal terms and situations to an audience that is often lay.
4. Define your content
Since the basis of digital legal marketing is the dissemination of content considered relevant, it is extremely important for lawyers to stay up-to-date on the most current topics in the legal field.
It is even more important to consider that the only way for a lawyer to have a digital presence is by disseminating quality information and not promoting the sale of legal services.
But be careful! There are different ways to share knowledge beyond text alone. After all, Instagram is a dynamic network. People who follow or visit your profile have their own preferences, and text, especially very long ones, may not appeal to some of your followers.
Furthermore, Instagram is a social network that is becoming increasingly visual. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use:
- Videos in reel format;
- graphic pieces;
- Photographs;
- Infographics;
- Mino Vlog.
All of these ways of communicating make it easier for the reader to read and understand, as well as attracting and holding their attention.
Therefore, the tip for more complete texts is to create cool, modern visual art, with colors that match your visual identity and add captions that complement the image.
The combination of these two elements contributes to an eye-catching and interesting text.
5. Have a content schedule
Maintaining regular posting is key to legal marketing. Therefore, consistently produce content and keep your profile updated , even your lawyer’s Instagram bio.
Independent professionals who manage their own social media profiles can set aside an hour a day to dedicate to what to post on Instagram for lawyers.
Know that a lack of consistency in planning, building, and publishing content will result in your profile having mediocre posts. When content isn’t relevant or well-written, it’s unlikely your profile will become relevant . Even if you dedicate yourself to posting multiple times a day, remember that quantity isn’t quality.
Therefore, the tip is to have a content grid for lawyers on social media .
We recommend setting aside time at the beginning of a week or month to dedicate to content planning and think about what to post on Instagram for lawyers. This way, you’ll be able to strike a balance between consistency and relevance.
A lawyer’s Instagram profile is like a digital showcase, so treat it with the utmost care. Or hire a specialized agency to handle it for you.
6. Organize social media for lawyers
Having an organized feed is crucial. It’s more pleasant for anyone visiting your Instagram to find a “tidy house” than to be confronted with disorganization.
But how do you make Instagram for lawyers visually appealing? Don’t worry, it’s simpler than it seems.
Simply produce pieces that always reflect your visual identity and colors. Among famous lawyers on Instagram, Paula’s profile is one that combines the following elements, which make the professional social network organized and enjoyable:
- High quality images;
- Use of a color palette in the arts that matches the professional’s visual identity;
- Posts without the filters provided by the application;
- Photos that introduce the topic discussed.
This lets your audience know that you’re committed to providing content, demonstrating care and organization, and an interest in making it easy for your followers to read. This lends your firm more credibility.
Another tip is to maintain a color-coded content pattern. If you’re posting tips, always use the color blue to identify this type of content, for example.
This way, the user can find the content that interests them more easily.
Doing so, however, requires design knowledge. There are free apps that offer ready-made ideas to facilitate publishing.
However, just like you, other legal Instagram posts can use the art you chose, as there’s no exclusivity. A unique visual identity can only be achieved in two ways: either you create it yourself, or a specialized agency develops it for you.
7. Invest in sponsored ads
Instagram has paid ads that allow you to reach a larger audience for your content. Especially for those just starting their lawyer profile on Instagram, investing in sponsorship on the social network is a way to become known and gain followers. The social network makes it possible to locate people interested in legal posts for Instagram by:
- Age;
- Region;
- Gender;
- Area of Interest.
It’s a low investment compared to traditional media like radio, television, magazines, and newspapers. Furthermore, the ad won’t be generic—meaning it’s for everyone—but rather specific. Therefore, it will reach the audience truly interested in your services.
Another positive point is that at the end of the sponsorship, you have several metrics available to analyze the campaign’s performance.
For example: if you posted at the right time, who viewed it, who engaged, who was interested and best of all, all this without leaving Instagram.
It’s worth remembering that few people know this, but paying for ads doesn’t violate the Bar Association’s code of ethics. So you can take advantage of this tool to reach more visitors to your content and attract more customers.
Therefore, be sure to consider this option in your Instagram strategy for lawyers.
8. Use hashtags
Hashtags serve a similar function to sponsored ads on Instagram. But with one difference: you don’t have to pay to use them. That’s why many famous lawyers on Instagram use a certain number of hashtags in their legal Instagram posts.
They know the potential of this tool, because when used well, hashtags can attract many visitors to your lawyer’s Instagram profile, depending on each user’s interests.
In case you don’t know what a hashtag is, here’s a quick explanation: they’re words, usually written in lowercase letters and sometimes without accents, accompanied by the symbol known as a hash mark in front of them.
In other words, someone interested in the topic of law and wanting to learn more about it on Instagram simply needs to click on the hashtag to access all the posts in which it appears.
It may seem simple to just choose a word as a hashtag, but you need to be careful. One tip is to avoid using the most common tags. While they may attract a lot of followers, many of them are just browsing and may not engage with your content.
Therefore, research keywords related to your niche and select those that may be beneficial for your post.
Always use at least one hashtag per caption. But if you’ve found several relevant keywords, divide them up and save some to use in future posts.
9. Use your Instagram to attract customers
The main focus of lawyers’ Instagram profiles is to attract clients. However, because the Bar Association’s Code of Ethics limits advertising methods for attracting clients, lawyers must invest in engaging posts to capture the attention of as many people as possible.
Instagram is a powerful tool for this, but it can’t be the only one used in legal marketing. Legal posts for Instagram are usually part of a strategy that includes a website.
The logic is to publish highly interesting content on the social network that encourages people to learn more about the subject, encouraging visits to the lawyer’s official website.
Therefore, legal marketing focuses on two fronts to gain access and authority. But this is achieved over the long term. Until then, dedication and consistency are required.
10. Analyze the metrics of legal posts on Instagram
After working on the strategies above, we can say that you are already well-established in the digital world. To make it even easier to outline and implement new actions, analyze the metrics for legal posts on Instagram.
Therefore, verifying data helps direct actions towards the most successful path within the social network. Some of the most important information to analyze is:
- Number of engagements (likes, comments, shares, saves);
- Number of new followers;
- The origin of his followers;
- What is the profile of your followers?
- The times when followers use the social network most;
- Total reach, of the post, or even of the month.
By analyzing all this data, you’ll gain valuable insight into how users behave in relation to your content. This allows you to develop strategies that target what most engages your followers. This way, the chances of your content gaining more views and engagement with each new post increase.
With all these tips, you’ll be fully capable of creating an Instagram for lawyers. Or, you’ll know exactly which specialized services from a legal marketing agency to hire to successfully gain followers and attract clients.