Instagram has several benefits as a marketing tool for legal businesses. It has the potential to reach a different sector of the population than other forms of marketing and the scope to engage clients more memorably with its clear visual appeal.
Why use Instagram to market a law firm or barristers’ chambers?
With over one billion users, Instagram is the third biggest social network after Facebook and YouTube. The UK has over 30 million active users, with nearly two-thirds of them visiting the platform at least once a day.
Instagram say that 90 per cent of people on their platform follow a business. Whilst the largest age group is the 25-34 bracket, at more than 30 per cent, nearly one-third of the UK’s users are aged over 35.
By curating interesting, visually attractive posts, there is a chance for your business to connect with individuals across a wide spectrum of backgrounds with potentially a variety of legal needs.
Instagram has yet to be widely embraced by some law firms, meaning that there is less competition on the platform at present than in some other advertising spaces.
Your Instagram header
When you set up an Instagram business account you have access to more tools and functionality than an individual profile. This includes analytics and the ability to add calls to action and buttons.
The header on your Instagram profile is your chance to display your logo as well as contact information for your business and a link to your website.
Branding
Visual appeal is crucial to Instagram success. Your branding will need to be strong across both your profile and your feed. You should be consistent in tone and message but aim to post varied and engaging content.
Your branding should be right for your audience. If you are a corporate firm, you will probably want to keep your content formal and serious in tone. If you are a local firm with a strong connection to the community looking for business from individuals, then you might choose to be more light-hearted with a little humour. If you are a barristers’ chambers then you will probably be aiming for a polished and professional feel.
Your Instagram feed
The images in your feed will need to look good in a grid together, with a cohesive feel, but enough variety to be interesting.
You can use a post to advertise articles you have written elsewhere. If you or your team have done any charity work, this is a great way to engage and show the people behind the brand.
Bios of some of your lawyers will also be popular so that potential clients can see who might be representing them. You could also use your feed to tell a little of your business’s story and your plans for the future.
As well as photos, you can post graphics and video. This gives you the chance to talk about issues in the news or cases you were involved with or points that you think will be interesting to your ideal client.
Asking questions is a good way of engaging users and it also gives you the chance to find out what their legal problems might be and their areas of concern. It’s a great way of doing some market research and working out exactly where your energies might best be spent.
Tools such as Instagram Stories, IGTV and Instagram Live offer further opportunity to connect and to speak directly to clients with tips, advice and guidance. By making the information you provide useful as well as interesting, readers are more likely to become followers who will regularly see the content you post.
Hashtags
Using hashtags will help your posts be seen by as many people as possible. You should use as many relevant hashtags as you can, with a minimum of 11 seen as a good starting point.
Advertising on Instagram
Instagram has the capacity for any post to be turned into an advert that can be targeted to your ideal audience. There is the capacity to track the performance of your advertising as well as a tool to allow adverts to be placed across other platforms such as Facebook as well.
Orion Legal Marketing
By way of example, our Instagram account has a variety of image types that keep the reader interested, but which work together as a whole.
Our linktree contains links to not only our website but to our videos, free resources and other social media platforms.
Putting together an Instagram strategy
As with any form of client engagement, it is important to post and connect regularly rather than bombard people for a while and then tail off. Posts can be done in blocks in advance and scheduled for regular release over time.
It is not essential to post too frequently. Think realistically about the level of engagement that you can sustain and aim to do that, rather than being too ambitious and finding it hard to keep up.
If you set out a plan for your Instagram content and timetable it so that it doesn’t get neglected, you will soon start to build an impressive bank of posts. If you put together a content calendar, you can schedule posts for upcoming events you may have as well as any specific dates that could be relevant to your legal business, such as Free Wills Month.
Engaging
As a member of the Instagram community, you should engage with other businesses and individuals. This will help your profile be seen more widely and also start to build more of a following for your brand. If people take the time to comment, you can also respond. Again, this will create more connection with potential clients.
Follow accounts that are of interest to you and your business. For instance, if you are an employment lawyer, you might want to follow and engage with local employers who might one day need your services. Make sure you have something of interest to say when you comment on their posts, don’t simply be there looking for business. It is important to make a connection first.
Expert help
If you don’t have the time to take on another social media platform or you want expert help to put together posts that reflect who you are as a business, you could consider outsourcing. As legal marketing professionals, we can work on your behalf to create an Instagram strategy that will really work for your business.
By way of example, we manage an Instagram account for Tayntons Solicitors, reaching local businesses, families and individuals with targeted content and appealing images and graphics.
Contact us
Instagram offers the chance for lawyers to connect with potential clients on a popular platform where many rival businesses have not yet fully engaged.
At Orion Legal Marketing we can help you create a strategy and content for your Instagram feed to maximise the potential it offers.
If you would like to discuss how we can help you engage with clients on Instagram, ring us on 0118 380 5980, email us at enquiries@orionlegalmarketing.co.uk or fill in our CONTACT FORM. We’ll be happy to offer you an initial free consultation to discuss your needs and the strategy that would best suit your business.