5 Ways to Leverage Instagram to Get Clients for Your Law Firm

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Instagram is a social media platform that is an amazing tool for attorneys looking to get more clients. Most attorneys tell me they don’t bother with Instagram because they don’t know where to start and don’t have any followers. That should absolutely not stop you from leveraging Instagram to grow your business. Instead, look at Instagram as an extension of your business, website, and blog, and an opportunity to reach people you would not otherwise be able to. It is an amazing platform to build know, like, and trust by allowing us as attorneys to educate and connect with potential clients in a way we haven’t been able to before.

There are five main areas to consider when it comes to getting clients on Instagram. They include optimizing your bio, defining your target audience, building a trustworthy brand, creating content that converts potential clients into actual clients, and elevating your engagement (number of people who see and engage with your content).

Step One: Optimizing your bio

The first step to creating a compelling Instagram profile bio is to optimize it such that when a client lands on your Instagram page, they know exactly who you are, what you do, and who you serve. Here are some tips that work really well for helping you stand out:

• Choose a handle (@name) that says what you do, not who you are. Most attorneys just use their name but the trick is to have the word “attorney” or “lawyer” in your handle. This way prospective clients know immediately that you are an attorney. It also instantly builds trust and credibility.
• Next, in one sentence say who you help and how you help them. Specify what kind of attorney you are and who your clients are. A lot of times we forget that the average person doesn’t necessarily know what kind of attorney they might need. Using your bio to clearly lay this out for them lets them know they are in the right place.
• Use the one link provided by Instagram in your bio to direct them to a page on your website where they can take immediate action.  Maybe it’s to your services page or even a link to schedule a consultation. Whatever it is, make sure it takes them somewhere where they can quickly and easily find the information and access they need to work with you.
• Include your personal name and not just your firm name in your bio. While both should be there, the bio is searchable, so if someone is searching for you specifically, you want them to end up on your page. Also, it’s important to show there is a person behind the account and not just some faceless business.
• Lastly, if your location is relevant to your practice, make sure you highlight that as well.

Step 2: Defining your target audience

The second, and arguably most important part of leveraging Instagram to get clients, is to have a clear understanding of who your client is and what niche you serve. The clearer you can get the easier it is to speak directly to those people and address their potential legal struggles through your content. If you aren’t exactly clear on this yet, here are a few questions to ask when determining your niche and ideal client:

• Who are the people you currently serve?
• Are they primarily male or female?
• What is their age range?
• Where do they live?
• What do they value most?

Although this is not an exhaustive list, it is a helpful starting point. As an example, I am a trademark attorney and I know my niche is primarily women, ages 28-45, entrepreneurs, who really value the peace of mind that comes with having the legal protection of a trademark for their business and know the process of achieving this will be made as seamless as possible.  Knowing this, I can craft my content to speak to these people in a way that is specific to their values and needs.

Step 3: Building a trustworthy brand

The third step is to craft your brand in a way that is trustworthy and recognizable. Instagram is a platform that allows us to really stand apart by leveraging aspects of our visual brand as well as our brand voice. Building a strong and recognizable brand on Instagram is essential to converting clients. So, when curating your brand, make sure to be thoughtful and consider the following:

• Aesthetics and consistent visuals matter. This includes your colors, fonts, logo, etc. and how you present these. The more consistent you can be with your brand visuals the more recognizable you will become to your potential clients.
• Build your brand around your target market, not yourself! This is the biggest mistake I see when it comes to attorneys building their brands on Instagram. They choose what they like and not what their target niche likes. For example, as a trademark attorney serving primarily women, I use lighter colors including a pale pink. Now, this doesn’t mean that men cannot or don’t like pink, it’s just more likely that the pale pink aesthetic will resonate with the women I want as clients more universally than men. So ask yourself, what appeals to your niche? What level of professionalism do they want to see? What do they connect with as far as style and aesthetics? What do they connect with as far as shared interests?
• Use a consistent writing style. Your brand voice is important as it sets the tone for who you will attract as clients. Will you write in a more formal and professional style? Will you infuse humor into your captions and use emojis? All these elements should be considered and then used consistently to strengthen your brand and build trust with your potential clients.

Step 4: Creating the right content to convert

The fourth consideration when leveraging Instagram to get clients is to create content that attracts your ideal clients and then converts them into paying clients. The main goal is to build know, like, and trust and show them you are the expert and authority in your field.  Here are some of the best ways to accomplish this:

• Educate. Leverage your legal expertise by breaking down confusing topics into small bite-sized pieces. Use layman’s terms and avoid the unnecessary use of legalese to try to show how smart you are (we are trying to gain trust, not make people more confused!) Also, don’t assume your potential client knows anything about the matter at all. Keep things basic and simple as you want your prospective clients to feel like you are speaking directly to them.
• Motivate. The goal is to get your audience to take some sort of action as it relates to your content. Therefore, it’s okay to let potential clients know what you offer and how they can move forward with working with you. Create an easy way for them to get in touch/work with you and don’t be afraid to share and sell what you do!
• Connect. Use Instagram to connect with your potential clients and show you are human. If you understand your potential client you can connect with them on a personal level as well. Do you love going to Disney world or watching football? Share that! Chances are some of your potential clients will enjoy the same things and that connection will further deepen the trust you are building with them.

Step 5: Elevating your engagement

Lastly, as Instagram is a social platform, it is important to be social! Engagement is the fastest way to reach new audiences and to get in front of potential clients who may need you, but haven’t yet found you. The best way to do this is to actually like, comment, and engage on your potential clients’ posts and stories. Remember, you don’t want to interact with just anyone, you want to interact with your target market. Engage authentically with other users and do so in a way that is genuine to who you are as a person, not as law firm. We want to connect and engage with other humans, not businesses!

Building an Instagram presence takes time to grow, but is worth the time and effort when you can easily and efficiently get new clients from the platform!

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