How should lawyers approach social media in the age of Elon Musk and ubiquitous videos? The Brief asks the experts.

Social media is no longer a new tool in the marketing and “personal branding” armoury. Many younger solicitors will have grown up with it as an intrinsic element of their personal and professional lives, while even the longest in the tooth have probably at least dabbled with Facebook and LinkedIn.

However, changes to algorithms, technology and the focus of various platforms mean approaches that served users well in what we might term the “first generation” of social media will need revisiting to adapt to a very different landscape compared to ten, or even five, years ago.

Strategy

At a strategic level the perennial advice holds true: post regularly, plan content and focus on the channels where your audience can be found.

Kat Baker, social media and digital PR specialist at Vertical leap PR provides the following tips:

Use social channels to position yourself as an expert in your niche. This could include sharing informative videos, blog content, white papers and tips.
Create some audience personas for your ideal clients and find out which social channels they are using and why. Use this as a springboard for your social strategy.
If you have a company website, make sure your socials are included in your profile sections to boost traffic.
Use scheduling software and plan a monthly calendar of social content to ensure you’re posting regularly, your content is varied, and you don’t spend all your time curating and sharing social posts.
Engage with your audience. Use your social channels as an open communication for potential clients and other professionals. Reply to comments as thoroughly and as meaningfully as possible, this will further position you as an expert in the field.

Just like in the movies

While strategy might be broadly unchanged from the early days of social media, tactics are very different. Social media users who cut their teeth by perfecting pithy 120-, then 240-character posts have had to adapt to a very different environment over the past few years.

As Verity Blake, managing director at HeadOn PR, points out, “The biggest shift in the social media landscape over the last five years is the use of video content. All platforms, including LinkedIn, are now favouring posts that contain video content over images, as they want followers to stay on their platforms for longer.

This means your posts that contain video are much more likely to perform better than those without.

Flo Powell, joint managing director at PR agency Midnight, agrees, pointing out that the most popular LinkedIn posts “include either eye catching videos or photos of smiling faces”. It is also, she continues, important to be “human”, particularly following an algorithm update last year which has seen LinkedIn prioritising content from individuals over company pages.

Powell says, “The original advice for social media remains as relevant as ever: be social and be human. We still recommend the 80/20 rule, with 80% of content being inspirational, educational, motivational, or entertaining, and just 20% for self-promotion.

“For law firms, this means putting human expertise front and centre. Comments on major stories, shared by senior spokespeople, are especially effective when they add real value to the conversation and create a discussion.”

Which platforms?

Another change in recent years has been the politicisation of certain platforms.

Powell says, “When it comes to platforms, we advise clients to focus on LinkedIn and step away from X (formerly Twitter).

With its increasing prevalence of hate speech and politicised content, X is no longer a suitable space for professionals looking to protect their reputation.

"Platforms like Bluesky and Threads may be gaining attention, but neither has proven itself essential yet.”

When considering new platforms such as Blusky, HeadOn PR’s Blake says, “It comes back to where is your audience?

“Different social media platforms reach a different mix of demographics. Is your audience there or is it a waste of time posting on there?

“Get into the flow of using social media to benefit your law firm and career, and then gradually branch out, looking at introducing other platforms into your social media strategy that meet your audience and goals, but do your research first.”

When prioritising platforms, it is also important to remember that much of the real action, in terms of relationship-building, and business and career development, takes place in “closed” networks including LinkedIn and Facebook groups and, probably most potently, WhatsApp groups.

Charlotte Sheridan, director of digital marketing firm Quokka Agency, says, “While LinkedIn is becoming the leading platform for professionals, there is still a lot of opportunity on platforms like Meta. However, a lot of the ‘gold’ is now in things like Facebook groups.

“Increasingly, professional users are gathering together in private groups to share experiences rather than publicly posting.”

Blake, meanwhile, says, “If you are more junior then joining the right WhatsApp group can be very powerful, as you have the potential to network with more people in your industry on a more personal, direct basis compared to social media.

However, use a combination of both social media and WhatsApp, because social media will be building your brand awareness and credibility, so you can then watch the invites to the groups roll in.

Act your career stage

Having identified the platform(s) on which you plan to concentrate, what tone should you strike, and what content should you post?

This, to an extent, depends on your career stage.

Vertical Leap’s Baker says, “A trainee should work on building their professional online presence and networking by connecting with lawyers of different levels. Many companies use public social channels to research potential employees, so a newly qualified solicitor should strengthen their professional social channels to help with career progression.

“Mid-career associates should focus on sharing expertise, developing personal branding and expanding their professional influence. They should think about what they’ve learnt in their career so far and how best they can share this.

“Video content is a great way of presenting research papers in an engaging way, as well as getting your face and name out there.

“Partners should focus on reinforcing authority, growing their business and mentoring, so they should use social channels to write and share thought leadership pieces on industry trends, firm achievements and commentary on legal changes.”

Bethany Lunt, account manager at communications agency Yasper, says that when it comes to content “professional” no longer needs to mean “formal”. She explains, “It’s no longer expected of those in senior positions to only publish polished messages.

Publishing your own thoughts, stories, and advice on LinkedIn (or any social platform for that matter) can help you be seen as a trusted voice in your industry.

“If you can interact with your network in a meaningful way, you’ll be surprised at how many of your peers are ready to engage in conversation.”

Risks and policies

Informality, though, doesn’t mean a free-for-all. Nasir Hafezi, lecturer at the University of Law, says, “In my first class, I always advise and warn law students not to over-share their personal life on social media platforms or be too controversial in their posts for many reasons, including that prospective employers may not like the content and be put off from employing them.

“Platforms they should use include LinkedIn, primarily as a means to develop contacts and gain work. And when they do eventually post legal content, they need to develop a thick skin because there are some unsavoury individuals out there.”

It should be obvious to lawyers but there are legalities and professional standards to maintain – and these extend to “personal” as well as “work” social media channels. Jo Mackie, partner and employment specialist at West End law firm Burlingtons, says, “Social media can blur the distinction between personal and professional lives.

“For law firms this means social media policies are a necessity for navigating this hazardous landscape, balancing personal freedom with professional responsibility.

“Law firms need to be wary of being linked to groups that have controversial views. While we hope lawyers understand their own responsibilities, it is not always the case, and law firms have suffered from a loss of client business associated with extreme views expressed by lawyers who think their social media is not linked to their job.

Lawyers are legally and ethically obligated to maintain client confidentiality. In addition, disclosing confidential information about a client or legal matter would cause most firms to suffer a huge reputational hit.

“Therefore, a firm’s social media policy should prohibit any social media posts containing the firm’s confidential information, including case details, case outcomes, awards or client details. The only time this can be lifted is when the client requests it to be, or expressly agrees to publication in a hugely important or successful case.

“Social media is, of course, a great way to promote the firm, but lawyers must be wary of giving legal advice on social media – there is a fine line between promoting what we do and holding ourselves out online as giving any sort of formal legal advice.”