Should I Be a Trending TikTok Lawyer?

Top-competing PI attorneys are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves and stand out from the competition in positive ways. By now, the concept of lawyers using social media for marketing is nothing new, but emerging and popular platforms like TikTok (or Tik Tok) can be another tactic in your law firm’s marketing toolbox.

TikTok emphasizes short-form video content which people typically, though not exclusively, record on their smartphones and then post to their profiles through the TikTok app. Videos are usually meant to be fun and engaging, with the most popular videos being shown in other places throughout the app to increase views and engagement even further.

What Are the Business Benefits of Being a Lawyer on TikTok?

Some of the ways you might benefit by using Tik Tok and becoming a Tik Tok lawyer include:

• Educating and engaging prospective clients – Content that adds value to the lives of your target audiences in relation to the benefits you provide as a PI lawyer can be a great way to attract engagement for your firm or practice.
• Increasing the reach and recency of your marketing – TikTok gives you the chance to put yourself and your brand in front of prospective clients and referral sources and can introduce your brand to audiences who might not have been aware of you, but who can benefit from your services.
• Showcase client testimonials – When it comes to specific TikTok content ideas for lawyers, it’s hard to go wrong by making short clips of your most enthusiastic clients talking about why they’re so happy with you and the results you achieved in their cases.
• Branding and differentiation – In addition to educating and engaging audiences, you can also use your content to show audiences what makes your firm or practice different and the unique benefits you can provide them which other firms might not be able to.
• Trends that are meant to go viral – The nature of TikTok means that there are always trends you can follow that make your content more likely to be seen on social media and elsewhere on the internet.

What Are Some of the Potential Drawbacks of TikTok for Lawyers?

Even though there are many benefits of using the platform, TikTok lawyers face some potential risks and drawbacks:

• Misbranding potential – TikTok naturally lends itself to subject matter that’s often lighthearted, humorous, and whimsical. Though the practice of law isn’t always dour, the reality is that personal injury law is a serious subject that often deals with issues pertaining to life, death, and emotional trauma. As you craft your TikTok content, always ask yourself if it sends the sort of message that you’d want your clients to hear from you and your firm.
• Limited format – Videos on TikTok tend to be quite short, and there are very limited options for longer form content. It’s possible that the short video format might not fit for the type of marketing or branding goals you’re trying to accomplish for your firm.
• Fierce competition for eyeballs – For you to reap the most benefits from creating and sharing content on TikTok, it needs to cut through the noise of all the other content on the platform. This is where your unique brand becomes a crucial factor to help you stand out from other content creators.
• Views and likes might not lead to dollars and cents – As with other social media platforms, the marketing aspect of TikTok revolves around engagement such as views, likes, comments, and shares. But just because people find your content engaging doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll ever become clients despite your best efforts.

How Can You Get Started as a TikTok Lawyer?

If you’d like to see how engaging on TikTok might benefit your firm or practice, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Know your target audiences – The most important factor to the success or failure of your TikTok marketing is how well you can create content that’s relevant to your target audiences’ interests in a way that benefits them in relation to your services. So, before you start recording your TikTok videos, it’s a good idea to review who the audience is, why they’ll find it interesting, and what you want them to do as a result.
• Integrate TikTok into your overall marketing strategy – TikTok by itself is not a marketing strategy. To provide you with a marketing benefit, your TikTok content needs to be integrated into your firm’s overall marketing strategy with clear goals and objectives for its implementation.
• Be mindful of legal ethics – As with all other forms of attorney advertising, your TikTok content needs to follow your local and state bar ethics guidelines as well as those of any other professional organizations of which you’re a member.
• Monitor engagement level – TikTok allows you to see analytics such as how many shares and views your content gets, and users often leave comments on videos which you can review as well. Using this information will give you an idea of what sort of content works best for you and your firm in support of your marketing goals.
• Consistency is key – As a core concept of legal marketing, maintaining consistency in your social media messaging and posting schedule is crucial to developing connections with prospective clients.
• Stay on-brand – Always ensure that your content speaks to its intended audience and communicates your firm’s brand in a positive way that supports your business objectives.
• Measure success in relation to your business goals – Engagement like positive comments, likes, shares, and views is the goal of TikTok, but it should lead to increased intakes and more cases you want.

How Can GrowPath Help Your Firm’s Marketing Through TikTok and Beyond?

Legal client relationship management tools (Legal CRM) such as GrowPath can support your firm’s TikTok marketing efforts in several ways, including:

• Smart marketing analytics – GrowPath provides you with detailed marketing reports that show you how each piece of TikTok content you create contributes to your overall marketing goals. This allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t, then focus your resources on the type of content that provides you the most marketing value.
• Social media-integrated intake – GrowPath allows you to seamlessly guide leads from social media into your intake process, where you can then qualify them according to your customized variables.
• Centralized marketing hub – GrowPath integrates all your marketing tactics, including social media like TikTok, into a centralized marketing hub where you can monitor, control, and analyze key marketing metrics of your social media campaigns.

Curious about how GrowPath can help you get started as a TikTok lawyer? Reach out to us today for a free demo to see what GrowPath can do for you, your firm, and your practice.