TikTok is a new social media app that’s taking the digital world by storm. The platform has over 800 million active users. Its growth is even more impressive, with membership increasing nearly sixfold in the last year and a half. As with all social media developments, this one has marketing implications.
Is this an outlet that law firms should be taking advantage of? How do you go about legal marketing on TikTok?
Short and sweet
TikTok’s niche in the marketplace is for videos that are extremely short. In fact, they can be as short as 15 seconds. A quality video can be shot with a cellphone, so that makes it easy for an attorney to record something quickly and upload it to the platform.
But as anyone who has created content knows, shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier. What can a lawyer talk about in 15 seconds or even a minute? A solid minute is on the high end of what a TikTok user would consider attractive.
The answer is simple—just about anything. The key to a video that’s short and informative is simply to get in the right frame of mind before recording.
As a lawyer, you’ve undoubtedly been buttonholed at parties and family functions about different subjects in your line of work. Just as undoubtedly, you’ve probably tried to keep those conversations as short as possible. Get into that same mindset when you do a TikTok video.
Envision someone asking you casually, “How much can I get in my personal injury case?” Have your short elevator pitch answer that essentially says “It depends” at the ready. Or imagine someone asking you what the process is for filing a lawsuit. Think of how you would give a very snappy overview.
This entire process is not only great for legal marketing on TikTok, but allows you to perfect your elevator pitch for other functions.
Managing expectations
It’s important that there be ripple benefits because TikTok is part of the proverbial “long game” when it comes to marketing. Nearly half of the platform’s users are 24 years old or younger, which includes a demographic as young as 16 years old. Clearly, they aren’t the most likely people to show up in your office with a case at the ready.
But they are people who will engage with you on the platform and raise your visibility. Think of the classic marketing funnel. You start with brand awareness, move to engagement and finally to action. TikTok is a means of hitting strongly at the outside edge of that funnel, the awareness level and then giving time for people to gradually come along.
So be realistic about how fast these marketing efforts will pay off, and then just have fun with it. The beauty of the short videos is that they don’t need to sound like you’re at a legal seminar. In fact, casual is better. Get on there and talk in crisp ways about the law. Share some stories about your personal life.
As long as you can see measurable upticks in basic awareness metrics like website traffic, you can be assured the marketing funnel is doing its job.
