Social media is an invaluable marketing tool for any attorney at any size of law firm.  Unfortunately, it won’t run or sustain itself. Those who want to reap the benefits of being present on social media platforms must be willing and able to put in the time and effort to experience the return. If you want to leverage social media, it’s imperative to have an editorial calendar.

What is a Law Firm Social Media Editorial Calendar?

If you use your social media without planning and forethought, you won’t get the results you’d like. Your audience doesn’t want to read about the same topic every other week or issues that may no longer apply in their situation. Instead, they want fresh topics pertinent to their questions and experiences. An editorial calendar helps you plan things out, allowing you to cover a wide variety of balanced topics relevant to your social media audience.

Creating Your Law Firm’s Social Media Editorial Calendar

Use Tools

First, you’ll want to take advantage of a basic Google Doc or Google spreadsheet to map out each month of content. This step is essential before moving onto the design phase as you need it to review, rearrange and proof your calendar. Additionally, you may want to consider using another tool that allows you to plan social media in advance by pre-loading your calendar. Buffer or Hootsuite are two viable options that many law firms and other types of businesses use.

Consider Holidays and Other Events

The best way to create an editorial calendar that works for your social media accounts starts with a brain dump. Consider your audience and what makes sense to their calendars. Think about holidays, back to school, tax season, summer vacations, the Super Bowl, preparing for winter weather, and other notable dates or seasons that might apply to your audience.

For instance, publishing content about parenting plans over winter or summer break should be timed accordingly if you practice family law. You can also tie in other dates of the year—for example, a blog about grandparent involvement in the lives of their divorce grandkids around Grandparents Day (always the first Sunday after Labor Day).

Address Applicable Common Questions and Concerns

Once the basics are covered on your editorial calendar, consider some of the most common questions or stumbling blocks your clients encounter. Aim to publish several posts throughout the month with this helpful information. If you aren’t sure what information your audience might be searching for, check out tools such as TextOptimizer, which can show you what your potential clients are googling. Use a keyword of your choosing on the “Find Content Ideas” page to find out what questions are being asked about specific areas of law that you practice.

Plug these topics into your calendar where you see fit. For example, you may want to reserve those that require more depth for when your schedule is more open, providing you with more time to focus on your content. Save easier topics for busier weeks.

Add Relatable Details

Remember to add details that make you or your firm seem human and relatable. To do this, you can include things like:

• Behind the scenes office photos

• Pictures of you at speaking events

• Anything else business-related that shows there’s a personality and team behind your law firm

These are all great ways to cultivate a connection with your audience and prospective clients. You want them to see you as a human who is compassionate and approachable, not just a robot behind a screen somewhere. Keep in mind when publishing content that many readers are searching for an attorney or law firm to represent them. They want someone who is personable and relatable. They aren’t searching for just anyone who is knowledgeable and can get the job done.

Make Your Social Media Editorial Calendar Work for You

Never forget that this is your social media editorial calendar. You get to choose and maybe even experiment with what works for your practice and what doesn’t. With a little bit of time and effort, you could experience a significant RIO.