Influencer marketing for my law firm? The hackles on the back of your neck are probably standing on end at the mere mention of hiring some trendy young TikToker to front your brand. And yet influencers come in all shapes and sizes.
On the one hand, you’ve got the gamers, reviewers, and pranksters whose personas tend to be loud, brash and possibly not the best brand leaders for a law firm (although going against the grain sometimes works).
Then you’ve got the intelligentsia: storytellers, thought leaders, and academics – people who are perhaps more conservative and better ambassadors for brands keen to represent themselves as safe, trustworthy, and knowledgeable.
In short, the influencer marketing landscape is huge. And the good news is that this gives your law firm plenty of choices.
Even better news: there’s no rulebook.
- Prefer to be traditional? No problem
- Want to buck trends? That’s fine too
Should your law firm hire an influencer?
Think of an influencer as an extension of your brand. In that sense, they’re no different to your logo, tone of voice, strapline, or values. So make sure the person you hire aligns with these existing elements.
Not suitable for all brands
Whether you should hire one is a whole different question. It’s not the right move for every firm and influencer marketing is hard work too – because, as we’ll explain later, finding, vetting, and negotiating with prospective brand ambassadors involves a lot of work.
Could transform your business
Broadly though, influencers can:
- Save time (once you’re up and running)
- Improve your content strategy
- Increase brand awareness
- build trust with prospects
- Boost sales and ROI
Create specifications first
Before scouring the internet sketch out what your ideal candidate should look and sound like – and what experience they should bring to the table. Do you need a specialist who creates explainer videos or a brand awareness expert?
- You should consider whether:
- Your campaign is short or long-term
- Your aim is to educate or create leads
- You want to boost brand awareness
Macro influencers versus nano or micro-influencers
To further muddy the waters there are two types of influencers – macro and micro or nano.
Here’s the skinny on these terms:
- Nano or micro-influencers have low follower numbers but get great engagement. This makes them ideal for firms wanting to niche down – perhaps because their offering is specialist.
- Macro influencers are the creme-de-la-creme – highly influential people with millions of followers who can open up your brand to the world and generate leads in abundance (but at a cost)
Influencer marketing: how to find the right ambassador for your brand
Having resolved to hire an influencer to represent your firm it’s time to scour the market. But where do you start? Do you reach out directly or via specific channels?
Influencer platforms
A plethora of online databases exists that let firms like yours access pre-vetted influencers. Pricing is transparent too, so you won’t experience that awkward moment when you realise your ideal ambassador is out of your price range.
Having found influencers you like it’s time to start some conservations and see where things lead. Depending on the platform you could even use the database to approve work (if you go ahead) and pay your influencer too.
Influencer platforms:
- Provide security – as everything goes via the specified system
- Help avoid surprises – ratings and costs are shown upfront
- Remove hard work from the vetting process
Of course, all of this comes at a cost. If price is an issue you may prefer to do it yourself.
Need influencer marketing but money’s too tight to mention? Why not do it yourself instead
Instead of paying a subscription fee, you might prefer to search influencer marketplaces. Although cheaper this approach puts the onus on you – because you’ll need to vet and negotiate with candidates.
If you’re happy to create your influencer marketing strategy without a digital safety net then this might be the better option.
Remember though:
- Marketplaces are introducers and are not legally responsible for any decisions you make
- Many have a shady reputation and so it’s important to find a platform you can trust
Make influencer marketing tools part of your strategy
Multiple influencer marketing tools exist in the digital sphere that could help your firm locate the right rockstars for its future campaigns.
These tools let you:
- Identify brand mentions – from customers, partners, and influencers too
- Provide outreach functionalities to help you reach prospective ambassadors
- Measure existing influencers using filters like:
- Their age
- Gender
- Brand mentions
- Vetted/not vetted
Five final steps (followed by a deep breath)
As part of your influencer marketing strategy:
- Shortlist the best candidates and analyse them to ensure (a) they have the right experience and (b) they’re the real deal (i.e. their followers aren’t fake.
- Agree on costs and, where appropriate, whether gifting (providing a product or service you offer for free) would be a suitable form of payment.
- Draft and send a contract that specifies fees, what’s expected of the influencer, and any other information pertinent to the agreement.
- Provide clear briefs so your influencer knows what to say – and how much creative latitude is being given.
- Double-check your content was posted and use metrics to check engagement – so you can see how well your influencer is performing.
Conclusion
Influencer marketing isn’t right for everyone. Not only that but recruiting the right ambassador for your law firm will involve extensive research, quite a few back-and-forth conversations and follow-up tasks to ensure work is completed and as agreed and generated the expected engagement.
If your law firm is willing to invest time and money into an influencer marketing strategy then great rewards could follow in the form of more followers, better brand recognition, and more ROI too.
Should your law firm hire an influencer?
With extensive experience in helping B2B brands within the professional services sector boost brand engagement and generate more ROI, we’re perfectly positioned to help your law firm too. Contact us to take the next step.
