The digital landscape has forever changed the way we communicate, connect, and, most notably, conduct business. In our featured piece, “How to Succeed on TikTok for Lawyers,” we immerse ourselves in the fascinating intersection of social media and the legal profession. This exploration delves into the compelling world of TikTok, a platform that, with its billion users, presents a unique opportunity for lawyers to broaden their reach and establish a different kind of rapport with potential clients.
TikTok is far from being just another social network. Its massive popularity, especially amongst younger demographics, coupled with its unique content format, gives it an edge over traditional marketing channels. With its quick-fire, bite-sized video content that can be as informative as it is entertaining, TikTok provides an incredible avenue for legal professionals to demystify the law, exhibit their expertise, and build their personal brand.
Our feature starts by introducing you to TikTok and its potential impact on the legal industry. Although at first glance, the idea of TikTok for lawyers may seem unlikely, we explore why this assumption is far from the truth. Indeed, with TikTok’s emphasis on authenticity and creativity, it offers lawyers a chance to break free from conventional norms and showcase their personalities in a relatable way, thus cultivating a more profound connection with their audiences.
We then delve into the mechanics of TikTok: the art and science of crafting content that resonates with TikTok users. The platform thrives on creativity, and we provide actionable advice on how to ideate and execute compelling content that stands out in the sea of TikToks. From the strategic use of hashtags and trending music to understanding TikTok’s algorithm and the role of engagement, we dissect the components that contribute to TikTok success.
But the journey doesn’t end at content creation. We look at the value of engagement, community building, and regular interaction with followers, illustrating how these can be achieved within the unique environment of TikTok.
Moreover, we underscore the significance of staying current with trends and platform updates. TikTok, like any social media platform, is ever-evolving. Remaining agile and adaptable is crucial to sustaining success and building a lasting presence on the platform.
Our feature, “How to Succeed on TikTok for Lawyers,” serves as an invaluable resource for legal professionals keen on harnessing the power of social media to extend their reach. We invite you to explore this new frontier where the law meets a 15-second dance challenge, and where a serious profession finds an unexpected yet powerful ally in a platform known for its fun and creativity. Join us as we navigate the TikTok terrain, charting a path for legal professionals to resonate with a new generation of potential clients. TikTok success for lawyers may seem uncharted territory, but with the right strategy, it’s an adventure worth embarking on.
The video above begins with a warm welcome from Jay Berkowitz, who introduces his friend and guest, Dennis Yu. Dennis is the author of “The Definitive Guide to TikTok” and has an impressive background in digital marketing, having started his career as a product manager for aa.com and later working as a search engineer for Yahoo. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at BlitzMetrics, a company that specializes in teaching people about advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
The video is structured as a webinar, with Jay and Dennis discussing the significance of TikTok, especially for law firms. Jay emphasizes the importance of TikTok in today’s digital landscape, explaining why it’s crucial for law firms to understand and utilize this platform. He also shares case studies of law firms and lawyers who have made significant strides on TikTok.
The webinar format allows for an engaging and interactive discussion. At one point, Jay and Dennis simulate a conference setting, calling their segment “On the Couch,” where they delve deeper into the topic. Dennis also conducts live demos to provide a practical understanding of how to use TikTok effectively.
The video description highlights key points that are covered in the webinar, including:
- How TikTok can generate quality leads for law firms
- The best brand-new case studies of law firms on TikTok
- How to take advantage of TikTok Ads
- The Dollar-a-day strategy
- How to create content that leads to billions of views
- How to spark trends that cause a viral wave of consumer participation
The video is a valuable resource for law firms looking to expand their digital marketing strategies. It provides a comprehensive understanding of TikTok’s potential as a marketing tool and offers practical advice on how to use it effectively.
The video ends with a Q&A session, where Jay and Dennis answer questions from the audience, providing further insights into the topic. They also offer a free strategy call with Ten Golden Rules, providing viewers with an opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and get personalized advice for their firms.
In conclusion, “How to Succeed on TikTok For Law Firms” is a must-watch for law firms looking to leverage TikTok in their marketing strategies. It provides valuable insights and practical advice, making it a comprehensive guide for law firms navigating the TikTok landscape.
Jay Berkowitz, the host of the webinar, shares his own journey from working with high-fat food companies like McDonald’s to joining eDiets.com, a diet site. He talks about his presentation “The 10 Golden Rules of Online Marketing,” which later became a book and laid the foundation for his current work. He also mentions his upcoming book, “Advanced Internet Marketing for Law Firms,” set to release on October 28th of the year the video was made.
The discussion then shifts to the main topic: succeeding on TikTok for law firms. Jay explains why TikTok is a big deal, stating that it has surpassed Google and Facebook to become the number one site in the world with over 1 billion average users. Importantly, TikTok is not just about kids and dancing videos anymore; over 37% of its users are over 30 years of age. The platform also boasts high engagement, with users spending an average of 25.7 hours on it, surpassing Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Jay highlights some of the top content producers on TikTok, including Addison Rae, Zach King, and Charlie D’Amelio, who are earning millions of dollars a year through ad revenue sharing with TikTok. However, from a lawyer’s perspective, he shares case studies of successful law professionals on TikTok.
One such example is Mike Mandel, also known as Law by Mike. Mike started creating engaging and informative videos on TikTok after joining his family’s personal injury firm. His videos, which often include humor and practical advice, have led to a significant increase in referrals. As a result, Mike has been able to build partnerships with multiple firms across the country.
Another successful lawyer on TikTok is Hugo Lord, who uses humor to build his following. He has nearly as many followers as Mike Mandel, with 6.3 million. Hugo provides valuable information on topics like PPP loans, positioning himself as a business lawyer.
Julio Ahante, an immigration lawyer based in LA, is another success story on TikTok. His first video, “Four Ways to Get a Green Card,” gained significant traction, leading to a massive increase in his followers, now at 2.6 million. His videos have been so successful in generating inquiries and consultations that he started a site offering online courses on topics like “How to Get a Job in the United States” and “How to Apply for the Lottery.”
These case studies demonstrate the potential of TikTok as a platform for law firms to reach a wider audience and generate leads. The key to their success lies in providing value, using humor to engage the audience, and understanding what works on the platform.
The video continues with Jay providing practical tips for law firms looking to get started with TikTok. He suggests keeping videos under one minute to ensure they can also be used on Instagram, Facebook Reels, and YouTube Shorts. He recommends posting at least one video per day with the aim of having one video go viral, which can significantly boost a user’s following and traction on the platform.
Jay emphasizes the importance of understanding TikTok’s algorithm, which recommends videos based on user behavior. For example, if a user frequently watches legal videos, they are likely to see more of such content. Therefore, creating engaging and relevant content is key to increasing visibility on the platform.
To enhance the accessibility of videos, Jay suggests using apps like Captions to add text, allowing users to understand the content even when the audio is off. He also provides content ideas, such as capturing music and trends, sharing expertise, explaining current events, and asking for questions, comments, follows, and likes to boost engagement. Using hashtags is also recommended as TikTok uses these to categorize videos.
Jay shares his experience with his first paid TikTok ad, which generated over 103,000 impressions for just $219, targeting law and legal services. This resulted in 171 clicks and several registrations for their webinar, demonstrating the effectiveness of TikTok as a marketing tool.
The video then transitions to a conversation between Jay and Dennis. Dennis shares his screen to demonstrate how TikTok’s AI can assemble combinations of videos based on user input, such as a city or a type of food. This feature allows users to create engaging content by voicing over these combinations, showcasing the platform’s user-friendly video editing tools.
The discussion provides valuable insights into the potential of TikTok as a marketing tool for law firms. By understanding the platform’s features and algorithm, law firms can create engaging content that reaches a wide audience and generates leads.
Dennis Yu, the guest speaker, shares his experience of using TikTok’s AI to create engaging content. He explains how he uses his phone to capture content, which is then uploaded to various platforms like iCloud, Google Photos, Amazon, and Dropbox. His team repurposes this content into various formats, demonstrating the potential of TikTok as a content creation tool.
Dennis highlights the success of Ethan Ostroff, known as the TikTok Lawyer, who has driven hundreds of cases this year off of TikTok. Like many successful TikTok users, Ethan shares direct-to-face advice, providing value to his followers without resorting to singing or dancing.
The conversation then shifts to the creation of Dennis’s book, “The Definitive Guide to TikTok,” which he co-authored with Perry Marshall. Perry, who has the number one best-selling book on Google Ads, suggested they partner to write a book on TikTok, given its growing popularity. Dennis explains that they delayed the release of the book as they felt the platform wasn’t ready, with too much focus on singing and dancing. However, as TikTok evolved to become more mainstream, they decided to release the book.
Dennis discusses the evolution of TikTok, explaining that as more people joined the platform, it began to incorporate features seen in other social networks. He mentions that TikTok’s advertising is smart, allowing users to use other people’s content, a feature not available on other platforms. This has made TikTok an attractive option for those unhappy with Facebook Ads.
Jay asks about the difference between organic TikTok and TikTok Ads. Dennis explains that while the algorithm is the same for both, the paid side allows for boosting posts, a feature that was more difficult on Facebook. This means users can boost posts that other people have made, providing a unique advertising opportunity.
The discussion provides valuable insights into the potential of TikTok as a marketing tool for law firms. By understanding the platform’s features and algorithm, law firms can create engaging content that reaches a wide audience and generates leads.
Dennis explains that TikTok allows users to boost posts made by others, a feature that can be particularly useful for law firms. This means that if a client or a community member makes a video that reflects positively on the firm, the firm can boost that post to reach a wider audience. This strategy can help law firms show their human side and connect with their audience on a personal level.
Dennis also discusses the challenge many lawyers face in creating video content. To address this, TikTok allows users to boost other people’s posts, making it easier for those who struggle with video creation. This feature can be particularly useful for law firms, as they can boost posts that reflect positively on their services, such as a client receiving a settlement check.
Jay asks about monetizing TikTok content, and Dennis explains that law firms can use TikTok’s lead ads, similar to Facebook’s lead ads, to generate leads. These ads integrate with the firm’s CRM, have tracking, and include a form that auto-populates the user’s name and email. Dennis suggests that TikTok can be even more effective than Facebook for advertising, as the traffic is cheaper and the algorithm is smarter.
Dennis advises law firms to look at what’s working best for them in terms of driving traffic. He suggests logging into Google Analytics to see what the top keywords are and making 15-second videos answering questions related to those keywords. This strategy can help law firms create relevant and engaging content that answers their audience’s questions and drives traffic to their services.
The discussion provides valuable insights into the potential of TikTok as a marketing tool for law firms. By understanding the platform’s features and algorithm, law firms can create engaging content that reaches a wide audience and generates leads.
Dennis advises law firms to create 15-second videos answering questions related to their top keywords. These videos should be direct-to-face, providing quick tips or advice. Jay Berkowitz, the host, agrees with this approach, explaining how they reverse engineer the “People Also Ask” feature on Google to identify relevant questions to answer in their videos.
Dennis also discusses the importance of testing content on TikTok. He suggests putting a dollar a day against each piece of content to see which one performs best. This strategy, known as the “dollar a day” strategy, has been successful on various platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Dennis emphasizes the importance of testing content rather than making assumptions about what will work best. He shares his experience of running ads for the Golden State Warriors, where they tested different ads to find the winner. He explains that even experts can’t always predict which ad will perform best, highlighting the importance of testing and letting the system determine the winner.
The discussion provides valuable insights into the potential of TikTok as a marketing tool for law firms. By understanding the platform’s features and algorithm, law firms can create engaging content that reaches a wide audience and generates leads.
Dennis further elaborates on the “dollar a day” strategy, explaining that it’s a testing strategy. By creating lots of content and boosting each piece for a dollar a day, law firms can identify which content performs best. Once a winner is identified, they can confidently invest more money in promoting that content.
Dennis emphasizes that the key to success on TikTok is creating lots of direct-to-face video content and using the platform as it was intended. He suggests boosting all content, especially for new users who don’t have much traffic. The goal is to find a winner and scale it up.
He also highlights the importance of the first two seconds of a video, explaining that this is what they test. Regardless of how great the rest of the video is, if the first two seconds don’t grab the viewer’s attention, the video won’t perform well.
Jay Berkowitz, the host, agrees with Dennis’s approach, emphasizing that even with their extensive experience in marketing, they can’t always predict which content will perform best. This reinforces the importance of testing content to identify what works.
The discussion provides valuable insights into the potential of TikTok as a marketing tool for law firms. By understanding the platform’s features and algorithm, law firms can create engaging content that reaches a wide audience and generates leads.
Dennis advises running the “dollar a day” strategy for at least a week to allow the system to learn and account for different behaviors on weekdays and weekends. He emphasizes that testing should be done for a sufficient period to yield reliable results.
Jay and Dennis also discuss the concept of statistical significance in testing. Jay shares his experience at eDiets, where they designed their own A/B testing program. He explains that they would run about 10,000 visitors into each of the A and B tests, testing different sales funnels. After about a week, they would declare a winner.
Dennis, however, points out that A/B testing is more about fine-tuning something that’s already working. He likens the process to carving a piece of sculpture from a block of wood. Initially, you need to chop down the tree and get the basic block of wood (creating and testing lots of content). Once you have the basic shape, you can then use sandpaper to make it smooth (fine-tuning the content that works best).
In response to a question about how many videos to boost at the same time, Dennis advises boosting as many as possible. He dismisses concerns about posting too often or tiring out the community, comparing TikTok to Twitter in terms of content posting. He encourages users to post as much as they can, as long as they have something good to say.
Answering another question about whether attorneys need to be in the videos, Dennis explains that they don’t have to be. He introduces the concept of “spark ads” on TikTok, which allows users to boost posts made by others. This means that law firms can boost videos made by clients, employees, or other staff attorneys, providing a unique opportunity to showcase their services from different perspectives.
Dennis further emphasizes the power of using other people’s content on TikTok, likening it to word-of-mouth marketing or reviews. He explains that people trust what others have to say more than what you say about your own services. Therefore, boosting posts made by clients, employees, or other community members can be a powerful marketing strategy for law firms.
Dennis also addresses a common concern among attorneys about the time commitment required to create TikTok content. He reassures them that they don’t have to be on TikTok or make any videos themselves. They can simply use spark ads to boost what other people have said about them, allowing them to focus on their work while still benefiting from the platform’s marketing potential.
The video then transitions to a live demonstration of how to use spark ads on TikTok. Dennis guides viewers through the process of opening TikTok, going to their profile, and selecting a video to boost. He explains how to generate an access code, which allows anyone with the code to boost the post. This feature provides a unique opportunity for law firms to amplify positive content about their services.
Dennis also demonstrates how to promote a post directly on TikTok. He explains that users can choose whether they want more views, website visits, or followers. He suggests choosing more video views by default, as it’s usually the most cost-effective option. He also recommends letting TikTok’s AI choose the audience for the ad, as it’s typically more effective than manually selecting the audience.
Dennis demonstrates how easy it is to boost a post on TikTok, a process that took him about three to four minutes. He emphasizes that it’s not a difficult task and encourages law firms to jump in and get some experience. He also addresses a common concern among attorneys about the time commitment required to create TikTok content. He reassures them that they don’t have to be on TikTok or make any videos themselves. They can simply use spark ads to boost what other people have said about them, allowing them to focus on their work while still benefiting from the platform’s marketing potential.
Dennis also discusses the importance of building up organic views and paid views. He teaches the “dollar a day” strategy, where law firms put out content organically and then boost those posts. He suggests that law firms can also boost to a custom audience.
Jay and Dennis also discuss the concept of credibility. Dennis explains that he shows his face and creates content on TikTok to demonstrate his credibility. He emphasizes that he’s not just giving advice; he’s spent a significant amount of money doing these things. However, he clarifies that this doesn’t mean that attorneys need to be on TikTok or make videos themselves. They can simply boost posts made by others to showcase their services.
The video then transitions to a discussion about the importance of sharing expertise and knowledge. Dennis advises law firms to talk about things that their potential clients care about. He suggests interviewing other attorneys, the receptionist, or clients about what they know. He emphasizes that these videos should not be testimonials but should aim to share expertise and lift others up.
Dennis explains that TikTok allows users to build custom audiences based on email addresses, website visitors, native video views, and other factors. This means that law firms can retarget people who have visited their website on TikTok, providing a unique opportunity to reconnect with potential clients.
He also discusses the importance of the first two seconds of a video, explaining that this is what they test. Regardless of how great the rest of the video is, if the first two seconds don’t grab the viewer’s attention, the video won’t perform well. He emphasizes that the key to success on TikTok is creating lots of direct-to-face video content and using the platform as it was intended.
Dennis also addresses a question about calls to action at the end of videos. He explains that while calls to action can be effective, the most important part of the video is the first two seconds. If viewers don’t get past the first two seconds, they won’t make it to the end of the video to see the call to action. Therefore, the focus should be on creating engaging content that grabs the viewer’s attention from the start.
He also discusses the concept of an “open loop,” which is a more advanced copywriting technique. An open loop is a cliffhanger that creates curiosity and encourages viewers to tune into the next episode or video to find out what happens. This can be an effective strategy for keeping viewers engaged and coming back for more.
The video then transitions to a live demonstration of how to create an engaging hook for a video. Dennis suggests starting with a question or a tip, or demonstrating how to do something. This can grab the viewer’s attention and encourage them to watch the rest of the video.
Dennis emphasizes the importance of the first two seconds of a video, explaining that this is what they test. Regardless of how great the rest of the video is, if the first two seconds don’t grab the viewer’s attention, the video won’t perform well. He emphasizes that the key to success on TikTok is creating lots of direct-to-face video content and using the platform as it was intended.
He also addresses a question about calls to action at the end of videos. He explains that while calls to action can be effective, the most important part of the video is the first two seconds. If viewers don’t get past the first two seconds, they won’t make it to the end of the video to see the call to action. Therefore, the focus should be on creating engaging content that grabs the viewer’s attention from the start.
He also discusses the concept of an “open loop,” which is a more advanced copywriting technique. An open loop is a cliffhanger that creates curiosity and encourages viewers to tune into the next episode or video to find out what happens. This can be an effective strategy for keeping viewers engaged and coming back for more.
The video then transitions to a live demonstration of how to create an engaging hook for a video. Dennis suggests starting with a question or a tip, or demonstrating how to do something. This can grab the viewer’s attention and encourage them to watch the rest of the video.
Dennis also addresses a question about the key tools to use on TikTok. He emphasizes that it’s not about the tools but about creating lots of 15-second videos that are made by other people, ideally by you, direct to face. He suggests that law firms can also boost to a custom audience.
He also discusses the importance of sharing expertise and knowledge. Dennis advises law firms to talk about things that their potential clients care about. He suggests interviewing other attorneys, the receptionist, or clients about what they know. He emphasizes that these videos should not be testimonials but should aim to share expertise and lift others up.
In conclusion, our exploration in “How to Succeed on TikTok for Lawyers” underscores the potential of TikTok as a powerful tool in the legal profession’s arsenal. Despite the platform’s unconventional nature, lawyers who dare to venture into this space can unlock new avenues of client engagement and outreach. Through strategic content creation, trend monitoring, and active community engagement, legal professionals can break away from traditional norms and foster more meaningful connections with potential clients. Whether it’s through a brief explainer video or a trending dance with a legal twist, the fusion of the law with TikTok’s unique content format presents an exciting frontier. As we conclude our journey, we leave you with the reminder that success on TikTok, as with any platform, requires authenticity, creativity, and the willingness to embrace the new. So, legal professionals, gear up for the TikTok challenge – it’s time to dance to the rhythm of the digital age.