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Rachel Tombs advises barristers how to get the most out of their online activity
Love it or hate it, you can’t escape the fact that social media exists and is a mainstream marketing tool for the legal industry. There were 57.10 million social media users in the UK in January 2023, spanning all demographics, out of a population of 67.62 million (source: Meltwater Statistics). So, even if you are part of the 10 million who shudder at the thought of posts, likes or comments, it is highly likely that your clients and referrers are not.
How many barristers are using social media? In an article for this magazine back in 2018, Lucy Reed KC’s ‘followerwonk.com’ analysis found that there were around 13,000 UK accounts on Twitter alone which included the words barrister, solicitor or lawyer in their profile information. In 2021, this had increased to around 15,000 (source: Scala UK).
The virtues of social media usage are numerous – it is a cost-effective method to help build a personal (or chambers) reputation and help connect the legal world to the wider public. It’s seen by many as a key tool for overcoming the image of an elitist profession.
Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn are all social media platforms that provide information and help form people’s opinions, either consciously or unconsciously. You can use social media to demonstrate your expertise, build your reputation and communicate your news and views. So, if you want your voice to be heard, you should be part of it.
Social media represents an enormous opportunity for barristers as it plays to most of their in-built skills of persuasion and thought leadership. A mix of marketing, news, opinion, commentary, video and image-driven posts can make for an engaging feed that attracts the attention of your intended audience.
The main social media platforms form a thriving online community that can raise a barrister’s visibility and help cultivate working relationships. But while the growth of these digital channels has created new opportunities, there are also risks. Social media is instant – word a comment badly, upload the wrong image or share improper content, and your communication could go way off course.
You also need to be mindful of how you react to digital content. As the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB’s) guidance on social media states, ‘Comments that you reasonably consider to be in good taste may be considered distasteful or offensive by others.’ Remember that your ‘witty’ quip’ could be considered highly unacceptable by others. Never has the adage ‘Think twice. Act once’ been more accurate.
The BSB’s annual Regulatory Decisions Reports show a dramatic increase in reports of barristers’ misuse of social media. 102 such reports were received in 2022/23 as compared to 89 in 2021/22, and 49 in 2020/21. Only a few years ago in 2018/19 the BSB received just 14 reports about misuse of social media.
In September 2023, the BSB issued fresh guidance on how barristers should conduct themselves online in a bid to clarify when it is likely to take regulatory action. That is why many barristers, both sets and individual members, decide to outsource their social media to experts who understand how to craft authentic messages while ensuring that they act in a way that complies with the BSB Handbook.
Social media platforms can be a powerful tool to enable users to make connections and express themselves, but they are not a one-way form of communication. While engagement should be encouraged, being on a social media platform can leave you open to abuse.
Barristers who practise in emotive areas of law, such as family, human rights or criminal, can find themselves open to trolls. Female social media users, in particular, have reported being the victims of gender abuse with misogynistic comments and inappropriate content left on their social feeds. Although abuse against women is certainly not limited to any one social media platform, Twitter/X in particular, has been accused of failing to respect women’s rights online. Not only is this abuse upsetting, but it can also make social media users mindful of their reputation.
That’s when outsourcing to a third party can help, as they can ensure that trolls are dealt with swiftly, and users don’t need to resort to self-censorship to avoid extreme reactions. Most providers will be familiar with the various platform’s violation policies and will use tools for social listening that enable them to monitor and deal with any abuse quickly. They can delete comments and block, hide or mute trolls while using the relevant platform’s reporting functionality. That means they can keep an eye on your socials and stop trolls in their tracks as soon as they start posting.
If you feel that an abusive message deserves a response, the classic proverb still holds merit: don’t feed the trolls. The BSB has cautioned barristers to avoid getting drawn into ‘heated’ spats on social media. Remember – a troll’s goal is to upset you and others, so don’t let them achieve their goal. Internet trolls thrive on drama. If you stoop to their level, they’re winning. An experienced social media team can help you craft an objective response and communicate ‘with poise’ so you can try to de-escalate a problem.
Ultimately, outsourcing social media should enable you to feel relaxed knowing that it is being monitored and managed, and you can focus your attention on other tasks.
Establishing a strong social media presence may take some time and effort, but the benefits are well worth it. Many barristers are using social media to establish themselves as credible experts in their field and improve their visibility and reputation by sharing their knowledge and experience. But like all public-facing mediums, social media needs careful crafting, monitoring and management to keep it on track.
While your social media channels should be authentic to you, outsourced social media firms who understand the legal sector can assist as you carefully create your online narrative and grow your digital reputation. They know the latest social media features and can advise you on strategies to yield the best results. They also have access to tools and resources that can help create visually engaging posts, manage scheduling, and monitor social media accounts to ensure any negative or inappropriate content is dealt with.
Whether you’re a newbie to social platforms or a serial poster, a social media agency that specialises in the legal sector can give you peace of mind, lighten your load and help you get the most from your online activity.
Rachel Tombs is a former solicitor and the founder of Orion Legal Marketing, which provides outsourced online and offline marketing and business development services to barristers.
Love it or hate it, you can’t escape the fact that social media exists and is a mainstream marketing tool for the legal industry. There were 57.10 million social media users in the UK in January 2023, spanning all demographics, out of a population of 67.62 million (source: Meltwater Statistics). So, even if you are part of the 10 million who shudder at the thought of posts, likes or comments, it is highly likely that your clients and referrers are not.
How many barristers are using social media? In an article for this magazine back in 2018, Lucy Reed KC’s ‘followerwonk.com’ analysis found that there were around 13,000 UK accounts on Twitter alone which included the words barrister, solicitor or lawyer in their profile information. In 2021, this had increased to around 15,000 (source: Scala UK).
The virtues of social media usage are numerous – it is a cost-effective method to help build a personal (or chambers) reputation and help connect the legal world to the wider public. It’s seen by many as a key tool for overcoming the image of an elitist profession.
Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn are all social media platforms that provide information and help form people’s opinions, either consciously or unconsciously. You can use social media to demonstrate your expertise, build your reputation and communicate your news and views. So, if you want your voice to be heard, you should be part of it.
Social media represents an enormous opportunity for barristers as it plays to most of their in-built skills of persuasion and thought leadership. A mix of marketing, news, opinion, commentary, video and image-driven posts can make for an engaging feed that attracts the attention of your intended audience.
The main social media platforms form a thriving online community that can raise a barrister’s visibility and help cultivate working relationships. But while the growth of these digital channels has created new opportunities, there are also risks. Social media is instant – word a comment badly, upload the wrong image or share improper content, and your communication could go way off course.
You also need to be mindful of how you react to digital content. As the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB’s) guidance on social media states, ‘Comments that you reasonably consider to be in good taste may be considered distasteful or offensive by others.’ Remember that your ‘witty’ quip’ could be considered highly unacceptable by others. Never has the adage ‘Think twice. Act once’ been more accurate.
The BSB’s annual Regulatory Decisions Reports show a dramatic increase in reports of barristers’ misuse of social media. 102 such reports were received in 2022/23 as compared to 89 in 2021/22, and 49 in 2020/21. Only a few years ago in 2018/19 the BSB received just 14 reports about misuse of social media.
In September 2023, the BSB issued fresh guidance on how barristers should conduct themselves online in a bid to clarify when it is likely to take regulatory action. That is why many barristers, both sets and individual members, decide to outsource their social media to experts who understand how to craft authentic messages while ensuring that they act in a way that complies with the BSB Handbook.
Social media platforms can be a powerful tool to enable users to make connections and express themselves, but they are not a one-way form of communication. While engagement should be encouraged, being on a social media platform can leave you open to abuse.
Barristers who practise in emotive areas of law, such as family, human rights or criminal, can find themselves open to trolls. Female social media users, in particular, have reported being the victims of gender abuse with misogynistic comments and inappropriate content left on their social feeds. Although abuse against women is certainly not limited to any one social media platform, Twitter/X in particular, has been accused of failing to respect women’s rights online. Not only is this abuse upsetting, but it can also make social media users mindful of their reputation.
That’s when outsourcing to a third party can help, as they can ensure that trolls are dealt with swiftly, and users don’t need to resort to self-censorship to avoid extreme reactions. Most providers will be familiar with the various platform’s violation policies and will use tools for social listening that enable them to monitor and deal with any abuse quickly. They can delete comments and block, hide or mute trolls while using the relevant platform’s reporting functionality. That means they can keep an eye on your socials and stop trolls in their tracks as soon as they start posting.
If you feel that an abusive message deserves a response, the classic proverb still holds merit: don’t feed the trolls. The BSB has cautioned barristers to avoid getting drawn into ‘heated’ spats on social media. Remember – a troll’s goal is to upset you and others, so don’t let them achieve their goal. Internet trolls thrive on drama. If you stoop to their level, they’re winning. An experienced social media team can help you craft an objective response and communicate ‘with poise’ so you can try to de-escalate a problem.
Ultimately, outsourcing social media should enable you to feel relaxed knowing that it is being monitored and managed, and you can focus your attention on other tasks.
Establishing a strong social media presence may take some time and effort, but the benefits are well worth it. Many barristers are using social media to establish themselves as credible experts in their field and improve their visibility and reputation by sharing their knowledge and experience. But like all public-facing mediums, social media needs careful crafting, monitoring and management to keep it on track.
While your social media channels should be authentic to you, outsourced social media firms who understand the legal sector can assist as you carefully create your online narrative and grow your digital reputation. They know the latest social media features and can advise you on strategies to yield the best results. They also have access to tools and resources that can help create visually engaging posts, manage scheduling, and monitor social media accounts to ensure any negative or inappropriate content is dealt with.
Whether you’re a newbie to social platforms or a serial poster, a social media agency that specialises in the legal sector can give you peace of mind, lighten your load and help you get the most from your online activity.
Rachel Tombs advises barristers how to get the most out of their online activity
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