4 tips for advocates on how to turn social media into a productive tool

For a young advocate just starting to build a professional presence on social media, simply maintaining a page is not enough. It is important to understand what services they offer, how they explain their value to clients, what they present to the public, and how they communicate with their audience.

This was discussed during the panel discussion «PRO Brand: how a young advocate can make a name for themselves online», which took place on May 25 at the UNBA.

The event was moderated by Iryna Tsybko, a representative of the UNBA NextGen in the Mykolaiv region. The guest speaker was marketer Anna Romanchuk. She provided advocates with advice on using social media as a tool to support their practice. The main focus of the event was on using Instagram. However, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube were also mentioned in the context of audience and user engagement.

1. Start with «branding» the account. According to the speaker, the page should clearly indicate who the author is, what issues they can be contacted about, and what services they provide. To this end, she advises preparing a pinned post, carousel, Reels, or other format explaining who the advocate is and how to interact with them. It’s also worth providing a first point of contact for new followers: a short message offering to answer one question or explain the consultation process.

2. Make Stories a regular activity, rather than posting them only on a whim. A. Romanchuk advises setting aside time in the calendar for this and initially choosing 3–4 days a week when Stories will be posted consistently. In her opinion, such regularity helps build a sense of presence and shows the audience that the advocate is available.

3. Combine expert and personal content. The speaker explained that you can choose several «storylines» — topics that a person is ready to share. She cited consultations or other services as a narrow topic. A broad topic is life, but not everything under the sun, only those aspects that the page’s author is willing to showcase.

A. Romanchuk cautioned against presenting expert content in a «Wikipedia-style format». According to her, a dry presentation of legal information can be useful, but it doesn’t always attract clients. Instead, a legal topic can be explained through a specific situation, the relevance of the issue, its impact on people, or its implications for the future. When answering a question about the balance of content, she suggested a guideline of 40% expert content, 40% personal content, and 20% content about services and how to contact the firm, but emphasized that these formats should be mixed within a single day.

4. Handling negative reactions. When asked about hate comments in topics that spark heated debates, A. Romanchuk noted that aggressive users can be blocked. Negative comments, however, can be used as an opportunity to explain one’s position or tell a story, but without mentioning names, avatars, or other identifying information. If an advocate responds publicly, such a response must be polite and professional.

The speaker emphasized that one can start a professional presence on social media at any stage, but should not expect results the very next day. According to her, it is important to continue working on content so that the accumulated potential gradually takes effect.