Are social media influencers the new path for law firm advertising?  

Legal ethics rules once prohibited advertising until those rules were successfully challenged as violating the First Amendment. State bar associations still limit how lawyers can advertise, but plaintiffs’ firms have capitalized on billboards and viral videos (the Law Hawk comes to mind). By contrast, defense firms have shied away from aggressive mass marketing. 

This article from The Wall Street Journal discusses how Neon Coat allows businesses—including law firms—to give away free services to influencers in exchange for social media mentions. Will this be the new frontier for legal advertising? 

Maybe potential clients won’t be influenced if “hot” TikTok stars promote a lawyer, but I can envision a version that offers similar deals to influential CEOs and businesses. Law firms may want to seek advisory opinions from their state bar associations on how to ensure paid social media mentions stay within ethical guidelines.  

How do you build a successful small business? For some, the answer is simple: Get hot people to show up.

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