Should every law firm be on Instagram?

A few years ago, the answer was less clear. LinkedIn had an obvious place in legal marketing because of its professional audience and networking opportunities. Facebook supported local communities, reviews and events. Instagram was often seen as the more visual platform, useful for brand awareness but harder to connect to how people choose a solicitor.

That distinction is becoming increasingly outdated.

Instagram has become a platform for discovery, education, search, and short-form video. At the same time, eligible public Instagram content can appear beyond the app in search engine results, giving law firms another opportunity to be discovered by prospective clients.

Several Instagram updates in 2026 also make it easier for firms to create, improve and extend the lifespan of their content.

So, should your law firm be on Instagram? For many firms, yes, but only if there is a clear strategy behind it.

Instagram is becoming more relevant to law firm marketing

People rarely choose a solicitor after seeing one piece of marketing.

They might discover a firm through Google, visit its Instagram profile, watch a solicitor explain a legal issue, look at recent team photographs and testimonials, and then visit the website when they are ready to make contact.

Instagram can play an important role within that journey because it gives prospective clients an immediate sense of the people behind the firm. Something a service page often cannot do.

For practice areas such as family law, conveyancing, employment law, private client and personal injury, this can be particularly valuable. Clients may be making stressful or highly personal decisions, and seeing solicitors communicating clearly and confidently can make the firm feel more approachable before an enquiry is made.

Therefore, Instagram should support discovery, trust and ultimately movement towards an enquiry.

Instagram content can appear in Google Search

One of the biggest changes to how firms should think about Instagram is its relationship with search.

Eligible photos and videos from public professional Instagram accounts can be indexed by search engines such as Google. This means Instagram content can be discovered outside the platform itself.

What does this mean for law firms?

An Instagram post should no longer be written solely for people scrolling through their feed.

A Reel explaining “What happens to the family home during divorce?” or a carousel covering “Five things first-time buyers should know about conveyancing” has a clearly identifiable subject.

That matters because your captions, on-screen text and content topics provide context about what the post covers.

Law firms should therefore think about the language prospective clients actually use when searching. Rather than filling captions with generic statements, make the subject clear and use relevant phrases naturally.

It also gives good content a potentially longer lifespan. A useful post does not necessarily stop providing value when it disappears from someone’s Instagram feed.

This doesn’t mean an Instagram carousel is suddenly a replacement for a properly optimised website or detailed legal guide. It means social and search should increasingly be planned together rather than treated as completely separate activities.

Instagram is giving video an even bigger role

Reels remain particularly important for firms trying to reach people beyond their existing audience.

Instagram has also been developing its Edits app, including project-organisation improvements that make it easier to manage video ideas and works in progress. Recent updates let projects be reorganised into folders, which may sound minor but can make regular video production easier for marketing teams managing multiple pieces of content.

Start with the first few seconds

The principle that law firms should take from Instagram’s video guidance is simple: don’t spend the beginning of a Reel introducing yourself.

Start with the reason someone should watch.

Instead of:

“Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m a family solicitor at…”

Try a different angle:

“Three things people misunderstand about finances after divorce.”

The solicitor can introduce themselves afterwards. The opening needs to earn attention first.

Clear on-screen text also makes the subject immediately understandable, while Insights should be used to identify which topics and formats are actually holding attention.

Instagram has published further guidance on its approach to creating and editing video, which you can read in the official Instagram article.

You can now replace audio without sacrificing an existing post

Instagram introduced its Replace Audio feature in July, allowing users to change the music attached to published feed posts and carousels without deleting and re-uploading them.

For law firms, this is less about chasing trending songs and more about protecting content that has already performed.

If audio becomes unavailable or is no longer suitable, the firm can update it without starting again and losing the engagement already generated.

It also reinforces a useful principle for social media teams: published content does not always need to be disposable. Strong evergreen content can be maintained, updated and repurposed.

Carousel mistakes are becoming easier to fix

Instagram has also introduced the ability to rearrange images and videos within a carousel after it has been published. Users can change the order through the editing controls, although they can’t simply add new media to an existing published carousel.

This is useful for law firms because educational carousels often contain several stages of information.

Perhaps the strongest slide should have appeared earlier. Maybe the sequence does not read as naturally as expected once published.

Previously, fixing that could mean deleting the content and starting again. Greater post-publishing control reduces that problem.

More importantly, it gives firms another reason to review existing content rather than constantly focusing on creating something new.

AI translations could broaden the audience for Reels

Instagram expanded its AI-powered Reels translations in July 2026, adding French, German, Italian, Japanese and Korean to its supported languages.

The technology can translate and dub Reel audio and can also use lip-syncing to make the translated version appear more natural.

For the average regional UK law firm, this will not suddenly become a central part of the content strategy.

But it could be relevant for firms serving international clients, businesses with cross-border services or firms operating in particularly multilingual markets.

The key is to use AI translation where the audience and service justify it, and to carefully review translated legal terminology before relying on automated output.

What should law firms change about their Instagram strategy?

The latest updates don’t mean firms need to suddenly publish more.

They mean the content being published should work harder.

Build content around discovery

Use Reels to introduce the firm and its solicitors to new audiences. Start with strong hooks based on genuine client concerns rather than generic introductions.

Use carousels to nurture interest

Once someone discovers the firm, educational carousels can provide greater depth. FAQs, legal processes, common misconceptions and practical guidance all give prospective clients reasons to continue engaging.

Show the people behind the advice

Team photographs, solicitor-led videos, testimonials and behind-the-scenes content remain important because legal services are built on trust.

The objective isn’t to make a law firm behave like an influencer. It is to make professional knowledge easier to discover and the people providing that advice easier to understand.

Instagram should have a job within your wider strategy

Instagram isn’t automatically right for every law firm, and opening an account won’t generate enquiries on its own.

The question should be whether the platform can help your firm reach and influence the audiences you want to attract.

For many firms, the combination of short-form video, educational content, search visibility and human-led content now gives Instagram a clearer role within the client journey.

At FireTap Legal, we build social media strategies around the audiences and practice areas each firm actually wants to grow, rather than posting simply to keep profiles active.

Law Firm Social Media Management

At FireTap, we help law firms and professional services create impactful digital marketing strategies built on smart, sustainable content.

For more information about our legal social media management services, please click here. Alternatively, to speak with a member of our team, call 020 3911 9715 or email hello@firetap.co.uk.

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