Social Media Rules: A Good Investment for Law Firm Marketing
How many times have you heard attorneys either inside your practice or in someone else’s say that social media just doesn’t work?
I would agree with these attorneys, and add just two words.
Social media “used badly” doesn’t work.
In much the same way drivers who don’t follow the rules of the road get into accidents and collect tickets, lawyers who don’t follow the rules of social media will not get the response to their law firm marketing efforts they seek.
However, when you take the time to understand the rules (some of them written some of them simply understood by the community), you open yourself and your firm up to the immense power of these law firm marketing tools.
There is a long list of social media to choose from, to be sure. Some of the most notable are . . . .
· Facebook and LinkedIn – two different approaches to building personal networks
· Digg – an innovative approach to customer-selected news networking
· Twitter and Jaiku – offer something new called “microblogs” in which members can log in to view and participate in a wide array of topics and comments
In each case, you will get the best law firm marketing results when you. . .
· Engage with other members by asking and answering questions
· Watch and “listen” carefully to what is on the minds of potential clients
· Offer thoughtful insights and sound legal advice at no cost
· Refer clients back to your own site only after building trust
The value of social media to the consumer in many ways mirrors the value to your law firm marketing strategy. Consumers get free information from a trusted source, and you become the credible trusted source for them.
Ultimately, they will turn to you when they are ready to engage council – not because you have solicited their business – but because they see you as an empathetic, expert whose council they have come to rely on.
When you become impatient, and attempt to turn forum participants into paying clients immediately, you break their trust, and ultimately lose the law firm marketing value of social media.
In Sum
As you enter the world of social media, remember what the real law firm marketing goal is – to build trust among consumers and credibility for your firm. Clients will choose you only after you accomplish those goals.
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