LinkedIn is a popular social media tool for lawyers. It’s reputation as a professional platform makes it an attractive legal marketing tool. But LinkedIn is not the only viable option for expanding your social media presence. There are numerous forms of social media, and used in the right way, they can each be beneficial to your marketing efforts. A recent article in Forbes discussed how lawyers can use these other platforms. Let’s look at some of them and how they can benefit your firm.
Just as your personal Facebook account is a great way to present your personality to the world, a business page is an effective way to present your legal practice to existing and prospective clients. Just make sure you keep it professional. Your firm’s Facebook page is not the place for talking dogs and wild weekend pics. It’s a place to showcase your professional knowledge and skill. Offer thoughtful commentary on a news article pertaining to your practice area. You can also use your page to highlight the accomplishments of your individual attorneys and staff members. Clients choose attorneys they respect and like. Use Facebook to build your likability factor, while commanding respect.
Twitter is a great avenue for reaching out to the public in an easy and succinct manner. With 140 characters or less, you can take current trends and utilize them to market your firm’s services. Ever wonder what those hashtags are all about? By using trending hashtags in your business tweets, you can effectively grow your following and reach potential new clients.
For example, say your practice is located in Virginia and the state’s supreme court issues a ruling that relates to your practice area. By using #scova in your tweets, you can potentially reach out to others who are affected by the court’s decision.
Twitter can also be effectively used to highlight your firm’s blog posts. You put a lot of effort into creating insightful posts that educate readers and market your firm, but what good are they if no one is reading them? With thoughtful wording and hashtags, you can create increased readership of your blog posts.
Keep it Ethical
When using social media, make sure you keep your activities ethical. Seek guidance from your state bar to make sure you are following the rules. After all, you are using social media to expand your practice. Don’t let it be the thing that destroys it.
LinkedIn is a useful tool for your legal marketing efforts, but it’s not the only tool. If you want to make the leap onto other platforms, but are unsure about how, contract a social media manager to handle it with your guidance. You may even want to look within. One of your associates may turn out to be the social media expert you need to kick your efforts into high gear.
About Erika Winston:
Erika Winston is a freelance writer with a passion for law. Through her business, The Legal Writing Studio, she helps legal professionals deliver effective written messages. Erika is a regular contributor to TimeSolv and a variety of other publications.