If you have tried to use social media to attract clients to your law firm, and failed, then you might have to ask yourself this question first – do you have a well thought-out strategy for social media in the first place?
When people say they have a social media strategy, most think that having a blog, or using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, is a strategy and should result in a steady stream of prospects knocking on their doors.
Wrong, wrong, wrong…
There is a big difference between a strategy and tactic, and most people focus on the latter because it is easier to tick a box saying “been there, done that.”
For example, writing a given number of blog posts per week is a tactic, not a strategy. Starting a discussion on LinkedIn is a tactic. Posting a tweet directing people to content you think would benefit them is a tactic.
First of all, it is worth keeping in mind that any effective client attraction strategy has to be based on the development of trust with prospects. This takes time, and needs an effective prospect nurturing system in place. If you want to use social media to get more clients, you need to know the profiles of your target prospects and first find out what information they are looking for. You then need to know how they use social media to search for information, interact with others within your/their social network, and make purchase decisions.
Many of your targets will use the Internet and various social media platforms to see how reputable you are, and then make the decision to follow you. Building a position of authority within target niches, therefore, means thinking about the experiences prospects and clients will have with each contact you make with them, and the naturs of the conversations you have with others (instead of just throwing facts at them).
Social media is, therefore, an enabler. When done properly, it should help you find out what your prospects want and make you more effective in the way you engage with them. More importantly, it should be based on giving your target market the chance to opt-in to the content you provide. The more valuable the information you give, the more likely that your prospects will want to follow you. It is your job to get them to trust you and, eventually, buy your services.
So having a social media strategy is key. You need to map out a plan that details which social media tactic(s) you will use to find out what your prospects are actively searching for, which one(s) you will use to point them to information that can improve their lives, and which one(s) you will have as part of a wider communication, relationship building and nurturing strategy.
The lack of time and expertise are the main reasons why many lawyers don’t want to think about social media strategies (in fact, they are the reasons why many have poor general marketing strategies in the first place ). Social media strategies are harder to outline, and very few lawyers want to develop them because they are not too sure whether they will work.
When lawyers think about developing a platform to gain trust and build influence over time, they are thinking more strategically. They are less likely to suffer from the ‘shiny object syndrome’ or focus on social media tactics that do not help them achieve their key goal… attract more high-quality clients.
