On your commute this morning, how many people around you were totally engrossed in their phone? I’d be happy to bet at least 70% of them, or you might not have noticed as you were one of the 70%! Being part of the smart-phone generation, we often take technology for granted; so integrated into our lives that we are reliant on staying connected at all times. Perhaps because of this, there is a common misperception that using social media in the workplace can detract from productivity. However, for attorneys and business professionals alike, reluctance to get on board the social media train could mean you might be missing an opportunity to grow your organization.
The world at your fingertips…
Facebook currently has more than 1.5 billion active users, with Twitter hosting over 500 million profiles and LinkedIn obtaining almost 400 million members as of May 2015. These are all people that your organization could be reaching out to today! If you think of it like this, social media is essentially 24/7 (mostly) FREE advertising.
A survey by Mike Blumenthal found that 22% of respondents used a search engine as the first step to seeking out an attorney. Thus, optimizing company social media profiles can result in great potential for new business, providing news updates and making you more approachable to clients. That’s not to mention an increase in online brand awareness. Many attorneys in the top 10% of the profession spend at least 5 hours a week on “professional development” (LexBlog). That is, meeting and networking with clients. With social media, business networking can be done online from the comfort of your office, allowing you to build relationships and give further scope for interactions face to face in the future.
Surprisingly, it appears to be solos and small firms who are achieving the most success via social media, with 45% of solos maintaining a presence on Facebook. On the other hand, larger companies aren’t quite as involved, with only 21% keeping tabs on their social media profiles. Bigger firms often over-exert their control of social media, rather than taking the more personable approach of allowing individual attorneys to post as authors. Being able to present yourself in a positive light, whilst remaining relatable is definitely a strong advantage of using social media for business.
Where to start?
Before you jump head-first into social networking and paste your company on every virtual billboard possible, doing your research to find out where clients are likely to seek you out is crucial in order to avoid wasting time on unnecessary content. Having a social media presence allows you to manage first-hand which information governs your image, and places your organization in a position of thought leadership among your peers and potential clients. Therefore, it’s important to recognise that different social media platforms can benefit you in equally different ways. Where Facebook and Twitter are perfect for curating a stream of industry news and real-time updates, having a company blog puts a face and voice to your practice, providing a credible discussion source and giving clients a better idea of what you’re about.
So there we have it, social media isn’t all memes and cat pictures after all!
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Oddly Marketing by Charlotte Napier 