From contests to content, there is a multitude of creative and traditional ways to improve the social media following of your law firm. Here are four time tested ways of making social media marketing work for your firm.
Host a Contest
A contest over social media can include anything from Facebook to Twitter. You can pick almost any topic you want. It might be “who has the best summer or fourth of July photo” or “who has the tackiest Christmas sweater”. Regardless, if the topic is fun and preferably relevant to your firm, followers will participate. Have contestants post the photo on your Facebook page, or as their status and tag (or hashtag) you when they post it. By posting it themselves, you gain brand exposure to all of their friends and followers, who also might be tempted to join the contest and like your page as a result. A contest also portrays your practice as fun. This is valuable because when most people think of a lawyer’s office, they don’t often associate such practices with a good time. Break your business’s stereotype. Prizes are a must to produce incentive. It can be anything from a gift card to a few hours of the service(s) you provide.
Regularly Post Content
Put up content regularly on your social media platforms. There’s isn’t a more effective way to show up on followers’ newsfeeds. Indirect benefits depend on the quality of the content you post. If you use your expertise to provide useful material that readers are compelled to read, or even share, your brand gains even more exposure and readership. It also helps keep your business in mind when followers see you post often. Of course overdoing it can result in less of a following if you post so often it feels like spam, so exercise caution. One to three times a week is generally acceptable, along with special occasions like July fourth or mother’s day for example.
Home Page & Social Media Integration
Whenever potential clients need to make an appointment, find your location, or get your contact information, they will very likely visit your website. Integrating your website with your social media platforms lets you capture your site’s traffic and turn it into likes. Design your site so that visitors can easily navigate to your Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. It also serves them because it can potentially serve as an excuse to get onto social media, something people do for their own enjoyment everyday. It also aids in your first impression. By linking your social media outlets to your site and vice versa, people can easily toggle in between them and gain a better impression of what your business offers. Someone may like to do this using your homepage, another individual may enjoy reading about your business while he or she checks their own social media. The key is to appeal to both.
Furthermore it allows potential clients go straight from your website to social media where reviews can be found on outlets such as your Facebook page. Not only does this help your business’s legitimacy by showing evidence of a (hopefully) satisfied client base, but this can cement in a positive first impression.
Encourage Reviews
When people hear about you, they might check you out on Yelp, Google or Facebook among other sites. In order to make a good impression on future potential clients, you want to demonstrate that current clients are satisfied with your services. You can request clients to review you with a reminder on your website, or mention it when meeting them during an appointment. Offer an incentive even, such as a free hour of a service (i.e. tooth cleaning for dentists, legal consultation for lawyers, etc.) you provide. Not only will it give current clients incentive to visit your social media outlets, but it will help draw in potential customers in the future.