As a lawyer, you know the importance of reputation, online and off. Your firm’s reputation is what gets you clients and keeps them coming back.
This is why it’s important when you’re using social media to market your firm, to use caution not to damage your practice’s reputation with any of these common mistakes.
Posting Sporadically
When potential clients land on your firm’s social media page, the first thing they’re going to do is scroll through your recent posts to get a feel for what kind of firm you are. They’re going to check how recently you posted to determine if you’re still active. They’ll also look at a few recent posts to see how often you post.
If they don’t see any recent posts, they’re going to assume that you’re not active on social media. This communicates that you’re not really invested in your online presence.
There’s no rule on how often to post. Some experts encourage it at least once a day or a few times a day. Others say a few times a week is enough.
The best thing you can do is try a few different formulas and see what works best for your firm. Keep track of your engagement and determine which posting schedule benefits your growth the most. If you notice you lose followers when you post a few times a day, cut back to once a day and see what happens. If things are stagnant posting once a week, try a post per day.
Posting Things that are Too Controversial
There was a time in the internet marketing world that experts encouraged people to be controversial online. The theory was that all engagement is good engagement. If you had a lot of people commenting on a post because it was offensive or they disagreed, it was as good as getting a lot of support. In some cases, being controversial boosted engagement.
Some businesses still benefit from this approach, but rarely does this include law firms. Your goal is to educate and inform, not to stir up controversy. There’s nothing wrong with being open and honest about your opinion concerning legal issues, but don’t be controversial just for the sake of doing so. Make sure your posts add value for those who read them.
Failing to Engage with Your Audience
People like feeling like they matter. One of the best ways to promote goodwill is by responding to the comments they make on your social media posts. This is true whether they say things that are positive or negative.
If somebody takes the time to leave a comment on one of your posts, even if it’s critical, thank them for their input and try to continue the conversation.
Avoid deleting negative comments from real people on your social media posts. Instead, apologize for any inconvenience caused and offer to take the conversation offline so that you can address their concerns directly.
Social media is a great tool for marketing your law firm, but only if used correctly. By avoiding these common social media mistakes you’ll be well on your way to building a strong online presence for your firm.
If you’d like to learn more or you’re ready to up your social media game, contact Legal Web Design.
