3 Legal Marketing Tips to Make Facebook Work for Your Practice
Lawyers who choose to use social media as a marketing strategy should consider it a job just like any other on their list. Facebook is so popular it is ranked number two of the most used app for local searches, just behind Google Maps. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, there is still time to take advantage of this huge captive audience.
Facebook is great to keep up with friends within your personal life, but having a page for your law firm is a great online legal marketing tool. There are three things you should do to ensure that your Facebook experience is beneficial to your practice:
1. Your Firm Has Its Own Online Presence
Although it is easier to manage just one personal page, it is really best to have a separate firm page as part of your legal marketing plan. A Facebook page acts like an informational page to promote your practice. Use it to update with firm news, videos, photos, and communications that will surely reach a large audience of potential clients.
You could always elect to not use Facebook at all and devote your online marketing to other sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+.
2. Keep It Professional
It may seem obvious, but behave yourself wherever you go including online. What you say or do online can come back to haunt you later. It is really easy to forget to set your privacy settings properly or quickly post an inappropriate update. Check your settings frequently and try using Facebook's smart lists to group your different contacts accordingly.
Keep in mind your ethical duties to keep your clients' information confidential. You know not to discuss clients at all, but watch out for even subtle details. You could mention how your day is going and people can still connect the dots back to your client. It's better to keep updates and information general so as not to break any ethics rules.
3. Use Facebook Graphs
Facebook launched Facebook Graphs earlier this year. People can search people on Facebook, much like Google, based on other's "likes" and information. You can find it is useful to gain more connections and be more present online as a marketing tool for your firm.
Of course, for people to find you, you need to post information and keep it up-to-date. It's important to not only have a Facebook presence, but you need to be active and engage with followers to be noticed. Be more visible with frequent updates and make it relevant to your particular practice.
These are just a few of the most basic ways that Facebook can work for you and your overall marketing strategy. Your potential clients and referrals are using social media, so you should too.
Related Resources:
- Facebook Graph Search: 3 Reasons Why Lawyers Should Tap In (FindLaw's Lawyer Marketing)
- Why Your Firm Should Have a Facebook Page (FindLaw Blog)
- Social Media Mastery: BufferApp Will Change Your Online Marketing For The Better (FindLaw's Technologist Blog)