Today, social media is everywhere. It’s likely your firm has at least one account, if not more. While social media is an important part of your firm’s marketing, posting the wrong content can lead to your firm’s downfall. Avoid these common mistakes to make the most of your firm’s social media accounts:
1. Avoid Current Events
Keeping personal opinions on current events separate from your firm’s social media is important. For many, Facebook is a platform to express personal opinions. But posting through your firm’s page may deter potential (or even current!) claimants from working with you. Posts about current events within your area of law is the only exception to this rule. Things that may affect your firm or the claimant, like new Social Security COLAs, are great topics for your firm’s blog and social medias.
2. Not Giving Credit
If you post an article that was not written by you or a member of your firm’s staff, you should always give credit. When you use images, make sure you are not violating any copyrights and that your firm has permission to use the photos. Neglecting to give credit when it is due can lead to a slew of copyright infringements your firm won’t want to deal with.
3. Overusing Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way for your posts to reach more people. Someone who searches or clicks on a hashtag will be brought to a list of all posts using the same one. For example, if you were to add #disability, anyone who clicks on #disability see all posts that incorporate it. It’s an easy way to find like posts on a specific topic.
As great as hashtags are for connecting similar posts and organizations, if you use too many it may make your post look unprofessional. This may deter potential claimants from reading your posts. Using between 3-5 can help drive more traffic to your posts without looking overwhelming.
4. Infrequent Posting
If you neglect to post for months on your firm’s social media accounts or sporadically post, your firm may begin to seem unreliable to those that follow the accounts. Try making a schedule and sticking to it. Fortunately, different social medias make it easy to regularly post. Facebook allows you to schedule posts ahead of time. To schedule tweets ahead of time, you can use platforms like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. You can even connect your firm’s Instagram and Twitter to your Facebook so any time you post on Instagram it will automatically post to your firm’s Facebook page.
5. Being Unresponsive
Social media is a great platform to connect with potential claimants. If you have people writing comments or direct messaging your firm via your social media accounts, answer them promptly rather than ignoring them or waiting to answer. You never know who may have messaged you with a fantastic case.
As you are taking the time to message people back, explore different groups and accounts. Respond to people’s questions and comments there as well. You can find organizations that align with your firm and try to engage with them. For example, disability lawyers may want to join or follow Facebook groups that help the disabled. This can help spread the word about your firm and reach potential claimants you may not have been able to before.
Properly using social media can help your firm grow and reach new claimants with ease. Next time you post on your firm’s accounts, keep these tips in mind to make the most of your social medias!