What Is Social Media—and How Can It Help Grow Your Law Firm?

These platforms can be accessed through the internet or on smartphone apps and are designed to be intuitive and straightforward. The features and purpose of each platform are different, but there are some common elements you’ll find across all social media.

For every option, you start by creating a profile. On most platforms, you have the choice of setting up a profile to represent a person or a business.

 
Once your profile is complete, you can:

• Connect with other people (these will usually become “followers,” “friends,” or “subscribers”)
• Publish content in the form of posts, which your friends or followers can see and engage with
• Interact with other users’ posts by commenting, resharing, or “liking”
• Send direct messages to chat with another user privately
• Gather analytics about the people who interact with you

For example, you could create a Facebook account for your law firm and set up your profile with images and basic information about your firm. Then, you can follow other profiles, which means that their posts will automatically appear in your “news feed.” You can scroll through your news feed whenever you want, browsing posts from people connected to your network.

If you see a post that interests you, you can show your support by clicking the “like” button. And if you want to respond to the content of the post or have something to add, you can comment. This may start a conversation, with you and other users replying back and forth about the topic at hand.

You can also publish your posts with text, images, videos, and links, which will then show up in your followers’ news feeds—and which they can then engage with by liking, sharing, or commenting.

There are many more features for creating content on Facebook — and every other platform — but those are the basics.

Types of Social Media Platforms

 

There are many social media platforms, but most tend to fall into a few overarching categories. Here are some of the primary types that may interest you.

Social Networks

Social networks are the most common type of social media platform. These platforms are where you connect with other users to share details about your life or business, exchange ideas, and show off content.

These platforms are a great way to develop a loyal following and stay top-of-mind with potential clients and referrers.

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are widely known social networks.

Media Networks

Technically, media networks are just a type of social network. These platforms emphasize visual content (such as images, graphics, or videos) rather than text.

This type of platform is ideal for spreading information in an easily digestible format. For example, an infographic is often a better way to educate followers than a bland wall of text. Videos are also an excellent way to explain complicated topics while humanizing yourself.

The most popular media networks are YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

Discussion Networks

As the name suggests, discussion networks revolve around conversations. Typically, a user will post a thought or question, which other users respond to, creating a conversation.

Discussion networks can be an effective way for experts to respond to industry questions or gain insights from their peers. By participating, you can build your brand and establish yourself as a go-to source of knowledge in your niche.

Reddit, Quora, and JustAnswer are well-known discussion networks. Blogging sites such as WordPress could also potentially fit into this category.

Review Networks

Review networks let users leave a public review of their experience with a business and organization. These reviews usually feature a star rating and a text testimonial. The owner of the company can then respond to these reviews.

Review networks are an excellent method for boosting your public reputation—or hurting it. In fact, your online reviews may be the most important factor in how people perceive your business.

Popular review networks include Yelp and Google My Business. Google My Business has many more features than just reviews, such as Google Posts.

How Social Media Can Help You Grow Your Law Firm

As you might already see, social media is an excellent tool for:

• Increasing brand visibility
• Growing your professional network
• Demonstrating expertise in your legal niche
• Drawing more traffic to your law firm’s website
• Humanizing your practice
• Reaching your target audience
• Staying top-of-mind with prospects
• Attracting more leads

If your law firm isn’t leveraging social media marketing, it could cost you clients. But running an effective social media campaign still takes a lot of work. Instead, let someone else take on the hassles.

At Let America Know, we give lawyers across the nation the expert support they need to take their social media campaigns to the next level. Just contact us, and we can discover the unique needs and preferences of your law firm.

Click here to learn more about our done-for-you social media program customized for trial attorneys.