Social media is a public relations game changer. As late as five years ago, social media wasn’t really a part of PR strategy, or if it was, it was pretty incidental. But now social media is almost as important as, if not more important than, traditional media when it comes to public relations.
But communication through social media is different, and even the messages you communicate through social media are different. You can’t just announce ongoing developments at your practice. You can’t just post fluff pieces. What you communicate through social media has to be interesting or useful to the reader, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a blog, or commenting on other blogs. Social media is a really important tool because so many outlets are out there talking, and you want to be part of that conversation. Just be sure you’re adding value to that conversation by offering meaningful content.
Tip: If you do decide to publish a blog, ensure its success by committing to it and making sure that it’s updated at least once a week.
A social media platform like LinkedIn is also a good marketing tool. Some users may allow you to see their connections. This can be a profound vehicle for identifying people you might want to reach out to because these contacts are literally opening their Rolodexes to you and revealing the names and companies of the people they’re linked to. Review these connections and identify targets you may already know but forgot about or new people you’d like to meet. Once you’ve identified the latter, call up your LinkedIn friend and ask for an introduction. Many of our clients are using LinkedIn as a way to identify people to reach out to.
Tip: Our clients often ask, “Do I need to be on LinkedIn? Do I need to be on Twitter?” Well, are your targets on LinkedIn? Are they on Twitter? If the answer is yes, then you need to be on there too.
Social media is an incredible new outlet that is really just at its beginning. It would be irresponsible not to find out which social media platforms your targets are interested in and to fail to use them, especially for young lawyers who will witness the evolution of social media. Social media is not going away, so it’s important to become knowledgeable about it.
For more tips, check out our marketing seminar “Benefitting from Public Relations.”