While utilizing social media platforms can make a great impact on the exposure and reputation of your law firm, managing these accounts is no small feat. Handling social media is so much more than posting the occasional update on your channels. No matter the job title at any law firm – Partner, Associate Attorney, or Firm Administrator – it’s difficult for anyone to find the time needed to run a law firm’s social networks. Review the warning signs listed below to determine whether or not it’s time your law firm outsources its social media work.
1. YOU’RE ALWAYS BUSY AND SO IS YOUR STAFF
It’s often the case that law firms pass social media responsibilities off to staff members that already have full workloads on their plate. Thinking someone can manage a firm’s social accounts while there is “down time” from their other work duties is a mistake, as social media work will tend to fall at the end of the to-do list. This mistake leads to inconsistencies in posting, non-existent engagement with audiences, and wasted opportunities in growing your law firm’s online brand. Remember there’s a reason social media management is a full time job in itself.
2. NO RESULTS-FOCUSED STRATEGY IN PLACE
When you expect a staff member to manage your social platforms as a side gig, the person more than likely does not have a marketing strategy or goals to refer to and work off of, as they are more than likely just trying to keep their head above the social media waters. In contrast, an outsourced social media provider’s entire workload centers on your law firm’s overarching business goals. Before they even start to post on your social channels, a social media vendor will consider things like target audiences, current audience demographics, website traffic from each social channel, and current audience engagement rates. From there, they develop social media marketing goals for the month/quarter/year designed to help you achieve your law firm’s overall business goals and solve potential challenges you might face in the digital marketing world.
3. YOU AREN’T TRACKING OR IMPROVING ENGAGEMENT RATES
High engagement is always a goal for each social media post. The more users engage with your posts, the higher your social channels will rank in their respective algorithms, which means a larger audience will actually see your posts. It’s important to take time every week (or everyday if you can swing it) to measure results and analyze what content is or is not working on each of your channels. The benefit of hiring a social media team is that they have the knowledge and tools to track this information at their fingertips. As they post content each week, they track key details like post interactions, the reach of your posts, and overall engagement rates.
4. NO ORIGINAL CONTENT FEATURED
Sharing occasional content from your law firm’s website on social media is one thing, but posting unique, gripping content everyday is a whole other task to tackle. If you don’t have the resources or know-how to create original graphics, professionally edit photos, curate interesting content from around the web, or produce video content, it’s probably time to find someone that can.
5. YOUR FOLLOWING IS AT A STANDSTILL
Last but certainly not least, your following should always be trending upwards. If no one is taking the time to track audience numbers, how will you know what needs to be tweaked in order to improve and increase your social media following? A strong social media strategy needs to be in place in order to consistently increase your social audience. This includes having a social media marketer with the skills and bandwidth to engage with followers, target appropriate audiences, develop content, utilize social media ads, measure the impact of their efforts, and make necessary updates and changes in real time.
A good social media marketer doesn’t stop at posting content every week. They work everyday to proactively engage with followers and potential clients, they measure the impact of every effort, and they use this knowledge to build on their strategy for the next day. If the warning signs listed above sound familiar, and you’re interested in hiring social media help, contact the social media professionals at Stacey E. Burke P.C. today.
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