Social media has been a strong marketing tool for law firms everywhere throughout the past few years. As social networks continue to emerge and change, so do common misconceptions about how to use them. Today we are going to cover some of the most common social media myths that could be hurting your law firm and its social media marketing efforts.
1. Social media is completely free.
While it is free to sign up and use most social platforms, if you want to reach your channel’s full potential you will need to invest a great deal of time and usually a bit of money into your social efforts. Even a small budget for things like boosted posts on Facebook or ad campaigns on Instagram can go a long way when it comes to the reach of and engagement with your social media content.
2. My law firm needs to be on every social platform.
Of course it is important to increase your brand’s exposure and spread its digital footprint across various social platforms; but, it is completely unnecessary for your law firm to be present and/or active on every single social channel out there. Managing and engaging on social networks takes heaps of time and special attention. Think about your law firm’s social media marketing goals, your target demographic, and make strategic decisions about which channels are right for you.
3. I should only share my law firm’s content.
If your law firm’s updates and content are the only items you share on social media, people will get bored. Mix in local news articles and relevant videos or graphics. Share posts from respected colleagues or news outlets. This will not only help to build connections but will also help grow your following and increase audience engagement with your social posts.
4. I should share several posts a day.
Wrong. Think quality over quantity when it comes to posting on your social channels. Your firm needs to post regularly but not necessarily every single day. The keys to social posts are timeliness, consistency, and relevance.
5. I’ll see results in month or two.
Also wrong. While there might be an exception if your law firm shares an exceptional or timely video that goes viral, social media requires consistent strategic effort over time to build a solid following. Oftentimes, it can take three to six months to see regular, predictable results meeting your firm’s marketing goals.
6. I can publish the same exact post on all of my social media channels.
While it might save time, posting the same exact content on every channel (especially automatically feeding it out to all channels at once) is a very common mistake law firms make. Every social channel is different; they have different demographics, requirements, and best practices. In order for your posts to succeed, you must understand the nuances of each network so you can tailor what you share for each network and at what time of day you share it. You’ll want to consider things like post length, image sizing, age, demographics, hashtags, etc.
7. A large following means my channel is successful.
Having a large following is only a superficial indicator of success. Followers alone do not necessarily affect a law firm’s success on social media. Engagement matters far more than a vanity metric like follower count. Are people liking and commenting on your posts? Are they clicking on your links? Are you engaging in return? These factors matter so much more and will carry more weight with both the social networks and as social signals that benefit your search engine success.
Social Media Marketing Help
While this list might seem simple enough, many law firms still fail to create social strategies with realistic goals in mind and further fail to measure key performance indicators or track their return on investment properly.. If your law firm believes and abides by any of these common myths, you need help with your social media marketing efforts. Contact the legal marketing experts at Stacey E. Burke P.C. to learn how we can help.
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