In this competitive marketplace, lawyers and law firms need to do what they can to be authoritative sources of information and to market themselves efficiently to clientele. This is where social media platforms come in. The advent of social media revolutionized how information is disseminated beyond geographic barriers. At the same time, social media allows for complex interactions to take place between people and experts and leaders. It is the potential of this technology that should make lawyers and law firms jump on the social media bandwagon.

Giving Them Something They Want

Social media accounts attract people, and potential customers, based upon what the account is going to offer people. This offering is more than a superficial list of goods and services a company or professional offers; what most people on social media want is information that makes them want to interact with the account even more.

Authority

In terms of a law firm or a lawyer, people do not want to hear what services the law firm or lawyer provides, but what insights on law their social media account can provide. This is especially true when it comes to the type of law the lawyer or law firm is focused in. For example, if a lawyer or law firm is focused on patent law, the social media account can be saturated with information, opinion, or links to news stories about patents.

Which Platform Works Best?

This question is difficult to answer, as each form of social media has unique advantages and disadvantages. A blog, one of the most common social media platforms, allows a writer, such as the private practice lawyer or a lawyer from a law firm, write their opinion or argument about an emerging trend in law. Micro-blogging platforms may allow the law firm or lawyer social media account to network trending news stories or links to other blog posts. For example, lawyer Joe Tacopina twitter account has a consistent stream of tweets on law-related stories that interest him. Therefore, people who discover his account may follow it to learn more about law stories he finds interesting.

Proper Interaction

One of the things that a lawyer and a law firm needs to be prepared for with social media are the interactions they will receive on the platform. Comments, messages, shares, and other forms of communication flourish social media, allowing people who are interested in what it is being posted have a say in the conversation. This can be a difficult since a lawyer or a law firm may not have the public relations acumen to react to comments or messages that could be highly critical or ask very deep questions related to the social media posts. Many law firms tend to be private in their public relations so their brand toward clientele is not soured. However, investing in social media in the first place should help a law firm or a lawyer escape their comfortable confides and begin to interact within a larger community. If people tend to be too critical to the point of posting offensive material, most social media platforms have programming that can flag the commenter as being inappropriate. Also, one does not need to reply to every message given to the social media account. Keep in mind that the more the people behind the account seem responsive to comments or messages, the more likely the general community will appreciate and respect the account and, hence, the law firm or lawyer’s brand.

Conclusion

Social media can help lawyers or law firms escape their shell and interact heavily within a community of people who have a vested interest in the type of law the firm or lawyer finds interesting. Using social media effectively can help with the firm or lawyer’s brand awareness and help make them into authoritative businesses related to law. All of this can help with the firm or the lawyer’s networking and reach toward new customers.