Peter Wilkinson Panther Social Media
The legal profession is apparently considering the impacts of the recession on its business – in which case the first thing the average solicitors firm might want to consider is that social media advertising and marketing is potentially extremely cost effective.
There are two ways to do social media for law – you can pay for advertising, for example with a LinkedIn campaign that allows you to buy clicks or impressions on targeted ad content; or you can generate a free of charge ad campaign by simply using the tools at hand plus a lot of spade work and a little common sense.
Paying for social media advertising is a lot like Pay Per Click advertising on mainstream web pages – but with the added benefit that you get to use the social graph to target the people for whom your advertisements show. In other words, you guarantee that every time your ad displays it is going to places that represent a real chance of business. And like a Pay Per Click campaign in traditional net spaces, you can set your budget so your spend is never overshooting.
Using paid social media advertising spaces requires clever time budgeting. You need to be sure that your message is reaching people at times when they are most likely to be looking at the social media site that you are using as an advertising vehicle. You also need to understand that there will be competition for these slots, with the higher bidding solicitors firms taking the ad spots for the most popular times of day.
Research is key – just as it is in traditional advertising and marketing. You need to find your market before you sell to it: making sure that you are targeting the right businesses, the right individuals and the right sectors with the right language.
That’s right: language is still key in the advertising world. Speak in terms that your target market understands. Use the simplest, cleanest, clearest language you can for maximum message and minimum fuzz. Avoid buzz words unless you absolutely have to use them – they don’t mean anything and they are often seen as evidence of someone who has to hide behind them to conceal the fact that he or she doesn’t know what he or she is talking about.
That said, using fashionable technology can give a real boost to your advertising and social media presence – provided you use it where it is best to use. Video, for example, is an ideal way to get your solicitors “out there” with your clients in a non threatening, quick and informative manner. Have a professionally directed, short (that’s important) video made for each of your team members and post the video on their social network pages. That way potential clients can get a flavour of who they are and what they are like while still engaged with your page and your advertising choices.
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