The world of social media constantly ebbs and flows with general marketing – what’s trending, who’s talking about what, who’s following who. It changes to map the mood of its users, and reflect the topics which are being discussed.

‘The reality is’ according to a recently published Guardian article, ‘you no longer drive company and brand messaging – your customers do’

Making use of the way your customers interact with your brand is the key to social media – and if you are a law firm or solicitor then this is no different. Being brave with what you share and how you share it may well be the key to actually bringing in new clients. Gone are the days when setting up a Twitter, a LinkedIn and a Facebook with occasional sharing suffices – brands are now interacting with Tumblr, Instagram and app development to a level which improves user immersion and content generation. We now live in a visual world – people understand and interact with visual content a lot more than they used to…so if there’s something that can be said with images, the feedback you’ll get is likely to be greater and more beneficial to your brand.

Building a brand as a law firm is in many ways the same as building a regular consumer brand – customers now want to get exactly what they want, when they want and how they want it within a shorter time span than before. This means they are deemed to be an ‘always on’ customer – always logged in and always assessing the market and the competition. If your firm isn’t plugged in to the right way of using social media, there’s now a much greater chance they’ll go for a competitor.

Ensure you get personal with your customers – the technology doesn’t drive social media – people do. Ensure you recognize that and converse with individuals on a grass-roots level; one of the biggest mistakes law firms make is to not engage with users who reach out to you – retweet, reply, answer questions and thank people for interaction…it’s one of the biggest modes of lead generation within social media.

Measure ROI – it’s all very well having accounts you spend time on, but make sure you know that the time you spend on them is worth your while money wise. Look at conversions, lead generation and set some goals for your social media strategy. It’ll pay off in the long run.

You should always be aware of what people are saying about you online. Address any issues and get involved directly with the topics that the users you want to target talk about. Discuss, debate and hang out in online areas where professionals go – LinkedIn is still a popular choice for those in the law field.

Don’t be afraid to use a range of applications and tools to implement your social media marketing strategy. Tweet schedulers such as ‘Buffer’ and Facebook client ‘PostRocket’ allow you to schedule your marketing and the time you spend each day/week on social marketing. Let the technology do the legwork while you concentrate on talking to people and engaging with potential customers.

To summarize, remember to build relationships and talk to people through social media in conversational terms. Find out what people are saying about you, get involved, be proactive and if possible, build your online marketing strategy on your real-world marketing and make sure neither is neglected. Ensure your customers have the last laugh, and allow them to build their brand. Embrace user generated content and be brave – there’s a world of potential with social media that’s waiting to be discovered when it comes to marketing your law firm.

For more information on legal marketing, getting your social media campaigns in shape or to talk to a legal marketing consultant, contact Samson Consulting today (http://www.samsonconsulting.co.uk)

[Editors’ note – consider also Moore Legal Technology or other suppliers throughout the UK and search online for various tips articles.]