Attorney Advertising - Personal Injury TV ads

The Social Media Revolution: How to Use Social Media in Your Law Firm (Part 1)

Hi there. My name is Clay Frickey and today I will be sharing with you part 1 of a running series of blog posts on how to use social media in your law firm. I hope it is informative and will get you thinking about what opportunities there are for your law firm on the social web.

Social media has become the hot new movement in the world of advertising and marketing. Recently, I watched a video that shows the impact of social media on the cultural landscape. Here is a link to the video:

http://thedenveregotist.com/article/4806/the-social-media-revolution/

So, what does all of this mean to you? Do lawyers need to be concerned about their online presence? Absolutely! More and more lawyers are beginning to dip their toes into the social media waters. Some dove right in, using services like Twitter and have amassed thousands of followers that read their tweets. Here’s an ever updating list that contains all of the lawyers that JD Supra follows on Twitter. As of today, there are over 700 lawyers using that JD Supra follows.

http://scoop.jdsupra.com/2008/09/articles/law-firm-marketing/145-lawyers-and-legal-professionals-to-follow-on-twitter/

Does this mean that if you aren’t on Twitter, that you’re going to lose market share to your competitors? Not necessarily. If you haven’t considered Twitter or the benefits of blogging or search engine optimization, on the other hand, you would be doing yourself a disservice.

So, what’s the next step if you aren’t actively engaging in social media? First, educate yourself on the topic of social media. Search on Google for legal marketing blogs. Then, read what your competitors are writing about. This will give you guidance on how to write your blog and show you how your web presence can improve. Then, after finding some other blogs that you like, comment on blog posts you agree or disagree with and start a conversation. After being involved in a conversation on these blog posts, you will begin to see the power of blogging and the internet in general.

Next time, I will be discussing how to set up your own blog and how to use it to drive business to your law firm.

Never underestimate the power of a personal story. Testimonials reach people in a personal and emotional way that facts simply cannot do alone. They remind your audience that you work with real people, individuals just like them.

If you have ever tried to sell a home you are familiar with the concept of letting potential buyers see themselves in your home. Your real estate agent or house staging consultant will ask you to depersonalize by putting away family photos and making the décor more neutral so that people looking at the house can mentally superimpose images of themselves, their families, and their stuff in your living space.

Testimonials can help you accomplish a very similar goal, but by doing the opposite. Where we tend to see homes as a very personal space, easily overwhelmed by the personality of the current owner, images of your office can easily make your firm appear too cold and unwelcoming; too business like. Testimonials can neutralize that effect. They allow you to maintain your image of professionalism while helping your clients visualize themselves working with you one on one. Seeing examples of real life people who have unique and personal anecdotes to share about how you worked with them, sets their minds on the course of imaging the little personal touches that would come into play in their situation.

Then, of course, there is the believability factor. You can rattle off the numbers and give the statistics for your success. You can even tell specific stories yourself. But hearing it from the horse’s mouth has more impact. Seeing the real emotion and hearing the authentic voice and wording from a client who has benefitted from your help in their time of need just sounds more real and tangible, no matter how honest and believable you are to your potential clients.

When you incorporate testimonials into your television ads, they need to come across as authentic, but still need to maintain a certain level of professionalism. The clients on the screen should not look too polished and destroy the credibility factor, but they should be well groomed and well spoken. It is a careful balance.

Please contact Network Affiliates today to learn more about the power of testimonials and how to achieve that balance that will bring clients in rather than turning them off.