Social media plays a part in most careers now. We get frustrated with it, ignore it and argue with it, and it is not going anywhere, the legal profession included. It has become a real channel inside the firm, between the firm and its clients, and between the firm and its competitors.
It can help a firm in several ways:
- Building your professional brand/identity both as a firm and as an individual attorney.
- Establishing a name within your community and your practice area.
- Keeping up with new developments in the legal industry.
- Using social media privately with trusted resources.
Lawyers are trained to be careful with words, and social media still needs guarding. Experts Simon Chester and Daniel Del Gobbo share pertinent advice,
“All firms should develop a social media policy that encourages the use of these new and emerging tools in innovative ways. Get input from all stakeholders and participants by establishing a committee of your rainmaking lawyers, senior managers, IT experts, marketers, and members of Gen Y to devise your specific firm strategy.
The involvement of young minds is essential to the process. Lawyers unfamiliar with the tools should enlist new associates fresh out of law school to provide practical tutorials. They’ve always swum in this sea, and naturally, have a different mindset.”
Professionalism and ethics are the critical factors in a social media policy, and your jurisdiction’s advertising rules govern much of it. Some commonsense guidelines:
- Involve your marketing staff in the process. Social media is an excellent way to promote and enhance your brand. Know and understand your target audience. Choose social media platforms where your potential clients are active.
- Create professional profiles for the firm.
- The primary use of posts should be informational. They should help educate clients and contain links to articles and posts outside of the firm.
- Keep promotional content to a small share of what you post.
- Develop a posting schedule, with specific days assigned to each contributor.
- Establish general guidelines on what is acceptable and desirable material to use for online posting.
- Choose length guidelines for the different types of articles to be posted.
- Offer incentives for participation.
- Post company news, but avoid photos that demean your professionalism.
- Encourage staff to use wisdom and respect on their personal social media accounts. They are representatives of the firm.
- Recognize that different generations will have different angles and styles.
- Know technology tools well and stay up-to-date with new features.
- A senior member of staff should edit contributions from junior staff, and everyone should have a second reader for grammar and punctuation.
Technology changes constantly. A commonsense approach to it, and a willingness to use what works, benefits every industry, the law included.
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