From Wallflower to Active Participant on Social Media

I’ve noticed lawyers pop into LinkedIn or Twitter once in a blue moon and then completely disappear.

If that’s you and you’d like to figure out how to enjoy some of the benefit others have found on social media, here are a few tips to get you started:

  1. You need a strategy. Define your target audience, point of different and purpose for your engagement, so you’re not scratching your head wondering what to do everytime you log in at LinkedIn.
  2. Don’t waste your time on sites that aren’t aligned with your goals. The fastest way to get turned off social media marketing is to build in activities that don’t go anywhere. Be selective about participating where your target market is more likely to be found. Determine ideal timing and frequency to reach your readers. And get yourself started with a base of connections that are likely to share, like and comment on your posts. Do the same for them.
  3. You will need to form new habits. Jumping into social media in a bigger way doesn’t mean you have to set aside a day a week just for posting! What you really need is to form a new habit that aligns with your day. When you check your email in the morning, take a quick look at your LinkedIn feed, bookmark an article to read later on and post a comment when you get to it. Set email notifications for only your highest priority groups or sites. That way you’ll minimize interruptions, but you’ll be able to respond when something catches your eye.

It’s a lot of pressure to figure out how to be quick, witty and charming several times a day… especially if it’s restricted to coffee breaks from phone calls, meetings, court appearances and other day-to-day activities as a lawyer.

Doing some of this foundational work will minimize decisions you have to make about where to spend your time and what type of engagement to focus on. Those changes alone can turn the social media black box into a manageable and transparent process. More importantly, they will help drive results.

For more reading on social media marketing, see the following posts on SlawTips:

Also see the following infographic on Bekhor Management’s website:

Sandra Bekhor, Toronto

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