Scenario Based Workflows Utilizing Social Media

03
Apr
2012

Natalie Alesi

Social media. The articles and information never stops regarding this topic, it is here to stay. However, many law firms and solicitors/attorneys may be missing the boat.  Kevin O’Keefe did a great blog post the other day called “The Anti-Social Media” regarding law firms being aniti-social with social media is costing them revenue by implementing strategies that focus on old-media ideas and one way communications on social platforms.  The reason is that law firms are continuing to push one way marketing and business development like they did in the 20th century.

They are not fully utilizing the power of relationship building when it comes to working with the tools and channels social media provide.  Thus, creating a possible loss in potential revenue because the message is not built for collaborating and relationship building to promote “world of mouth” and conversation. Social media is about people, networking, conversations and relationship building. It takes hard work and time to build these relationships, just as if you were networking the traditional way, this is no secret.

Recently, my personal friend and colleague, Samantha Collier and I did a free webinar hosted by RocketMatter.  As we were putting the presentation together, we started to discuss the exact topic that Kevin O’Keefe later blogged about and came up with Scenario Based Workflows.  These workflows visualize the process that law firms and individual solicitors/attorneys can take when embarking on a social media strategy. We wanted to share these with you.  We covered scenarios on four channels: LinkedIn, Blogging, Facebook, and Twitter.

A key reminder that regardless of the channel or group of channels that you choose, it is a commitment. Starting a presence on a channel and then not keeping content relevant and consistent will work against you. Formulating a strategy based on your target client and target audience is key. Doing research on your target audience and understanding their online behavior first, will determine where you should start.

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We found that many attorneys and law firms started with LinkedIn as their first channel for social media.  It’s a good place to start and the learning curve for the site is relatively easy. The key in this scenario is to spend at least 10 – 15 minutes every other day to answer questions, join discussions and have conversations.

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This scenario utilizes blogging. This particular platform is perfect for creating and maintaining a long term strategy for building online relationships.  Blogging should never be forced within law firms, although we do realize that this happens.  The key in this scenario is relevant and consistent content where readers of the blog formulate an opinion that the people who maintain the blog are the experts on the topic.

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This scenario focuses on allowing a cross-over between your personal life and your business persona.  Privacy settings and lists are important when utilizing this platform. Not every practice or every solicitor/attorney will find Facebook to be relevant to their business, however, if the end goal is to increase presence and you have a large network of friends, you can establish expertise in a subliminal way.

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Finally, Twitter. This is my personal favorite platform for sharing expertise and creating conversations.  Twitter ties all of the other platforms together (with a  bow!) and completes your online presence full circle.  It is the perfect complimentary platform for sharing content across all the other channels.  The key with this scenario is, again, consistency and relevant content.

So, what other scenario based workflows are you implementing in your firms and with your practice? What would you add to these and share? A full copy of the presentation can be downloaded at my blog, LegalersWelcome.