SOCIAL MEDIA
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Building Your Practice and Your Case With Social Media Why, How and Ethics Warnings
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ccording to a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center, 69 percent of adults in the U.S. use social networking sites. If you have not yet considered reaching potential clients through social media advertising, now might be the time; and as always, be sure to mind the ethics warnings. At the SDCBA’s Law + Technology Summit in January, attorney and law technology expert Jeff Bennion covered how and why attorneys should market and advertise on social media. At the same seminar, attorney and SDCBA Director Renée Galente shared wisdom on ethics for social media. Here are a few key points from their presentations:
Why Social Media? In an age where we have almost unlimited information at our fingertips, to potential clients it may seem suspicious if an attorney is not “out there” on the internet. Would you buy a TV that doesn’t have any online reviews? Social media is unique because it allows you to target your audience in very specific ways. Some social media platforms provide the ability to reach specific demographics
by gender, age, location, interests and more, giving you the ability to better reach potential clients.
Types of Social Media Marketing and Advertising YouTube: Why • Content posted to YouTube is evergreen, meaning it is not necessarily “news” and is relevant at any time. Unlike Facebook posts, which are seen the day they are posted and are then put on a shelf, YouTube videos show up in searches for years after they are posted. • Google owns YouTube, which helps you rank better in search results. • YouTube videos can be repurposed for Facebook videos. YouTube: How • Videos should be short (about a minute long) and answer simple questions. • You can even make video slideshows in PowerPoint.
• Include links to your website or other social media. • Include a description to help with search analytics. • Make your videos part of a playlist. Twitter: Why • Twitter is great for branding. • Tweets allow you to send short messages, and not substantive content. • The amount of tweets and followers displayed on your profile is like a badge of honor — it’s the most prominent item visitors see when they arrive on your page. Twitter: How • Start by following newspapers, organizations and influential people. • Retweet important posts, adding comments. You might get a public thank you, which exposes you to that account's followers. • Tweet original thoughts and comments. March/April 2018 SAN DIEGO LAWYER 17