Create successful social media… even if you are a one man band

You’re the lonely person at your company or firm:  the one person marketing department. You’re going grey, gaining weight and starting to drink…a lot. But wait!  There’s help before you decide to pull the plug and move to Alaska permanently. These tips will help you pull off a successful social media miracle and pave the way to buy-in at your law firm, dental practice, or where ever you may be working as the lone ranger trying to execute your social strategy.  But first, there is no doubt:  all social media ends with your website—the only platform you control.  If your website does not help you to bring new clients, it might be time for a new one.  Now, back to social… keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither can results be seen without at least 6 -12 months of diligent, but manageable work that can prove successful.   Remember, you only get out, what you put in and that  means 1 -5 times a week of activity.

Sure fired ways to get sign on and success (whatever that is)

Define success:

1. Growth: The obvious—new clients, patients, sales, etc.
2. The Long Tail- PR: Your post, blog, tweet, etc. gets picked up by the press and gets out to various news outlets.  Next month or next year, someone calls you based on the article.
3. Search Engine Optimization: More traffic to your website and that’s great! More traffic, more potential leads. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and has easy to find contact information or forms. Also ensure your website is set up with Google Analytics in order to monitor where your traffic comes from

NOTE:  Analytics can be beneficial when using any social media especially to see if you increased traffic to your website, followers, or engagement. There are free tools like Google Analytics, Facebook insights, etc. as well as paid tools like Sprout Social. 

Google Analytics Panel:  Where traffic comes from

Google Panel:  What pages they view

Create Content:

1. Original content: the best for giving your company a voice and search engine optimization (the most time consuming, but the most impactful)
2. Curate: Share other content (and add a line or two with your own voice and or opinion

Original Content Types:

1. Easy topics: new partners and new clients. Sharing successes helps build street creed.
2. Opinions – Longer original content with the most social and SEO impact
3. Videos – I know many people are camera shy, but Google is an amazing tool for SEO – mainly because Google owns YOUTUBE. A book can be written about video, but it’s starting to happen big, and really deserves another article.
4. Power Points: Add to slide share – helps with SEO. You can also embed the slide share to your website.

NOTE:  How to get it all done?  No staff and no budget?  Consider hiring a passionate student in your field of practice to write 2 articles per month.  Give them the topic and make sure a partner approves the article.

Laser Focus:

Pick one area of practice or topic and spend 2 months in that area.  Narrow casting focus can help you achieve results more quickly than having a strategy spread too thin.  You will notice the increase in those pages on your website.  Are people landing on them and not calling or emailing?  This is a great opportunity to evaluate the page structure and/or your website content to make that area generate phone calls and leads.

Be authentic and be passionate:

Don’t write about something just to write about it.  Have a view point that is uniquely yours, generate and encourage conversation.

Pick one or two outlets… don’t go crazy:

The top platforms:

1. Linked In
2. Twitter
3. Instagram
4. Facebook
5. You Tube
6. Feeling adventurous? Periscope for live video – it disappears in a day, but then you can save it on Katch.me

Get ONE partner sign on and build a micro plan for her/him:

Success with one partner/practice will help get some (not all) on board and pave the road to an increased engagement track record.

Remember to eat:

In case you are wondering what food has to do with this, it was the best-catered food I have had in recent history, thanks to awesome, healthy delights from Ox Verte. I also wanted to thank the Legal Marketing Association NY for another powerful Special Interest meeting on March 3. Much of the content for this article comes from their 4 speakers:

Marc Handelman: Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein + Selz
Guy Alvarez: Good2bsocial
Josh Brinen, Esq.
and of course, Bruce Segall, Chair, NYLMA Small Firm SIG

Lori Shecter is the CEO of We Are Immediate, a New York-based digital research, design and development agency.