contrary to popular belief social media is not a vanity metric i know you're probably rolling your eyes right now because you heard that song and dance before you've probably wasted a lot of time and money investing into social media only to see it do well nothing trust me i used to have those same doubts until i figured out what makes social media marketing tick if you want to know how to make social media marketing actually work for your practice then you're watching the right video [Music] hi i'm jessica aries a digital marketing strategist and leadership development consultant who helps busy lawyers and professionals elevate their digital marketing and attract high paying clients for the best digital marketing strategies to help you spend more time serving clients instead of doing marketing subscribe and hit that bell to be notified when i post a new video too many lawyers i work with will openly tell me they don't think social media marketing works and they'll tell me flat out it's a losing strategy if you're watching this video and you're in that boat well be prepared to have your bubble burst because you're wrong and i'm gonna tell you why in this video i'm gonna share with you my top five strategies for using social media marketing to build a following and a sustainable and thriving practice you get it let's jump in feet first strategy number one start using video video is becoming ubiquitous among professionals as we become accustomed to using video in our daily interactions we're going to become more accustomed to video marketing as well video is so powerful i have clients who've literally paused all of their marketing efforts in favor of video and they're slaying let's be real there's a pandemic going on and there's no safer and easier introduction to you and your prospective clients than video video marketing is a great way to not only display your expertise but also establish rapport and put down the first building blocks of relationship building with your prospective clients so pull out your ring light and start polishing your ideas into great content because you're ready to be on video that leads me to strategy number two strategy number two is to revamp your content for your audience not your accolades one of the most common questions i get asked when it comes to social media marketing is how to increase engagement you know likes comments people actually reading your content i'm just gonna share what i do i follow the 80 20 rule outlined in social media success for every brand by claire diaz ortiz the rule is simple eighty percent of your content should be focused on delivering value and 20 should be focused on promotional content in other words if you're writing content for your audience it shouldn't just be focused on you that includes your video content a simpler way to say this would be if you post content five days per week one post per week can be about you the other four days your content should focus on industry insights sharing content from your network or commenting or providing a unique perspective on something taking place in your practice it's important to remember that social media marketing is not about you it's about your audience and your followers you want to create content that resonates with them not content that serves you and your self-interest when you create great audience-focused content you'll establish your credibility and trust with your audience once you've established that credibility and trust with your audience they'll come knocking on your door you won't have to knock on theirs strategy number three plan before you post before writing a social media post it's so important you do your due diligence to plan out your content one of the fastest ways to ensure you're delivering what your audience wants is to research the most common questions your clients are asking each time you go into a consult write down the questions being asked of you compile a list and then use it to draw inspiration for your next social media post and if you don't have a well-established library of questions that you've been compiling go to google start by typing in your practice area and see what google includes in its people also ask section on the search results this is a great jumping off point for you to start discovering what your audience is looking for once you have a list of questions see if you can draw a common theme from those questions i recommend that my clients then plan out content around those themes here's an example an estate planning attorney may have a theme around will disputes another around special needs trust and another round coveted related estate planning armed with these themes this lawyer can now draft social media posts that resonate with their audience tackling questions like how to avoid a will dispute what makes a will dispute more likely will my children fight over their inheritance and can an ex-wife dispute a will and win this is the power of planning your content before you create it strategy number four build an email list now that you've built a following on social media it's time to entice those social media followers to get to know you even better the best way to do this is through email marketing now you may be wondering what does social media marketing have to do with email marketing social media marketing is a gateway to your prospective clients eyes whereas email marketing is a gateway to their minds the truth is you and i are not zuckerbergs we don't own any of the social media platforms that we use daily we cannot control when facebook linkedin instagram or even google change their algorithm and leave us scrambling to find a way to reach our audience but we do own our email lists this is why using email to market to your ideal client can be such an effective and necessary next step in your digital marketing strategy strategy number five be overly generous with your knowledge i once had a lawyer tell me he was never going to post on social media because he felt his prospective clients should have to pay for all the knowledge he learned over his 30-year career he wasn't wrong but he also wasn't entirely right either you see being generous with your knowledge is a differentiator and an authority builder there are plenty of lawyers out there thinking exactly like that lawyer but those who take the time to share their knowledge in a generous way end up demonstrating their expertise and building their authority instead of hiding from the world i have never met a lawyer who has successfully marketed his or her practice on social media without demonstrating generosity those who generously share their expertise in a valuable way with their audience those are the ones who really reap the benefits from social media and their marketing efforts if you found this video helpful comment below with the word social media so i know to keep making videos like this if you enjoyed this video check out my other videos on digital marketing for lawyers want more tips on how to leverage social media marketing for client development join my email list by clicking the link below i share one great strategy each week if you like this video please be sure to give it a thumbs up share and spread it with your colleagues who need to hear it don't forget to comment social media if you found this video helpful too [Music] you
