9th Day of Social Media
Today is the 9th Day of Social Media! It also happens to be my very last. We've worked hard over the past several years to give you, our SIG members, tools and practical tips you can use in your job. We've put on countless webinars, posted articles on new and exciting topics in the social media space, gave you 12 Days of Social Media, and hopefully, provided a bit of humor and friendship. Thanks to our members who've stuck with us over the years. We have a great community, and I look forward to watching it grow (albeit from a spectator chair). And to my fellow co-leaders, it's been quite the ride - thanks for doing this with me.
And so, on this 9th Day of Social Media, and my final hurrah, how fitting is it that I present an interview with my other favorite Laura, Laura Powers!? Laura is the Chief Marketing Officer at the savvy Furia Rubel firm out of Philly.
1. What's the next big thing in social media marketing for law firms in 2016?
I see opportunity in Periscope and the ability to status via video on Facebook. As firm leadership and individual attorneys become more comfortable with creating and broadcasting video, this type of rich media content will become more prevalent among law firm social media marketing efforts. Answers to frequently asked questions, short commentary on industry trends and topics and vlogs (blog posts primarily in video form) are prime content that can be easily and quickly created by firms. Video marketing should be viewed as a direct way to connect with audiences on relevant topics that can be digested quickly and easily by viewers with short attention spans.
2. Who do you see doing social media marketing right, and what can others learn from them?
The companies that are doing it right have a content strategy in place that is developed specifically for social and minimizes direct marketing messages. By creating engaging content, they make themselves attractive and appealing to target audiences. A few good examples are GEICO, H&R Block, and Humana.
Their strategies are humorous, educational and informative, and their profiles follow best practices for providing contact information, a list of services and where to find more information.
3. What’s the biggest challenge for law firms trying to be active in the social media space, and how can they overcome it?
Firms are consistently challenged with the idea of content development. They understand that social media engagement requires the creation of original content, however they don’t believe that they have enough topics, tools, time, personnel to keep a campaign running. This is a myth. Similar to the ideas for video creation above, the questions that are asked by current and potential clients and relevant industry and news topics are already top-of-mind for attorneys and can easily be drafted for a 300-500 word article or blog post. Attorneys have a myriad of general content at their fingertips everyday; they just need to refine their content engine. Once edited and posted online, a single piece of content can be shared a number of times (depending on the platform) using one of a variety of tools that can help firms of all sizes manage their campaigns.
We see the most success when firms create social media committees to support writing, reviewing and editing and to manage social profiles. The committee is committed to maintaining a schedule and holding others accountable. In addition, social media posting tools (we use CoSchedule) are invaluable timesavers for sharing content and monitoring on engagement and reach.
About Laura Powers
As Chief Marketing Officer at Furia Rubel Communications, Laura oversees digital and traditional marketing initiatives for clients. Furia Rubel provides expert strategic planning, branding, marketing, advertising, online/interactive, public relations, and media relations programs to professional services companies internationally. As an integrated agency, Furia Rubel implements multi-channel campaigns to reach target audiences and effectively meet objectives for brand positioning and company growth.
Laura Powers
Chief Marketing Officer
Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
2 Hidden Lane, Doylestown, PA 18901
P: 215-340-0480
E: laura@furiarubel.com
Web: www.FuriaRubel.com | Blog: www.ThePRLawyer.com
T: www.twitter.com/lppowers
FB: www.facebook.com/laurapowers.philly
LI: www.linkedin.com/in/powerslaura