Legal Marketers – Here Are 11 Reasons You Can’t Ignore Social Media
Are you a legal marketer or small to mid-size law firm still thinking social media is a fad that we’ll all look back on and laugh at in the future? You can keep thinking that, but you’ll be stuck on the sidelines while social media continues to grow this year. In fact, I’m going to give you 11 reasons you won’t be able to ignore social media this year.
Still in doubt ? Before reading this, you may want to take a look at a remix of one of top 100 most viewed on videos YouTube, (Best listened to LOUD)
1. Everyone is Using it
Okay, so it’s a bit of a stretch to say “everyone” is using social media, but the truth is there are millions of social media users and that numbers growing – FAST. According to one study, over 60 million Americans have read a blog. Worldwide, that number is closer to 350 million. When my parents send me YouTube links, I know that almost everyone is involved with social media now.
2. Social Media is Gaining Trust
One of the knocks on social media as a source of information used to be that it wasn’t trustworthy. Today, social media is one of the top sources of news and important updates. People are starting to gain trust in it, and as a result, it’s still growing.
3. It’s Still Growing
The bottom line is new people are becoming social media users every day. According to newly released statistics, Facebook is now growing by about 600,000 users each day. Blog reading has grown by over 66% in the last year. In other words, social media is still growing, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
4. Our President Uses it
President Obama certainly got the most out of social media. His campaign was highly active on Twitter, and now he uses YouTube to deliver his weekly address. It’s widely known that his communication strategy was dubbed “Obama 2.0.” He continues to use the web as an important means of communicating with the American public.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pledgeprojectcanvass
5. When One Social Network Falls, Another Rises
Whenever a social network starts to decline in popularity (see MySpace,) detractors are quick to say that social media really is a fad. What they fail to realize is that the demise of one social network doesn’t spell the demise of social media. While MySpace was waning in popularity, sites like Twitter were exploding onto the scene. So, don’t be fooled by the downturn of a single social network. Others are stronger than ever before.
6. It’s Fast
In this increasingly digital society, speed is of the essence. We want the latest information, and we want it now. That’s another reason social media is so popular. Bloggers routinely break the latest stories, and the instant interactivity makes social media a hit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed conference coverage on blogs, Twitter, and other sources.
7. Cost Efficient for Firms
With the economy continuing to spiral out of control, more law firms are looking for new, cost-efficient ways to create and communicate with their target audience. Social media is fast becoming a priority for many of them. It’s one of the cheapest, fastest, and most effective ways to tap into the consumer pulse. Rest assured, the number of legal firms using social media will only rise in 2009.
8. It’s Passionate
One of the main reasons social media is knocking newspapers out of business is the passion behind it. With social media, lawyer have leeway to inject their personality into the mix, and things are a bit more informal. As a result, this connects better with readers than stiff, impersonal content. Love them or hate them, social media users are as passionate as they come. Just hang out on on this blog for a few minutes and read some of the comments, if you don’t believe me.
9. It’s Free- Everyone loves anything that’s free…
10. Social Media is Versatile
The social media landscape is more versatile than ever before. There are social networks for virtually every niche imaginable, and the legal industry is no exception. Whether you’re looking to talk DWI laws or providing your clients with a new billing strategy, there are social networks out there for you. This versatility means that everyone has a place in the social media realm.
11. The Internet is Social
At the end of the day, this is the biggest reason you can’t ignore social media. The Internet is an inherently social medium. That won’t change. People will always want to engage with one another online, and social media will be there in one form or another to accommodate this need.
Are you ready to pay attention to social media in 2009?
Are there any reasons you’d add to this list? Please share them with me in your replies!
Adapted from Eric Brantner on Digital Labz
July 6th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
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