Social media for the small firm: how social media resources are leveling the legal marketing playing field.

• Author: Annis, Kelly

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All business is personal, and, nine times out of 10, a client hires a lawyer after making a personal connection The question becomes, how can we create more of those personal connections? Through advertising? Sponsorships? Seminars? Sure, each of these activities plays a key role in setting the business development stage, yet in the world of small firm budgets and limited financial resources, social networking is a viable--and highly worthwhile--alternative.

While we may marvel at our friends working in large firm marketing departments, there are many of us who do not have the luxury of extensive budgets or a 40-hour work week dedicated to the performance of one marketing function. For those of us flying solo--as the sole marketer in a small firm or practicing law in a solo practice--making the most creative and effective use of time and financial resources is critical.

Through social media, small firms now have just as much opportunity to reach potential clients as their larger competitors. With time and ideas (i.e., content) as primary resources, small firms and solo practitioners can build an online presence and gain traction in the market via social media and the use of social networking.

There are plenty of great articles detailing how to set up your social media profile, yet we need to address the "why?" and "what now?" of having a social media presence and a social networking strategy in the first place.

Why Should a Small Firm Even Try?

Social media and social networking provide small firms and solo practitioners with a platform on which they can have just as much impact as the big firms.

Cost: $0 out of pocket

Time is a precious, finite commodity to be certain. Yet time is really the only barrier to entry in social networking. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ are free for all, literally, which means they are marketing tools any attorney can afford. For those up to the task of more active writing about timely topics, you can create a blog and have it hosted for less than $500 a year and can raise your profile, drawing visitors and potential clients to you.

Small firms can make quick strides

A solo practitioner or a small, nimble firm--one without multiple layers of committees and approvals--can decide to launch a social networking strategy and be in the mix by the end of the day. (This is not to say that you should dive in without a plan Just like any other marketing or business development activity...