How to Rise Above the Noise on Social Media

September 19, 2017
Daniel Decker

These days, social media feels like a digital war zone. Facebook and Twitter in particular. It’s impossible to spend more than 30 seconds on my Facebook news feed without stumbling into a political flame war. Angry opinions everywhere… actual facts, hard to come by.

The challenge for us, as business owners and marketers, is to figure out how to rise above the noise – how to build an engaging and effective social media presence despite the chaos around us. 

Here are some ideas…

1) Understand your target audience. First and foremost, you need to know who you’re talking to. 99% of the “noise” on social media is irrelevant to you, and your best bet is simply to ignore it. You don’t need to address most of the controversies that erupt on a day to day basis. You’re not going to change most people’s opinions on the topics of the day, and you shouldn’t try to. What matters is that you know who you need to reach on social media (in short: potential clients & referral sources) and that you know what type of information THEY are interested in. For business purposes, you can safely ignore the rest.

2) Be a voice of sanity. There’s arguably no better way to stand out on social media in 2017 than being a source of accurate, reasonable, and helpful information. Position yourself as a trusted advisor, as a clear-eyed leader amidst the storm. Help your audience separate fact from fiction, help them understand legal issues that impact them, and help them to understand their options if they’re facing a challenge.

3) Share practical, relevant information with your audience. In most situations, your audience isn’t looking for your political hot takes. (There are exceptions – immigration attorneys commenting on Trump’s DACA changes, for example.) What they are interested in is actual, practical information that they can use to improve their lives. If your target market is small business owners, show them how to strengthen their contracts, how to protect themselves from lawsuits, or how to navigate vendor disputes. If you’re in family law, share information about how to protect your kids during a divorce, or how to recover emotionally after the divorce is complete. Bottom line – provide information that your target audience can use to improve their lives, and they’ll look forward to seeing your updates.

4) Be consistent. Consistency is important in regards to timing, but also in regards to the themes and messages you discuss. Share content on a regular basis – we recommend posting daily, or at least a few times per week. And, it is important to consistently share content that reflects your practice and that resonates with your target audience. Consistency is how you build a strong brand. And it will help you stand out in a chaotic social media space.

Social media can be a great marketing channel for your law firm. It allows you to reach your network, to reach clients, and to reach your referral sources. But using social media effectively requires a strategy to help you rise above the noise – because it’s easy to get drowned out if you don’t have a plan. If you’d like some help making this happen, click here to request a call with my team today.

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Daniel Decker

Daniel Decker is a co-founder and Partner at Spotlight Branding. In addition to helping lawyers stand out from the crowd, he spends his time writing, dreaming up new marketing strategies, and coming up with catchy subject lines. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys playing sports, guitar, politics, and Minnesota sports.