Social media

The benefits of social media

Increasingly, practices need to engage with clients online. It’s the connections that you can make with clients that makes the difference. Successful social media strategies reinforce the fact that people like to deal with people to create relationships, rather than businesses.

Social media can be a successful marketing and branding tool if used well. It can be a cost-effective way to engage with existing and potential clients, raise your profile, build loyalty, increase traffic to your website, and increase referrals.

Firms can use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to invite clients to receive updates, comment, provide suggestions, share case studies and experiences, discuss products and services, post testimonials, establish closed networks and allow clients to connect with other clients.

Blogging is another way of sharing timely updates with clients. It can also drive new clients to your website to find out more about you and your business. Always try to include links back to something you have published on your own website to drive more traffic.

You should use social media to support and enhance relationships with clients. It should complement but not replace traditional marketing techniques.

Managing your reputation

It’s very important to manage your online reputation. You and your staff need to know what is said about your business on social media, and you need to be sure that your staff know how to (or whether to) respond if a comment is made.

Create a social media marketing plan

It’s important to understand that each social media channel attracts different users and that not all channels may be appropriate for your audience and objectives. Your first step is to develop a social media marketing plan that fits into your overall marketing and business plan.

Think about the following when making your plan.

• Your goals: If your goal is to grow your business through your existing client base, then you may choose to use social media to educate clients about your products and services.
• Your target audience: Different types of content will resonate with different audiences. If the engagement you develop through social media channels does not meet your business goals then a different approach will be needed. Trial the different platforms and track your performance.
• The type of content you will post: This may be case studies, blogs, interviews with clients or sharing third party content. This content needs to be interesting and relevant.
• Who will write your content and how often you’ll post: Plan your posts so that they build on each other. We don't recommend spamming (numerous posts per day). Try posting a few times a week on key platforms. The key is to post content that your followers are interested in.
• Encouraging client feedback: Encourage your clients to post testimonials or provide feedback via social media.
• Establishing yourself as a content expert: Consider writing business blogs or posting videos on YouTube. You can use individual social media channels to promote and amplify your blog posts.
• Monitoring your online presence: This will allow you to see what clients are saying about you. For example, you can Google search the practice name or use tracking tools to measure what people are saying about the firm. This information will provide a starting point in developing your strategy.
• Keeping profiles up-to-date and interconnected: Your profiles need to be engaging and include a photo.
• Maintaining consistent branding: Ensure consistency across your website and social media platforms – your website should be a central part of your online strategy; nothing can replace a good website.

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