Never make the mistake of launching any client-attraction initiative without a clear-cut strategy for its success. This is a very common mistake. It is much more than just setting up a page on Facebook or a profile on LinkedIn. It takes much more thinking through and planning as well as insights on you practice to be successful at social media. When developing a social media strategy for your law firm you need to give serious thought and attention to a variety of things.

I have put together 19 questions you need to answer to ensure you are developing a social media strategy that will actually help you achieve your overall goal for your law firm marketing, whether it’s client attraction or awareness creation.

1. Why do you even think social media will be useful in your overall strategy?

2. How well does social media complement your other aspects of your client attraction strategy?

3. Who is competent enough and should be responsible for executing your social media strategy?

4. What are your success indicators and how will you measure your ROI?

5. What do you hope to achieve?

6. What does your target market look like?

7. What is the purpose of the text and visuals that will be posted on your social media platforms? In other words, what emotions do you hope evoke through text and visuals?

8. What information is most important to your target market?

9. What path does your prospect take from searching for an appropriate lawyer to accepting to do business with you?

10. Where does social media fit within this sales cycle in Question 9?

11. What resources do you have to devote to social media?

12. What is the right tone for your posts, considering your target audience?

13. What types of content best complement your strategy’s mission?

14. What types of content will be best for each social media platform?

15. What is your plan to consistently get fresh content for the long-term?

16. What real life events are relevant to your target market?

17. What practice areas do you want to promote?

18. What social media platforms have the largest congregation of your target market?

19. What are the specific problems you can help your prospective clients solve?

When a social media strategy is developed and executed correctly, it can help you connect with prospects and generate referral sources you may never have found otherwise and drive the engagement on to more richly rewarding places like your blog, website or periodic newsletter.  The conclusion is that you just don’t begin the process without a clear-cut blueprint with a clear-cut goal.