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You probably love the law. You almost certainly love helping clients. But business development? Maybe not so much.

Our insights from the ³ÉÈËÓ°Òô Bellwether 2022 report show that business development is a low priority for law firms. In fact, only 17% of firms surveyed said they have a strategy to address their own business development needs.

Across most of the professional services landscape, referrals remain the highest ranking source of new leads. So naturally enough, this leads to a tendency to rely overwhelmingly on this as the primary source of new business.

But these days, social media isn’t far behind. Online channels are growing exponentially and the developed world has settled almost entirely into the digital era. Online communications have become second nature through the pandemic and many businesses have come to rely on these new ways of living and working. (Although, to be fair, Zoom quiz PTSD hit some people pretty hard).

So, why should you use social media? And why should you stop being afraid of it?

Social media has over 3 billion users worldwide. That’s 42% of the world’s population and rising.

Most of the main platforms are completely free to use, and they serve up plentiful insight data into your target sectors (like the main challenges they face, and their overriding priorities). Compared to traditional advertising, social media is an incredibly inexpensive way to build your practice’s brand, and can be much more precisely targeted.

Teleconferencing is currently the most widely used tool by law firms. 79% of you use it. It’s popular because it lets you speak to clients around the world - reaching new audiences unrestricted by distance. Social media can help you communicate with these clients and tap into these new markets, too - there are very few international borders in the online world.

There again, it’s this lack of structure and boundaries that can feel overwhelming - particularly to a profession where structure and precision is highly-prized. Online is such a freewheeling environment, it sometimes feels like anything goes. So where to begin? Your ex-study-buddy from law school writes daily 1,000-word blog posts on her commute. Your business partner posts a picture of his coffee once a year. Which is best?

The answer, of course, is whatever you think your audience will find interesting and will help to build affinity with you and your practice. What report did you read recently that’s informed your thinking? What influenced you when you were training that you might share with aspiring lawyers today? Was there some fascinating news on breakfast TV that you picked up on?

From a business development perspective, it’s all about demonstrating your insight, knowledge, awareness and expertise. Because these are the things that will help you win new clients.

Your clients are on LinkedIn and Twitter

Lawyers tell us that they use social media whilst sipping their morning gallon of coffee to see what’s new in the industry, and to catch up on the news headlines. So share any nuggets that you come across. It’s such an easy way to keep your profile ticking over and visible.

If your audience finish their coffee before they finish reading your post though, you’ve probably gone too far. Keep your long-form posts to LinkedIn articles or blogs. On the main social media platforms, keep things short, snappy and to the point.

Your social media profile is your online showcase to the world. Since the earliest times, traders have created beautiful layouts on their tables to pique interest and show off their wares. The principle has remained the same for traditional methods of business development, and it’s no different in the online world. The golden rule is to think about who’s reading what you’re writing. What do your contacts and audiences want to hear about? What can you tell them that will add value to their day?

And finally, if do you make a mistake on social media, you can just delete it. Most platforms also let you edit and update posts once they’re live. So you can rest in the knowledge that you always have a safety net.

Read the full report on why small and medium law firms are focusing on social media.