Social Media is Word of Mouth on Steroids

When I ask lawyers where their business comes from, invariably they tell me either “word of mouth” or “referrals.” But these same lawyers wonder why they should participate in social media.

I just finished reading Gary Vaynerchuk‘s book, Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion. The credit for the title of this post rightfully belongs to him, and it bears repeating:

Social media is word of mouth on steroids

Simply put, your reach on social media and the power of word of mouth or referrals is exponentially increased. Social media is networking, but taken online, which means you can reach more people more quickly than with any other medium. Relationships are built online every day. Consider the popularity of sites like Facebook. Wouldn’t you like to harness that power for your practice?

Earlier this month, Kevin O’Keefe wrote a post entitled, “Can Social Media Kill Your Law Practice?” Both O’Keefe and Vaynerchuk caution that obtaining a large following, whether on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to develop your personal ‘brand,’ disseminate your content, establish your expertise and build relationships with those who ‘follow’ you so that they can then disseminate your content for you (an endorsement, or ‘word of mouth’) to those in their networks who trust their opinion. Then it’s up to you to close the deal.

In order to accomplish all of the above, you have to follow up with contacts, participate in the conversation, provide valuable information and links, and be generous – endorse others and link to their content. Look for ways to take the relationship offline or to establish personal connections outside of social media to enhance the connection.