Social Marketing 101

Social Marketing 101 for Lawyers

By: Mina N. Sirkin, Esq.

What on earth is Social Marketing?

Social Marketing is simply the act of marketing by digital connections to others on the Internet who are themselves connected to people with whom you want to associate.

How is social marketing different that advertising?

Unlike advertising which produces immediate results, social marketing does mot produce immediate results. It is geared to produce long-term bonds, which if cultivated properly, will result in new clients, but which results may not be immediate.

How do you participate in social marketing?

1. Join some social networking sites.

2. Link to your friends and business associates.

3. Start a relationship with the those who can influence (“Influencers”) lots of people on social networking sites, blogs and social tag sites. Exchange ideas, documents, videos, web links with your “Influencers.”

4. Cultivate the relationships which you built by a stream of regular contact by using either a CRM product, or sites such as ConstantContact.com.

5. Meet, greet and email your Influencers and social networking contacts whenever you can.

What are the better known social networking sites?

a. LinkedIn.com

b. Facebook.com

c. MySpace.com

What are social tagging sites?

Social tagging sites are the social sites where you can share “found content” or your “favorites” with others who share the same interest. Some examples of Social tagging sites are: Technorati.com, Del.icio.us, and Digg.com. There are many others if you wish to explore this.

What are social document sites?

There are many to sample. I have recently joined is Scribd.com. This type of site allows you to make new friends by sharing documents with other like-minded people.

What are social video sites?

One great example is YouTube.com. You can make new friends on YouTube who share your interests. For example, if you are targeting an audience in their 50s, you can search for music or topics of interest particular to that age group. Additionally, you can post your practice videos or introduction videos on YouTube and link them to your site.

How to use blogs in social marketing?

Write articles for blogs and post comments on other relevant blogs. Send links of your articles, blogs and blog comments to your social network.

This article is part one of five articles on this subject.

Mina N. Sirkin, is a Certified Specialist Attorney in the areas of Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. She practices in Los Angeles County, California.