A 3-Step Formula to Maximize Your Social Media Effectiveness

That's the problem for a lot of us, isn't it? What if you say something wrong/stupid/offensive? Those sentiments will forever be memorialized in the cloud, ready for everyone and anyone to see it. Returning to the idea of Mr. Franklin's tenet, let's ensure we do only the things worth reading (or watching). What are those things, you may ask? The good that's happening around you.

As I write this, in the middle of the COVID-19 health crisis, there's never been a better time for a legal marketing professional to look for the good she or he can highlight within their communities, within their firms or companies, or for individual people.

Those in Mr. Franklin's era had an arduous two-step job:

1. Produce content worth reading. This is both difficult and time-consuming.
2. Physically distribute the paper on which that content was written. This is also difficult and time-consuming.

Said another way, the distribution of the content (i.e., hoping people see what you wrote) was a harder process than writing the content itself.

Here's the great news for you and me in our current era: now you can help ensure your content is seen through purposeful promotion in a digital world for free, at the push of a button. Unlike the days of finite paper, finite distribution, and a fixed audience (based on proximity to you), our ability to reach a worldwide audience is unlimited.

Here's a three-step process you and I can use, then, to help you stay in front of your target audience:

1. Say what you're going to do. This is as easy as a post on social media. "My team and I have an initiative to raise money for our local food bank. We'll be hosting a virtual coffee session with the mayor, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and the CEO of ABC Company here in town. Care to join us? Here's the link to register." This is your first touch with your target audience.
2. Do that thing. Like in Mr. Franklin's era, this is the difficult and time-consuming part. Create the content, or in this case, effectively document the content. In this example, you'll be the one responsible for booking the guests, creating the agenda, and moderating the panel.
3. Show your audience what happened. As an epilogue to the event, share the results. X amount of attendees, Y amount of money raised, here are the notes from our panel discussion, etc. Again, very simple compared to step #2. Take excerpts of the transcript or vignettes of the video and share them on your social media accounts.

Here's an important consideration: Content you create is something to which you grow acclimated very quickly. After the process of writing or recording a video is done, you know that content front and back because, hey, you originated it. Once you're done, if you're at all like me, the last thing you want to do is revisit that same material. You just want to move on to the next thing, don't you? That's the exact opposite of what needs to happen. This is when the real work starts — the promotion of the content. Promotion, however, is so much easier than the creation. It's time-consuming work, yes, but simple.

Think about the Hollywood production process (or Netflix, or anyplace that makes movies or series): do everything necessary to create and produce a show, "tease" that the show is coming, and then send the stars of the show on a press junket to promote the movie/series. This tried & true process is what we should use as well, but I see so few people/companies following this straightforward and proven approach.

Say what you're going to do (simple), do something worth writing (difficult), and say what happened (simple). By adopting this three-step strategy, you'll garner more attention from your target audience, and equally as importantly, remind them that you do what you say you're going to do. Many of us have great intentions, but until they're codified in a written sense and shared with the public, those intentions don't materialize.

All of us, especially now, are jockeying for attention in a crowded digital and social environment. By sharing good news about others, you're effectively shining the spotlight on them and away from yourself. This is not to your detriment, however. Because we have unlimited media available with which to propagate the messages we choose, you'll be in the tiny minority of people who are highlighting others first.

Good news, good acts, and good people are prolific, despite our very challenging current environment. We've all heard of posts going "viral," and a way to help ensure that happens with yours is by adding a layer of virality — if you will — to your posts. Focus on others with your posts and who will, in turn, share your posts with their audiences? Those whom you're highlighting. In the aforementioned example, the mayor, the president and the CEO (from your panel) will all share their involvement with your initiative, and you'll have exposure to their audiences.

Will you adopt this three-step formula in your social media strategy?

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Spencer X. Smith is the founder of spencerXsmith.com and AmpliPhi, and services law firms throughout the country. He is a faculty member for the State Bar of Wisconsin's Business of Law Conferences, and is also an instructor at the University of Wisconsin and Rutgers University. He may be reached at spencerXsmith.com.