Social Media Trends From 2014 That Lawyers Need to Know

Social media for lawyers may seem anathema for some, but it can help find clients and grow law businesses more quickly and with less effort than anything you might have been doing to date.

So what are the key trends that emerged in social media in 2014?  The infographic below shows what is happening with social media’s growth, but let’s look at the major social media networks for a snapshot on what they’re doing.

And what can law firms focused on SEO and growing their clients do to leverage off those trends?

Forget the Kids

Social media is not just for kids.  It is for business – including lawyers.  It is embedded in every sliver of the Internet and on every page.  If you don’t have access to social media links with your website or blog you’re missing a big opportunity to achieve better online rankings and more clients.

Almost three-quarters of all internet users are also active on social media – so why wouldn’t you be there?  In fact, for the “kids” (those aged between 18 and 29) that figure climbs to 89 per cent.  And in the 30 to 49 year bracket it sits at 72 per cent.  Even those in their 50s are active at the rage of 60 per cent. So you ignore these people at your peril.

The other major trend here is that 71 per cent of users look at social media using mobile devices.

The Major Social Media You Need to Know About

Facebook is the big one (although others are closing the gap) and it has over 1.15 billion users globally.  You’ve seen those “Login with Facebook” pages, well they are used to access over one million pages and for Americans almost half say that Facebook is their number one influencer when they make purchases, including for professional services like lawyers.

You only need to look at the smart, big name brands – including the biggest law firms – to see that they use Facebook to help spread the word about their firms. The same goes for big-name brands ranging from motor vehicles and fashion houses to movie studios and retail outlets.  Facebook is a key component in their marketing online.

And many small law firms have grown their businesses using Facebook as a smart and fast way to target their “audience” and grow their law practices.

If you want to receive our free “Facebook for Lawyers” ebook click here.

 

What About Google+

No-one can ignore Google in just about any aspect of their lives and many predict that their social media network, Google+ will eclipse Facebook

  1. There are now over 1 billion  with Google+ enabled accounts
  2. It has reached 359 million monthly active users
  3. Google+ is growing at 33% per annum.
  4. The 45 to 54 year old bracket  increased its usage on Google+ by 56% since 2012

 

Twitter

Twitter has to be taken seriously.

  1. There are now over 550 million registered users
  2. 34% of marketers use Twitter to successfully generate leads
  3. Twitter was the fastest growing network with a 44% growth from 2012-2013
  4. 215 million monthly active users

Twitter has also made some changes in the last few months that has made it more visual and engaging. Business should no longer be ignoring the 140 character pip squeak.

The Social Media Contenders

There are other important and growing social media channels that cannot be overlooked, including Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, Vine, Slideshare and many others.

This year expect the visual social media networks to hit more home runs.

Keep an eye on these two:

  1. Pinterest with 20 million active monthly users
  2. Instagram with 150 million active monthly users.

 

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