How to Select a Social Media Manager for Your Firm
If your law firm engages in marketing, more likely than not, you have social media channels open to the public. Unfortunately for those firms that are not run by social media savvy lawyers, more often than not, their social media pages will just be embarrassing and somewhat pathetic.
We all know what this means: Barely any followers that aren't obviously staff, family members, or close personal friends, and feeds filled with thinly veiled advertisements for legal services, questionable reviews, and various seasons' and holiday greetings. Fortunately, social media marketing can be quickly and easily turned around by hiring a good social media manager. But when it comes to hiring a social media manager, with the exception of prior experience with social media marketing, do you know what to look for?
Below, you can find some helpful advice on how to select a social media manager for your law firm.
Focus on Experience
Like selecting any other employee, experience matters in a few different ways. And for a social media manager, you may want to look at their own personal and business social media channels first.
Do they have big followings on the platforms they engage on? Are they on all the platforms you want to be on? What kind of content do they regularly engage with? How do they handle the "trolls" and spam bots and haters?
You want to know this because, as you know, social media puts your reputation on the line, and your rep will always be your best marketing asset. Any social media manager must be able to manage multiple channels, understand your firm's needs and brand, and above all else, needs to be good at writing (and proofreading).
Test Your Candidates
While it is a little bit over the line to request candidates to draft social media posts as part of the interview process, it can give you a better idea of what you can expect from them, and whether they have the ability to write and create content in a voice that you feel properly represents your firm. One way to do so is to provide the candidate with a short press release from your firm's past (or one that you create for the process), and ask them to create posts for various social channels promoting the press release.
ProTip: If you think that you might want to use the content that a candidate creates, be sure to do the right thing and pay them a fair price ($25-$50 for no more than an half an hour to an hour) and let them know up front that you may use the content they create, regardless of whether they are selected (hence, why they're being paid).
Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.
Related Resources:
- Should You Re-Brand Your Law Firm? (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Want More Money? Take Free Online Business Courses (FindLaw's Strategist)
- What If You Can't Be Happy Practicing Law? (FindLaw's Strategist)
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