Social media can work for small town lawyers

With all the discussion of social media and legal marketing, the question arises how do to I leverage social media in my home town. ‘I’m not marketing a niche legal practice that attracts a national clientele.’ Becky McCray, an Oklahoma small town entrepreneur with a liquor store and small cattle ranch, believes small town professionals have the most to gain from making new connections via social media. Guest blogging at Chris Brogan’s community and social media blog, Becky offers some tips in her ‘Social Media Starter Moves for Small Town Small Businesses.’

From Becky, here’s 5 ways you can use social media with my accompanying commentary.

• Twitter to make connections. Twitter can be an enormous time sink if you treat it that way. If you treat it as a way to meet people, to expand your horizons, to learn from others, and to feel connected, you can make it a useful tool for your business. Start by adding a handful of people, and let your network grow organically. Check Twitter Packs for more people in your industry or in your state. Share cool discoveries, information, and just connect on a human level. Twitter does not require constant attention, check in a few times a day.
• Blog to position yourself as an expert. Part of what makes a small town special is the sense of community, and that’s what blogging does at its best. Find the blogs already talking about your field, and start reading and commenting. Follow and comment on blogs that reach people in your community even if the blog does not relate to the law. Then start your own blog, telling stories and sharing information helpful to community members.
• Facebook to reach the community. Even in Becky’s home town of 5000 people, there is a healthy group of Facebook users. She just got an invitation to join the community summer band, via Facebook. She’s also seeing small town people using Facebook as a tool to remain connected even as they spread out around the country. By staying active yourself, you can make and keep connections based on this natural geographic affinity.
• Local community websites. In your town, you might find people online at the local newspaper site, an independent community forum, or even on a local business’s website. The disadvantage? These are usually hotbeds of local politics. Use caution.
• Experiment to learn.Use Flickr to connect with your local photo enthusiasts. Sign up with Utterz to give on-the-spot reports. Use Operator11, Ustream or Blog TV to share meetings, trainings, or build a networking group across distance. Your goal is not to be on every single network out there. Your goal is to try the tools that could work for your business, or even for your clients, and learn them. Drop the ones that don’t help you. And remember that it’s not all about getting business, it’s also about connection, learning and thinking.

I grew up and practiced law for 17 years in a small town in rural Wisconsin. Connections with people was what it was all about. Getting to know people and talking with others was a way of life. We didn’t do it because we felt the pressure to market our services, it was the natural and polite thing to do.

With the advent of online social media and social networking, remember at its heart, connecting with people remains the same. Enjoy communicating with people, getting to know them, and sharing your mutual interests.

Online tools such as Twitter and blogs may seem awkward at first. That’s okay. But they’re just communication tools. With a little use and trial and error, they’ll soon feel as natural as saying ‘hey’ or tipping your hat to others as you pass them on the sidewalk.