Though service professionals may not be the first people to come to mind when you think of Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, they are primed to succeed in today’s social media landscape. Professions like accountants, lawyers, and doctors have so much of value to contribute to the world of social media, but they do have special considerations. If being a professional service provider is your job, and you’re thinking about developing a social media strategy, keep reading to discover five good reasons to get started and three hurdles you’ll need to overcome along the way.

Reason #1: Your Topic is relevant to many

Being able to provide real value in your social media feed is the secret to success, and almost everyone can benefit in some way from reading about your subject! Your challenge is finding the most compelling topics. What valuable information do you have to offer? What is your particular niche? Do you work mostly with small businesses or people? Do you help a lot of freelancers or concentrate on oil and gas or real estate? Do you serve adults or children? Social media is “the” place to become a thought leader in regard to your specific business focus!

Reason #2:  Professionals have lots to talk about

Compared to some professions where there can be a shortage of consistent, valuable content, professional services is information-heavy, and people are always searching for the knowledge you have. With a little thought and planning, you can provide value-added posts for the rest of time.

Examples:

• Innovations in your area
• Effects of new legislation
• Small business ownership
• Personal money management
• Current events
• Important deadlines

You can also spice up your feed by showing a more personal (yet still professional) side of your business. Your audience will gain an appreciation for what you do by seeing your employees, charities, office events, and more. Give them a peak behind the curtain to build brand loyalty.

Reason #3: Professionals are looking to expand their client base

Who doesn’t want to grow their business? Social media is a perfect place to raise awareness, meet new people, and nurture relationships all without leaving your desk or paying for advertisements. Building an arsenal of frequently asked questions means positioning yourself as an expert when potential new clients are looking for the information they need on social media.

Reason #4: Professionals need to build trust

Social media is one of the best places to build trust with existing clients while expanding your network. The combination of high-level expertise with personal touches like seeing how your office functions on the day-to-day will solidify the relationships you have while offering ongoing  opportunities for growth.

Reason #5: Professionals are accustomed to continuous learning

Others may balk at the initial learning curve for social media, but you’re accustomed to learning new things. You must meet your profession’s requirements for training every few years, and similarly, social media practices are always evolving, developing ever more changes to master. Good thing you’ve got an edge on the competition there!

Now that we’ve seen how impactful  social media can be for your business, let’s take a look at a few hurdles you may encounter along the way:  

Hurdle #1: Professionals have a heightened need to be accurate and follow best practices for social media

With regard to accuracy, I don’t have to tell you how important it is. Just like with preparing taxes or filing a motion, your social media content needs to maintain the highest standards of accuracy and integrity while remaining easy for your audience to follow.

As your posts act as a visible representation of the quality of your professional work, you need to not only follow best practices for your field, but also best practices for social media. Download our Foolproof Posting Checklist to make sure each post you submit is up to par.

Hurdle #2: Professionals need to work harder than some to make posts interesting and appropriate for their audience

Your subject matter is complex, and not everyone has a foundation for understanding it. You will need to know your audience’s level of knowledge and shape your posts accordingly. Are you reaching out to small business owners, CEOs, or individuals? Considering your audience and tailoring your posts is particularly important when posting content for non-professionals. You’ll have to work a little harder to keep you audience engaged and let them know why they should care.

Hurdle #3: Professionals need to find time to post

Social media takes time. And we all know that you stay busy. But the good news is that moving from novice to business proficient can considerably cut down on the time it takes to post. As you develop your social media skills, there are myriad online resources from schedulers to automation and lead generation tools that can help you increase efficiency and streamline your social media process.

So what does all of this mean for today’s professionals?

Opportunity is knocking when it comes to social media!

You can:

• Find and develop leads
• Drive people to your firm’s website
• Keep up with referral sources
• Stay top of mind with all your connections
• Develop as an industry thought leader

Yes, it also means you’ll need to learn the art of posting. You will need some training at the start to understand how to produce consistent, high-quality posts, and you’ll need to keep up to date with social media changes that pop up from time to time.

Still on the fence? Here are a few more metrics. A survey by the Social Media Examiner shows that:

• 92% of marketers find social media is important to their business
• 91% of marketers that spend 6 hours a week on social media generate increased exposure for their business and 66% are seeing lead generation benefits
• Over 50% of marketers actually save money on marketing overall when they include social media.

Taken together with these statistics from those who were early adopters of social media, you can see that social media rewards are there for those who pursue them. Set some initial goals and get started using social media for your firm today!

Small Biz Brands offers a social media app with a 4-week Social Media Challenge that addresses the difficulties and amplifies the opportunities for professionals using social media. Learn more at www.smallbizbrands.com.