Social media is an important piece of a smart law firm’s marketing plan. But sometimes lawyers feel nervous about sharing on these platforms. It’s common for people to feel self conscious or worried about sharing on these platforms.  I recently took a social media masterclass of sorts through the Legal Marketing Association and came upon an interesting read from Everyone Social. In their blog post, the author highlights some of the best reasons why people feel compelled to share content on social media. There is a lot of interesting information in the article, but following are some paraphrased bullet points on why people are compelled to share on social media that resonated with me.

• To provide valuable and entertaining content– informing, amusing, and helping others drives 94% of people to share on social media, according to The New York Times.

• To define ourselves– with each individual owning a personal brand, the content we choose to place on social media gives our identities flight to many people. The Times again tells us that 68% of peopleshare on social media to communicate who they are and what they care about.

• To grow and nourish relationships– making and maintaining connections is easier on social media. The New York Times reveals 73% of people share online to meet others with shared interests and 78% share to communicate with people they otherwise wouldn’t stay in touch with.

• To fulfill ourselves– this one seems so obvious yet a little hard to say out loud for fear of being perceived as selfish, but sharing is personally enjoyable and keeps us connected to the larger world.

• To get the word out about causes or brands– building visibility for ideas and products is one of the main reasons marketing consultants encourage their clients to share.