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Social Media: Legal Business

Development

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How Law Firms Approach

Social Media

Source: Fred Cavazza.net

Social Media for Business

Development

Awareness

Interest

Desire

Hire

MARKETING

COMMUNICATIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA

BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA

Old Paradigm

Lawyers R Us

Call a colleague

Read a printed

news-letter

Go to a seminar

Look in Martindale

New Paradigm

Lawyers R Us

Follow a banner

ad See a Twitter post

Call a colleagu

e

Do a Google search

Attend a webinar

See a firm on

LinkedIn

Get 16 alerts on a topic

Read a blog

Watch a YouTube video

Social World Facts

• Social media is “cool” but no

Managing Partner that I know

will fund “cool”

• Management wants business

developed as inexpensively

as possible

Social World Facts

• Legal sales are relationship sales and social media helps everyone create and sustain relationships, especially “I” types

• Firms HAVE generated REVENUE from integrated social media strategies. Most commonly through blogs integrated with other social mediums

• AmLaw 100, watch out, Social Media has leveraged the playing field!

Are We All Just Doing It Wrong?

Evolution of Legal Marketing:

– Individual lawyers siloed with no

marketing

– Focus on only marketing the firm

– New world order: Individual attorneys

and firms must be marketed and

support each other

Its’ time to shake things up!

SOCIAL MEDIA CASE STUDY

Integrated Social Strategy =

Revenue • Problem: Differentiate market leading Corporate Social

Responsibility practice from consulting firms & educate clients/prospects on why they a lawyer should do this work

• Tools: Sr. Associate who was devoted to business development, liked to write & interested in social media

• Tactics: Developed a blog, Leveraged twitter, strategic online advertising, LinkedIn and the firm’s social media platforms

• Result: New business from one Fortune 100 company that did not know about us until they saw our blog content and asked to pitch to another

CSR Blog Developed www.csrandthelaw.com

Online Targeted Advertising

Attorney and Firm Tweets

Highlight on Firm’s Social

Channels

Firm Google+

Referral Sources to CSR

Blog Content

Sources

1. foleyhoag.com 1,150 4.02

2. google.com 508 2.77

3. lexology.com 262 3.35

4. business.humanrights.org 249 3.28

5. facebook.com 137 3.10

6. google.co.in 121 2.55

7. google.co.uk 115 2.65

8. twitter.com 103 2.65

9. thecorporatecounsel.net 84 4.23

10. lexology.intranet.gbp.co.uk 78 2.85

Market Success Stories Internally

SOME BEST PRACTICES

• The primary social channel for law firms and attorneys as it is deemed “Safe” and “Professional”

• Has it become just a recruiting tool and is it really safe?

• Reviews/references can be very dangerous for lawyers

• For firm sites – Option to post “Specialties” should be turned off

Firm Page

No Specialties Section

Firm Tweets

• Many firms are holding their Twitter name but

not using it

• Designate one person, with support, to be the

voice of the firm. Ideally the CMO as we have

ultimate responsibility for our brand

• Tweet alert/blog content but mix it up

• RT attorneys and others

• Interact with clients and organizations

• Follow people important to your firms practice

• Follow clients and mention them

• TweetDeck and Hootsuite allow you to share

message across platforms

• DO NOT install firms account on your phone

or iPad.

Fan Gate

Start interactions

with calls to action

• Tell who you are

• If you do not tell your story, Facebook will do it for

• Easy way to communicate with law students, laterals and some alumni

• Post events – Feed from website

• Post Blogs and client alerts

• Post recruiting content

• Use “Call to Actions”

• Encourage firm to like the page. Attorneys are friends with great prospects. Easy way for them to know about where their friends work – we know they forget to tell them!

Tweeting Lawyers

• Support attorneys to tweet

• If they tweet about work or RT the firm, they should indicate that they work at the firm.

• To leverage Twitter for business you must have a personality on it

• RT others

• Engage in appropriate twitter chats

• Do not be afraid to insert personal content/interests

Blogs

• Create fresh content that engages readers without crossing the line

• Require existing content and editorial schedule

• Review comments but allow them and RESPOND

• Do not micro-manage attorneys but require conflict checks if company names are used

• Encourage/require attorneys to market on their personal social platforms

• Monitor activity

Remember • Social Media IS about a longer-term marketing and

communication strategy

• Social Media IS a tool in the marketing/communication toolbox that can be leveraged for disseminate our message to the broadest possible audience

• Social Media IS a tool that allows consumers of our service to consume information in the manner that THEY choose

• “Marketers who embrace social media will out distance competition, build community following and boost loyalty”

• Social networking is essential to professional service firms for business development and marketing reasons.

Forrester Research 2008

Tracking Clients

• Your clients are someone else’s prospects. If they are on social channels, they expect you to be as well

• If you are not tracking them, someone else may be

• Connect on LinkedIn, FB

• Follow on Twitter and monitor what the people and companies you follow say!