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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
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!