types of social media available

Social Media: Trends, Emerging Issues & Ethical Pitfalls

September 11, 2009

Matthew D. Austin | blog http://ohiolaborlawyer.wordpress.com

What is Social Media

The underlying goal of social media is to connect people who share some sort of commonality. Those people are more likely to turn to each other in their decision making processes.


Social Media Maxims Social media is just sharing who you are (Facebook),

what you do (LinkedIn), and what you think (Twitter)

Just because you are “friends” with someone online doesn’t mean they’d recognize you in a crowd of three people. Make your online connections the start of relationships, not the extent of them

Unless you measure the value of your real friendships by business you receive from them, it is unfair to hold your online friends to a higher standard

The only thing you’ll get from your online friends are their updates . . . unless you ask them for more


Social Media Maxims Ever think it would be cool to be invisible? Ignore

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and to a vast number of your potential clients, you will be invisible

Want to understand the value of being active online? Ask the guy standing in the corner by himself at your next networking event how many friends he’s made

First impressions are no longer made in person. People want to get to know you before they meet you – and the place they go is to the web. Are you there and what kind of first impression do you make?


Useless without a Goal

Rank higher in search engines

Show off expertise

Interact with others

Local or National clientele


Different Social Media Sites Serve Different Purposes Not everyone in the firm needs to fully

participate

Good writers Seeking national attention Friendly acquaintances Professional acquaintances

All lawyers should have detailed profiles


People Want to Hire People

Take off your lawyer hat

Talk to people, not at them

Interact, don’t advertise

Share a little bit about yourself and your interests

Overlap between social and professionalMatthew D. Austin | blog http://ohiolaborlawyer.wordpress.com

Skeptics of Social Media Say…

Why should I invest my time or money in social media when I can’t even tell what the ROI is from my investment?



My company is already making money and has been profitable for the past 10 years without ever using social media, why should I start now?



Social media is really just a guessing game; things are changing so quickly that it’s impossible to know what’s going to work and what isn’t


Different Types of Social MediaNewsVideo

ForumsBlogging

ProfessionalBookmarkingPhotosharingMicroblogging

Social NetworksAnswer Services


Social News

Users submit news articles that are voted up or down

Can comment on submissions and conversations ensue about the stories’ validity


Blogging and Microblogging

Paragraphs, hypertext links, pictures, etc.

Each should have its own URL (or web page)

Microblogging is Twitter and status updates


Social Networks

After the success of MySpace and Facebook, many corporations are considering adding their own specific networks for brands, products, and companies – like Disney, Toyota, and Coca-Cola.


Answer Services

Small but powerful niche

Members strive to give the best quality answers

Answers ranked / awarded points


Video

Fasting growing segment

Equalizer for many small business

Google owns YouTube

Can subscribe to channels, rate video and embed video on social networks or blogs


Bookmarking

Adds efficiency to your searches for useful information

Resources and you are easier to find

Additional promotional opportunities by being a better target for people who will be interested in what you are about


Photo Sharing

Gets good search results when photos are labeled with keywords that relate to your site; another traffic driver

Be cautious of who’s labeling you in pictures!


Professional

Several professional platforms exist for attorneys

Some open to the public Some require sign-up and log in to

search profiles


Forums

Great knowledge resources because trust is quickly built with the person dispensing advice

LinkedIn “Groups” and ListServs are examples

With forums for everything under the sun, they offer a place for communities to form, members to contribute, and information to be shared

Thousands of these types of services are out there


Types of Social Media Users

Super User Active User Greedy Webmaster

Hater Lurker Helpful Stranger

Clueless Webmaster

Avid User Average Joe



The Super User



The Active User



The Greedy Webmaster



The Hater



The Lurker



The Helpful Stranger



The Avid Learner



The Average Joe


How Many Types of Social Media Channels To Engage In

Some of the big brands engage in more than 10 and have a cadre of full time employees making it appear seamless

This presentation only deals with five channels: Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Video Sharing


Blogging – Who’s Doing It?

82% of American’s top 200 law firms are blogging – more than double the number since August 2007



Out of top 10 U.S. law firms with the most profits per partner, only one – Kirkland & Ellis – has a blog

And that one really doesn’t count because it was founded by an associate and the content is published by law professors and guest writers who have no connection with the firm.



Am Law Daily called the nine non-blogging firms

“The conversations we have centered on a general theme: The firms just don’t see the point. They are already successful, so they don’t feel the need to market themselves or prove their grasp of a particular subject matter in the limited spare time they have.”


Blogging – We’re Not Doing it Either

CBA maintains a list of bloggers on its website, and currently it has about 15 blogs listed

Blog should be your first tool of branding yourself and your practice, and then expand from there into other media

A blog is like a hub with spokes protruding outward. When you update your blog, automated messages can be sent to your other social media for followers to return to your blog and read what you posted. Once there, your blog can house your Twitter accounts, professional photographs, videos, and can conspicuously highlight your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles


What to Blog About

Read blogs pertinent to our practice areas

Write a week’s work of entries over the weekend

Automatically published throughout the week

SEO benefitsMatthew D. Austin | blog http://ohiolaborlawyer.wordpress.com

LinkedIn – What is it? 45,000,000 users

Average user is ~40 and makes $140k/year

Educational and professional history as well as rolodex and achievements on an intuitive page

Search old colleagues and connect with new people in an incredibly easy to use format


Creating a LinkedIn Profile It’s free and expected

Crete a detailed profile of yourself

Include descriptive keywords in the “Summary” section

Professional photograph of yourself in business attire

Obtain branded URL (www.linkedin.com/in/ohiolaborlawyer)


LinkedIn’s Indispensable Additions Status updates – like Facebook and Twitter, but

keep it professional

BlogLink – displays your latest blog posts on your profile

Box.net – allows you to create links to files such as briefs, decisions, and marketing kits

Slideshare – embeds slideshow presentations on your profile


LinkedIn’s Indispensable Additions Recommendations – give then get

Q&A – thoughtfully answer questions

Groups – join and/or create but make sure you’re active

Introduction – people in your network can introduce you to people in their network


Twitter The latest rage, but is it all hype?

18.2 million unique visitors in May 2009

5% of users account for 75% of all activity

85% of all users post less than 1 update/day

So Twitter is actually comprised of 910,000 users, tweeting less than once a day


To Tweet or Not To Tweet

Larry Bodine, law firm marketing consultant: “I don’t think that even justifies more than a

causal mention in social media strategy. After months of using Twitter, I’ve learned that it is a shouting post for relentless self-promoters, a dumping ground for press releases and advertising, and ego-driven competition to amass followers, and a target for computer-automated Tweets.”


To Tweet or Not To Tweet

Tom McLain, attorney “A fair assessment of my own marketing practices

is that my priorities have been wrong and I was spending too much time on Twitter and not enough on higher ranking methods.”


Conclusion: To Tweet

Same problems with advertising in the phone book or on billboards

Twitter, like email alerts, seminars, and holiday cards are not what build a legal practice, it merely helps sustain an established practice


How to Use Twitter

Expand your network

Mold your image

Distribute your news

Simulate the water cooler

Get noticed by news media


Facebook

250 Million users and growing

Firm “Fan Page” or personal professional page

Focus on business activities

Share articles and links to presentations on your wall


YouTube

YouTube was recently ranked No. 4 among the top U.S. websites according to Alexa.com

A recent search on YouTube for “Lawyers” returned 69,000 videos

Pros and cons with using YouTube as part of your social media plan


Pros of Using YouTube A video hosted on YouTube can be embedded

on your own website, Facebook, or blog

We live in a TV/Computer monitor world

Good way to augment your other content strategies

Favorable decision in a case? Frame it quickly in a two-minute video – and then post the legal documents on your website, Facebook, or blog


Cons of Using YouTube

Video may be detrimental to your marketing efforts.

Not having a series of videos

Video not text so title of video will be SEO, but not spoken word

No control over the videos listed next to yours – could portray things not in line with your firm image


To YouTube or Not to YouTube

If you are not going to take the time to prepare a series of quality videos, do not begin posting videos to YouTube

Search “bad lawyer advertisements” on YouTube if you don’t believe me


The Take Away Points Social Media should be embraced

Social Media is not difficult – everyone has started slowly, was self-conscious about what to post, and fearful of looking foolish

Social Media must be done consistently

Social Media is not a practice builder; it is a practice sustainer and practice reviver


Thank You

Matthew D. Austin [email protected] | 614.734.9440


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