Last year I attended the second Social Media Marketing for Law Firms Summit in New York City. Much of the focus was on blogging. No surprise there since pioneering blogger and CEO of LexBlog, Kevin O’Keefe, moderated the panel which offered lots of great insight and advice on law firm blogging. At this year’s summit leading law firms shared the lessons learned about how they use social media and content marketing to highlight expertise, build new business and expand relationships with existing clients. This included: how to get buy-in at the firm, establishing a strategy, the return on investment (ROI), and managing the channels. Here are the highlights, and keep in that it’s not a one-size-fits-all strategy.
How to work with lawyers at the firm who don’t get social media
Show them the firm’s clients on social media and conversations they’re NOT having with them
Offer training
Understand the generational divide and handle partners and associates differently
Show what competition is doing
At the very least, start with LinkedIn – personal profiles of every attorney + firm page and groups
How to get lawyers on board after they get it
Just take the lawyers’ firm bio and profile and put it on linkedIn
Assign lawyers as partner advocates
Repurpose content
Write during downtime – like while commuting
Partner within and outside the firm on content – lessens burden and nurtures relationships
How to get baby boomer lawyers at the firm (the decision makers) to engage on social media
Avoid using branding and marketing terms. Remember that many began practicing at a time when marketing was distasteful
Acknowledge the “lawyer personality” – resistant to change, don’t need help, I know my clients and they don’t care
Be ready for common objections: Only do what competition is doing; why would I stick my neck out? What if someone questions my content online? Am I offering legal advice?
Every step forward is a battle – one step at a time
Fold in traditional marketing activities – client alerts, press interviews, rankings, website bios, specialized events, LinkedIn
It’s a sales pitch
Don’t draw conclusion, let them talk – articulate their challenges/issues
Don’t offer the kind of examples just yet that will make them feel discouraged
Help them to arrive at their own conclusion
Meet challenges head on: distasteful, don’t see ROI, etc.
Start with their world (topic, peers)
Close the sale: would you be open to trying? – Start with analyzing clients on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Explain the benefits in terms of existing content
Show that it is THE professional social media destination
Show how you control who sees what
Show what you find interesting and relevant
Check out native metrics
#BDI1 @ddrab "The biggest risk in marketing is not knowing what is being said about you." #socialmedia
— AriKaplan (@AriKaplan) May 5, 2015
Fall out from NOT having a social media presence
Companies no longer control their brand. Firms need to participate in discussions and guide it – online, including on social media
Not being known what is being said about you. Social is where the conversation is taking place
What does a large law firm like DLA Piper’s global social media effort look like?
15 Twitter accounts
10 Facebook accounts
LinkedIn Groups and Pages
Instagram accounts
Zing (Germany)
YouTube
Google+
Results of social media and blogging for individual lawyers and law firms
Gained meaningful connections
Led to speaking engagements
Led to press interviews
Led to feature articles
Got clients directly
ROI is not just tied to revenue – press and thought leadership are returns as well #BDI1 pic.twitter.com/lv3d0SHfcz
— Shannon Ramlochan (@sramloch) May 5, 2015
Measuring Law Firm Social Media ROI
Easy to measure – reach and engagement
Hard to measure – leads, sales, brand awareness
Social share of voice
Take holistic approach, not month to month or quarter to quarter. And remember that not everything that’s important shows up in the box score.
“Analytics and data are not enough. Take corresponding action!”
Social Media Tools (There’s a bottomless well of social media tools. Here are four that were highlighted)
Google Analytics
Hootsuite
Simply Measured
Curata CMP
Adopt a long term view of Social Media
Business development and sales cycle of legal moves at a different pace than digital and social media
Consider content as a valuable asset – it’s not just a piece of marketing. It’s a building block
What makes a great ball player or artist? A body of work. View content and social similarly
How to create and promote content
Synthesize information
Connect the dots
Provide a thought provoking exercise
Be patient and consistent
Send out every blog post by email and social media
Syndicate your content (e.g. Mondaq, Lexology, JD Supra)
Law firms: Have something to say on social media
Choose your content carefully and strategically
Identify rock star lawyers and give them a voice
Don’t just post about awards, put out original content around the industry and topics you service
Ask: what’s the story?
Everybody is different. One size or strategy doesn’t fit all. Find your voice
Business development / Content marketing strategy
Find your niche
Know your audience and tailor messaging for each
Be authentic and memorable
Look outside the industry for inspiration
Repurpose content
Use analytics to drive content
Create robust social media profiles and promote content and engage there
How to Integrate social media into your marketing & business development strategy
What can you offer your clients? Use social media to accomplish that
The days of the 80-page client memo are gone. Edit down and repurpose
Success depends on steady stream of value-added content in core areas you want to be known
Four things re content: define audience, align business strategy, determine content producers, measure and adapt
Use images – helps your content stand out (show vs tell)
Create a content editorial calendar
Provide thought leadership
Repurpose lawyer activities, speaking engagements and content
Post important content more than once (shoot for seven) with different messages and pics over the course of a month
Video marketing
Infographics
Use Pinterest to share data and content
Use your signature block as a branding tool
Find out who’s liking your content
Get your lawyers to promote content
Streamline processes and manage expectations
Be aware of hidden people (people who read but don’t engage – they could be general counsel or your next client)
Start with internal communication to drive external
Cross reference lawyers’ contacts – integrate connections
Encourage lawyers to target certain people to send client alerts
Track news activity around contacts
Discover what works and what didn’t with analytics
Invest in training
Should lawyers have personal blogs or firm-branded?
Both work fine – it depends on practice, people practice, location
Consider micro sites and blogs
No one size fits all
When I write something, I like to be the first person out there on it. – @judy_selby of @BakerHostetler > primacy works for blogging #BDI1
— Kevin O'Keefe (@kevinokeefe) May 5, 2015
What to do about problem tweets?
General Counsel’s office is your best friend
Establish filters
Don’t police lawyers’ personal accounts
Handled differently based on firm size
Have a social media policy
Have an active listening campaign – just as important as putting content out
Education is key
Building trust via E-Marketing
Brand is how we project trustworthiness
Beware of legislation around permission based marketing
Build trust by delivering value – Relevant content is king
Relevant is driven by “opt-in” strategies
Opt-in strategies require closed loop systems
Always keep fine tuning / monitor – measure – adjust
This is a lot to digest. And there’s more! Check out the #BDI1 hashtag for additional insight and for awesome Twitter folks to follow.
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