Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal editor, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, marketing consultant, legal consultant, business development

The picture tells the story where people spend their time on social media. According to comScore, the sites where the most minutes are spent per month:

• Facebook: six to seven hours - 405 minutes
• Pinterest (a site used by many women to create pinboards about weddings, decorating and recipes) - 89 minutes
• Tumbler - a minblogging for sharing interests - 89 minutes
• Twitter - 21 minutes
• LinkedIn - 17 minutes
• MySpace - 8 minutes
• Google+ (3 minutes)

   

Thanks to Joe Walsh and Theresa Mencarini of Greenfield/Belser for this guest blog post.

Soft metrics don’t add up to a hill of beans in this crazy world.

Marketers have often viewed social media as a touchy-feely process that does little else but ‘raise awareness’ or increase ‘engagement.’ Firms grudgingly created a presence on sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn because it was a necessary to staying modern in the eyes of an expanding online marketplace. But a new report by Marketing Sherpa dismantles the misconception that social media has no measurable financial returns. Their 2011 Social Marketing Benchmark report shows perceptions of social media as little more than a time drain are changing. And changing fast.

Marketing Sherpa interviewed more than 3,300 social media marketers. The report notes marketers’ attitudes are directly related to how evolved their firm’s social media program is. Programs are broken down into three stages: trial, transitional and strategic. Those firms in the strategic phase (63%) had much higher ROI than those in the trial phase (35%). “Twenty percent of CMOs said that social marketing is producing a measurable ROI for their organization, and that they would continue to invest in this tactic. This percentage has nearly tripled from 7% a year ago and the perception of social marketing’s value continues to improve.” (http://www.meclabs.com/training/publications/benchmark-report/2011-social-marketing)

Businesses that have come to see social media channels as ways to build brand and save on costs associated with research, recruitment and advertising are far more likely to understand its actual value. Amy Jo Martin, writing in the Harvard Business Review blog, suggests thinking of social media as a communication conduit as essential as the telephone: “companies can monetize social media, but they have to stop thinking about it as a way to market products and start thinking about it as a way to communicate brand.”

You may think this trend is limited to products-based sellers. After all, using social media for promotions, to offer discounts to followers or use Twitter as a focus group is a no-brainer for companies like Nike and Coca-Cola. But the truth is that professional service firms are also stepping up their social media efforts. A recent Martindale/Burson Marstellar study noted that law firms are increasing their social media output, often creatively, “using Facebook with supporting YouTube videos for graduate recruitment, LinkedIn’s public and private discussion groups for employees.” Law firms thrive on personal relationships. Social media provides a myriad of cost-effective, timely and efficient avenues to build audiences and deepen communication with clients. Likewise, accounting firms have found social media increases referrals and word-of-mouth. CPAmerica International likens its use to handing out business cards, attending events and other forms of networking professionals take for granted as part of doing business.

As confidence in the utility of social media tools grows, professional services firms are finding they can use them to recruit new talent, display expertise through blogging and online discussions, for monitoring reputation, saving money on research and advertising and, of course, deepening the client relationships that are the touchstone of professional services.

So, social media, here’s looking at you, kid.

I reported that 81% of Large Law Firms Use Social Media for Marketing last December. Vizibility Inc. and LexisNexis surveyed law firms and found that a clear majority of participants consider social media an important part of their overall marketing strategy.

These findings are confirmed in new research released by ALM Legal Intelligence, "Fans, Followers and Connections - Social Media ROI for Law Firms," which sells for $499. It shows that many law firms have found new business with social media. Here are the key findings:

1. NEARLY HALF of respondents reported that blogging and social networking initiatives had helped produce leads for new matters or clients. And approximately 40 percent said that those efforts had helped them to land new work.
2. MORE THAN 40 PERCENT of those surveyed said that blogs and social media networks have helped to increase the number of calls their firms receive from reporters in traditional and new media. Likewise, roughly the same number said their presence in the blogosphere and on social media networks had also increased the number of speaking invitations their lawyers receive.
3. ALMOST 85 PERCENT of law firms who responded to the survey reported that their lawyers make use of social media and networking tools such as the professional networking site LinkedIn, as well as Facebook and Twitter. Also, 70 percent said that their firms now maintain one or more blogs.
4. NEARLY 90 PERCENT of respondents said that they believe that the integration of social media into their firms’ marketing, business development, and recruiting efforts is an important priority.
5. MORE THAN HALF of respondents said that their firms plan to increase their budget for social media initiatives (such as training staff and improving their Web sites) in 2012. Just over 20 percent said their firms already have a full-time social media specialist on staff, and only 2 percent planned to hire one in the coming year.

The report is based on an online survey of 179 legal professionals, a majority of whom worked at firms with 150 to 1000+ lawyers.

Kudos to Fennemore Craig, a southwest regional law firm, for being cool enough to be profiled on Apple.com/business. It's the only law firm selected by Apple to be profiled concerning uses of iPad.

The marketing home run started when the firm decided to change the way their lawyers do business by harnessing the power of the Apple iPad. 

Gone are volumes of paper and 24-hour wait times for a client to get a return call. Now, legal materials live on a fleet of iPads that Fennemore Craig pre-loads and loans to clients and adversaries.  Communication with lawyers occurs instantly through the built-in FaceTime app or Skype. 

The firm’s innovative use of the iPad caught the attention of Apple which is currently profiling Fennemore Craig in a case study on Apple.com/business. “The iPad has revolutionized the way we communicate with our clients and resolve cases,” says Marc Lamber, chair of Fennemore Craig’s Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Practice Group. “The iPad technology allows us to gather evidence faster and engage our clients even more thoroughly,” adds James Goodnow, Lamber’s partner.

View the Fennemore Craig case study on Apple.com/business

Lamber and Goodnow, who focus on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, provide iPads to clients creating instant “red phone” access to the Fennemore Craig legal team. The iPads enable clients to provide key information as it happens such as photos, video logs and signed release forms. It’s instant access to information for clients to receive and provide information and a lifeline which helps level the playing field against those with unlimited resources. Clients—many of whom are hospitalized—also use the iPad to collaborate with their attorneys through e-mail, instant messaging and video conference apps.

The attorneys also deliver iPads with comprehensive “video settlement demand packages” to opposing counsel, insurance company adjusters and mediators complete with computer-generated images, Keynote presentations, video interviews, scene diagrams, expert witness interviews and photos. 

In courtroom situations, Lamber and Goodnow use apps like iJuror to track prospective juror responses during jury selection and then during trial, the duo link their iPads to multimedia systems bringing exhibits and presentations to life on individual screens for juries, opposing counsel and the judge.  At mediation, court dates and legal conferences, Lamber and Goodnow . They use apps like iAnnotate PDF to edit and highlight documents and capture digital signatures, add highlights and notes, make corrections and changes to PDFs.

Clients view the new connectivity as an unexpected upgrade. “I can reach my lawyers instantly anytime, anyplace and spend less time in their office,” said Melissa Frankel, a Fennemore Craig client in Phoenix.

Lamber and Goodnow have paved the way for other practice groups at Fennemore Craig that have also adopted the use of iPads for clientele. Fennemore Craig is the only law firm selected by Apple to be profiled concerning uses of iPad. Other companies featured include Grupo BBVA, Medtronic, GE and The Benneton Group.

SPEAKERS: David Ackert and Larry Bodine, Esq.
DATE: Today - February 22, 2012 - 1 hour
♦ 10 am Pacific ♦ 11 am Mountain ♦ Noon Central ♦ 1 pm Eastern
LOCATION: On the web, on your computer
MORE INFO: Larry Bodine; (Tel) 630.942.0977 or  Lbodine@Lawmarketing.com
WEBSITE: www.PBDI.org

Attendees will get the answers to the following questions:

• How do we identify prospective clients who will take a meeting with us?
• How do we get in-front of the decision-makers?
• What do we say and do when we get this initial meeting?
• How do we interest them in giving us an opportunity to do work?
• How do we distinguish ourselves from other firms that they are currently working with?
• How do we leapfrog from an initial meeting into a broader and deeper working relationship?  

Most professionals don’t know how to proactively, consistently and continually pursue a relationship with a target client. Worse yet, they waste opportunities and time by pursuing RFPs or other forms of “begging” to get a chance to demonstrate our capabilities. And, even if they do get a chance to get in front their ideal client, they blow this opportunity by selling the client based on their firm’s depth of experience and capabilities.

You can start today to crack these prospective new business accounts. Because, fortunately, there are a set of tried and true best practices available for you and your firm.

Did your website generate the volume of leads this year that you expected? What do you plan to do differently to maximize your investment in web marketing and drive more business? Here's a list of 10 things to do with your website, courtesy of my colleague Craig McGuire, Product Marketing Manager, Websites/SEO/SEM at LexisNexis in New Providence, NJ.

Set business goals for 2012. Planning to expand into a new geography or area of practice? Targeting a new type of customer? Want to be considered a thought leader in a particular area of law? Setting specific goals will help you align your website to achieve those objectives.

Make your website mobile. Ensure your law firm’s website is easily found, accessed and utilized 24/7 by mobile device users. Transform your traditional website into one that’s optimized for the mobile Web to drive more potential customers to your business. 

Ask an expert. Once you identify your business goals, request a consultation and determine a comfortable budget (earmark usually 2 – 5 percent of monthly budget as a minimum spend). If you
simply lack the time, consider outsourcing your Internet marketing campaigns to qualified experts. You practice law and let others grow your business!

Refresh the content on your website. Stale content and broken links will damage visitors’ perceptions of your ability to practice law. Review your website and refresh content and update profiles. A polished, professional website with timely content is a must-have for any law firm, regardless of size.

Incorporate video on your site. Develop an introductory video of the managing partners that showcases personality as well as expertise. Post the video on the Web (including YouTube). Our
studies have shown that a well-produced video can be a primary factor in a consumer’s decision to contact a firm.

Get listed in and link to online directories. Identify all online directories available for posting attorney and firm profiles. This includes attorney-specific portals and social networking sites. Link
to these on your website and don’t forget to add your firm’s website to each online listing you post.

Be more responsive! While your Internet marketing team brings in qualified leads, put a system in place to respond to each one. Make a phone call, send an email in response to an inquiry or schedule a meeting. Keep these leads in a simple database so when you’re ready to send the first newsletter from the firm, clients and prospect lists are easily accessible.

Optimize your website. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts can be tremendously helpful in improving online visibility and optimizing a firm’s organic search rankings. Select a search marketing team that specializes in law firms and offers transparent and results-driven metrics.

Make better use of social media. Maximize your website’s visibility and drive more clients to your business by competing in a space that generates half of the Internet’s online conversations. Craft a solid, comprehensive, manageable social media presence that includes a blog page and profiles on major social sites, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites. Also consider a social “listening” service to ensure you monitor your reputation in social media circles.

Engage in pay-per-click advertising. No firm is too small to reap tangible benefits from pay-per-click campaigns. Ensure your marketing experts select appropriate keywords, based on analysis, that are geographically and topically suited to your firm. This strategy helps favorably position small firms to directly compete with larger firms in your market.

The latest issue of Best Practices in Lawyer Blogs is out. Be sure to get your own free subscription.

Six Easily-Preventable Mistakes That Bloggers Make with List Posts

Articles consisting of numbered lists are popular formats for blog posts. Readers are attracted to lists, they stimulate conversation and it’s a clean way to organize information. But it’s also easy to make mistakes when writing a list post. (Ever read an article promising 12 tips and only delivering 11?) DailyBlogTips shares some of the most common errors. Learn more ...

Boost SEO for Your Blog with Anchor Text

You can attract new readers to your blog if your content appears toward the top of relevant search engine results. Debbie Ronco explains how to use “anchor text,” or keywords linked to other relevant Web pages, within your articles to improve your search engine rankings. Learn more ...

Top 10 Tips for a Law Blog to Generate New Business

Research shows that blogs are the most effective, least expensive form of online marketing for lawyers. But not every attorney has success with blogging. Why not? Infrequent posts, content that’s not of interest to prospective clients and more. Larry Bodine discusses the top 10 ways to improve your law blog and attract new clients. Learn more ...

Which Blogging Platform Should I Use?

Carpenters have a saying: “Measure twice, cut once.” In other words, invest some time in planning before you take an action you might regret. And the same is true of legal blogging. Before starting a new blog, study your technology options to choose the platform that’s right for you. Lifehacker reviews some of the popular options. Learn more ...

Twitter users say 39% of the tweets they get are mediocre and another 25% are not worth reading at all, according to a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and Georgia Tech.

200 million tweets are sent daily, and most of them are ignored.

The study was "Who Gives aTweet? Evaluation Microblog Content Value." Responding to the widespread perception that the majority of Twitter updates are boring, inane or largely sandwich-related, researchers surveyed 1,443 Twitter users who rated 43,738 tweets during from Dec. 30, 2010 to Jan. 17, 2011 from the accounts of some 21,014 Twitter users they collectively followed. 

Among those surveyed, Twitter content was deemed "not worth reading" for various reasons. Most strongly disliked were:

• "Presence Maintenance" tweets (e.g., "Good Morning!")
• Tweets that were part of someone else's conversation
• Updates around a current mood or activity

Most-liked Tweets were:

• Questions to followers
• Information sharing
• "Self-promotion" such as links to content the writer had created

"A well-received tweet is not all that common," said research Michael Bernstein said. "A significant amount of content is considered not worth reading, for a variety of reasons."

Here are seven tips to assure your tweets get read:

1. Old news is no news: Twitter emphasizes real-time information, so information rapidly gets stale. Followers quickly get bored of even relatively fresh links seen multiple times.
2. Contribute to the story: To keep people interested, add an opinion, a pertinent fact or otherwise add to the conversation before hitting “send” on a link or a retweet.
3. Go easy on the hashtags: Overuse of #hashtags, @mentions and abbreviations makes tweets hard to read. But some syntax is helpful; if posing a question, adding a hashtag helps everyone follow along.
4. Too much information: The clichéd “I ate a sandwich” tweets about pedestrian, personal details were largely disliked. Reviewers reserved a special hatred for Foursquare location check-ins.
5. Provide context: Tweets that are too short leave readers unable to understand their meaning. Simply linking to a blog or photo, without giving readers a reason to click on it, was described as “lame.”
6. Don’t whine: Negative sentiments and complaints were disliked.
7. Be a tease: News or professional organizations that want readers to click on their links need to hook the reader, not give away all of the news in the tweet itself.

The era of the Luddite lawyer is over. Solos and GPs in firms of one to five lawyers are embracing social media wholeheartedly, according to new research – even more than our colleagues in large law firms.

Joining the crowds online, lawyers in small firms are actively sending updates, tweets and blog entries to promote their practices. In fact 91% of lawyers in small firms (one to five lawyers) plan to implement social media as part of their marketing programs, according to research by Vizibility Inc. and LexisNexis. This is a higher percentage than law firms in general, of which 81% report plan to use social media marketing tools.

When asked how important social media is in their firm’s overall marketing strategy, 59% of lawyers in small firms said it was extremely important. Respondents in small firms in the Vizibility/LexisNexis survey said they use the following social media channels:

• 90% use professional social networks like LinkedIn and MyLegal.com
• 88% write blogs
• 73% use Twitter
• 68% use consumer social networks like Facebook and Google+.
• 51% use video networks like YouTube and Vimeo.
• Only 19% use social question-and-answer sites like Wikipedia, Quora and Yahoo Answers.

For the rest of my blog entry please visit the LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Center.

There is a treasure trove of marketing advice for lawyers in small firms in the ABA's new book, How to Build and Manage a Personal Injury Practice by K. William Gibson.

Go directly to Chapter 5 to read 40 pages of personal business development tips, including:

• Don't waste your money on the Yellow Pages or TV ads. Consumers are going online to find lawyers.
• Don't let your website be an online brochure. Use FAQ pages to answer questions of visitors.
• Blogs are great way to generate publicity. Reporters and editors search lawyer blogs for people to interview.
• Use social media to become well known. LinkedIn attracts business clients, Facebook attracts consumers, Twitter is good for following other lawyers, and YouTube is the land of lawyer promotion.

Gibson offers ways that lawyers can differentiate themselves, by the kinds of cases they handle, a convenient location, an emphasis on service (e.g. house calls and evening appointments), and ability to speak a second language.

He recommends the "retro" technique of using postal mail to market yourself. A letter really stands out now that most marketing is online. In any event, lawyers should get smart about search engine optimization, and be familiar with creating title tags, meta tags, and simple URLs.

The very best cases will come from family members and personal friends, Gibson says. "If your friends do not know what you do for a living, you are missing some great referral opportunities," he writes.

The book is 193 pages with a CD. Published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section, it sells for $69.

Check out my latest post on Lawyerist: by using the marketing checklist I composed, associates and young lawyers can transform their legal careers from supporting associate to rainmaking partner.

The list is tailored to how many years you've been in practice, whether it's your first or eighth year in practice. You'll find more than 60 tips plus a client service checklist.

My advice to first-year lawyers is to start building your network. Your long-term goal is to avoid being a 40-year old lawyer with no clients. Here are some specific pointers:

• Volunteer for assignments and ask the firm’s “rainmakers” for assignments. Your eagerness will build a reputation among the partners as a dedicated lawyer. Become known as the “go-to” associate of the first-year associates. Make sure that your work is delivered on time, accurate and error-free.
• Start a habit of visiting the people you work with at clients. It doesn’t matter that they’re junior people. In five years they will become executives or company owners, and now is your chance to start a relationship with them. For example, drop off work product in person.
• Take your contacts at clients out for breakfast or lunch. Start the habit of scheduling at least one face-to-face meeting a week. If the firm will reimburse you, go someplace really nice to create a memorable meeting. Ask questions and get to know the other person. Get the person’s business card.
• Whenever you get a business card, write three things on the back: the date, where you are and what you talked about.
• When you return to the office, immediately create a contact record for the person in your e-mail or firm CRM system. Record key points about the conversation and the business card information. Remember, you can search a computer record, but you can’t search a wad of cards in a rubber band.
• Over time, collect more information about the other person – key events in their lives like births, deaths, graduations and promotions; get the names of their spouses/significant others, children; find out their hobbies and what they like to do for fun. Once you have the names of all their pets, you’ve gone deep enough.
• Create a mailing list and keep it updated. Include your law school classmates (who will become referral sources, judges and in-house lawyers), your fraternity/sorority contacts, college friends, etc. In the future, these are people to whom you’ll send your e-newsletter. Ask your firm’s marketing professional for help.
• Join a bar association and learn the law. Make friends with people in your generation. Get their business cards.
• Scrub your Facebook page so there’s nothing you don’t want a client or the managing partner to find. Use the privacy settings to control what’s visible.
• Go to LinkedIn and create a complete profile with a good picture. One million lawyers have profiles on LinkedIn and it’s the de facto online directory for professionals. The idea is to make yourself easy to find. Invite contacts on other online social networks to connect with you on LinkedIn.
• Send out holiday cards to your mailing list. Hand-write the signature; do not delegate the signature writing. When you get a holiday card, make a record of the sender’s job or address changes.
• Sign up to have the firm’s annual report or other firm wide messages sent to your mailing list.
• Participate in firm functions where clients are present. Encourage senior attorneys to introduce you to clients you don’t know, or go ahead and introduce yourself and thank them for being your firm’s guest. Ask them questions about their work. Get their business card.
• Look like a lawyer, not like someone who works in the mail room. Take your dress cues from the senior partners and rainmakers. Your office should also look organized and tidy. Do not use the floor for filing space.

The January issue of the Legal Tech Newsletter lays out  seven strategies for maximizing QR code effectiveness:

1. Remember that QR codes are a mobile tool.
2. Use only one QR code.
3. Make sure your URL contains a name.
4. Optimize QR code size.
5. Brand your QR codes carefully, if at all.
6. Think about the call to action.
7. Make sure users will have an Internet connection.

Read the full article to get the details on these steps and find some additional helpful information about incorporating QR codes into your marketing mix.

Recent QR Code Study

Vizibility also recently conducted a survey with the Legal Marketing Association to understand the use of QR codes within legal marketing. Here are the core findings:

Here are just a few of the top law firms who are using (or plan to use) QR codes today:

We all know that print is losing readers to online options, and for the first time in U.S. history, marketers are projected to spend more on online advertising than on advertising in print magazines and newspapers.

According to a report by eMarketer, online advertising is expected to generate $39.5 billion in sales this year — a 23.3% increase from 2011 — compared to a sum of $33.8 billion on print.

That’s impressive growth, especially since 2011 also witnessed a 23% jump in online ad spending, according to eMarketer’s calculations. Online ad revenues should continue to grow over the next half-decade. Total online ad investment is projected to hit $62 billion by that time.

The forecast for print is foreboding. Marketers are expected to continue cutting their print advertising budgets for the next half-decade, spending $32.3 billion in 2016, 10% less than what they invested in print ads in 2011.

Lawyers and law firm marketers should keep this trend in mind as they formulate their advertising strategies for the coming year.

I spotted this practical blog post on the Lawyerist by Gyi Taskalakis:

Twitter provides the following business best practice advice to build your following, reputation, and client’s trust:

1. Share. Share photos and behind the scenes info about your business. Even better, give a glimpse of developing projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get and share the latest, so give it to them!
2. Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about your company, brand, and products.
3. Ask. Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you are listening.
4. Respond. Respond to compliments and feedback in real time
5. Reward. Tweet updates about special offers, discounts and time-sensitive deals.
6. Demonstrate wider leadership and know-how. Reference articles and links about the bigger picture as it relates to your business.
7. Champion your stakeholders. Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by your followers and customers.
8. Establish the right voice. Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a likable tone from your business, but think about your voice as you Tweet. How do you want your business to appear to the Twitter community?

Admittedly, much of this advice may be better applied to businesses that sell widgets. Nonetheless, at least some of it seems applicable to professional service providers, like lawyers.

Sam Glover, the editor of the Lawyerist blog, recommends in his latest post that law firms should "Delete your law firm Facebook page."

"The only time Facebook pages get interesting is when they are for political candidates, political causes, or entertaining musicians. Or fake political candidates or causes," Glover writes. "Law firms don’t even rate a mention on the scale."

"Nobody really “likes” law firms," he says. "People aren’t interested in a law firm. At best, they are interested in a particular lawyer, but normal people are about as interested in a law firm as they are interested in a proctology clinic, and for similar reasons."

Glover is a Minnesota business attorney who helps tech startups. He started the Lawyerist practice blog in 2007. Never one to candy-coat his opinion, he writes, "Clients liking your Facebook page doesn’t benefit you, either. If you need Facebook to stay in touch with your clients and former clients, you’re doing it wrong."

A quick review of the comments shows that many of his readers disagree with him about Facebook. This is probably fine with him as Glover likes to stir up debate.

One half of the US population has a Facebook account. The social network has 845 million monthly active users.

"Just do it!" he urges. "If you’re worried about losing “followers,” post an update to your page asking everyone to like your status if they don’t want you to delete your law firm Facebook page. If you get 10 or fewer likes (do not count likes from family members, close friends, or strangers from other countries), delete your Facebook page."

Colin O'Keefe interviewed me about how lawyers use social media (pardon my laryngitis). Points we covered include:

• The point of social media is to get to know people, not to collect connections or followers, but to meet people "IRL" -- in real life.
• The one network I like is Google + -- which has 90 million users. I've had more interaction on Google + than on other social media.
• The more frequently you post, the more visits you'll get and the more files you'll open.
• Your blog should focus on the challenges that your readers face.
• Adopt the approach of Google when it comes to making decisions. Let data make the decision, in this case, your web traffic reports and analytics.