Today's post is a press release that reveals which social media outlets are the most popular, therefore most important to utilize.

LinkedIn, blogs by fellow lawyers and Wikipedia are among the tools most frequently used by in-house counsel in their professional lives, according to a new survey released today by communications firm Greentarget, consulting firm Zeughauser Group and InsideCounsel magazine.

In-house attorneys use social media more than ever, for everything from building professional networks to consuming substantive content to conducting business and industry research.

This survey, referenced with the hashtag #ICSurvey on Twitter and represented visually by an infographic, suggests that many legal marketers are not yet making full use of the channels and platforms that can effectively reach the primary buyers of legal services. But it also affirms the wisdom of law-firm marketers who take an integrated, content-centric approach to incorporating digital platforms into their communications strategies, treating them as an extension of their thought leadership efforts.

The In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey, conducted for the first time in 2010, measures the changing perceptions, attitudes and social media usage behaviors of in-house lawyers and their impact on business development efforts. Earlier iterations of the survey are now hosted athttp://insidecounselsurvey.com. 

“The survey results suggest, in no uncertain terms, that the convergence of digital and traditional media is fueling the continued use of social media among the in-house bar,” says John Corey, president and founding partner of Greentarget. “Our 2013 survey makes it crystal clear — as evidenced by the sustained prominence of LinkedIn and attorney-authored blogs, the growth in mobile consumption of news and a continuation of the ‘invisible user’ trend — that in-house lawyers are using social media as part of their daily routines.”

The Highlights:

• New media use is now mainstream. The percentage of respondents who say they do not use new media has plummeted from 43 percent in 2010 to just 27 percent today.
• LinkedIn is still the “serious” social network. Sixty-seven percent of in-house counsel used LinkedIn for professional reasons during the past week, and 40 percent used it during the past 24 hours. It remains the most frequently used platform for professional reasons.
• Attorney-authored blogs are popular and trusted. Respondents say they read blogs by attorneys as often as they read blogs by professional journalists, and more than half (53 percent) say well-executed blogs influence hiring decisions.
• The “invisible users” trend is accelerating. Although social networks are designed to promote online engagement, most respondents (74 percent) are using social media in a listen-only mode versus commenting on posts and participating in discussions—up from 68 percent who identified themselves as invisible users in 2012.
• Use of mobile is prevalent. Fifty-three percent of survey respondents read business news on their smartphones daily, while 39 and 23 percent, respectively, use tablets and mobile apps for news every day.
• Wikipedia is emerging for business-oriented research. Sixty-five percent of respondents say they use Wikipedia to conduct company and industry research, up from 51 percent in 2012. This is one of the more significant jumps in the year-over-year data.
• Online video is largely unexploited. Many respondents report that they are watching online video from law firms, but they are doing so infrequently.
• Peer-driven rankings lack influence. Despite the energy and resources that law firms continue to invest in peer-driven rankings, they have minimal impact on the opinions of outside lawyers or hiring decisions, the survey data suggests.

To download a summary of the research report, click here. For more information, contact John Corey at jcorey@greentarget.com or 312-252-4100.

At LegalTechNY, Steve Mann, chief marketing officer of the Research & Litigation Solutions business at LexisNexis, posed this question to Stephen Fairley, chief executive officer of The Rainmaker Institute and myself: If we have passed the tipping point for firms to use social media, why are so many firms reluctant to dive in?

Recently, Jay Butchko, Director of Retention and Acquisition Web Visibility Solutions,  co-hosted a webinar titled "Ethics Essentials for Successful Online Legal Marketing." 

Find out what's legal and what's not with real-life examples of online law firm marketing that violate ethics rules, and how to avoid repeating them.

There is no cost to download this webinar, focused on strategies to adhere to Rules of Professional Conduct. Learn to use these essential best practices — and apply them to your own marketing strategy.

Click here to access the recording.

This post has two parts.  Part one is an inforgraphic that my colleague, Stephen Fairley, shared on The Rainmaker Blog that explains 7 benefits Google+ provides for business. Part two is a video that explains the benefits of using Google+ instead of Facebook.  This can be particularly beneficial for businesses.  Although I would counter, using both gets your business out in social media more fully, which translates into more business.

Fairley states: "Google+ is one of those social media networks that many attorneys are still not sure what to do with...but with more than 500 million members now making it the fastest growing social media site ever, it’s worth your time and attention.

The following video answers the all important question: Facebook or Google+? 

Leading experts in law firm marketing from LexisNexis^® will be among the participants in a featured panel at LegalTech New York 2013, the number-one annual legal technology event in the world.

The session, "Taming the Wild West of Social Media: The Secrets of Social Media Success in the Legal Profession," will be held on Tuesday, January 29, from 2:00 to 3:15 PM at the Hilton New York in midtown Manhattan.

The panelists for the session are:

• Larry Bodine, Esq., editor in chief of Lawyers.com^SM andmartindale.com^®;
• Steve Mann, chief marketing officer of LexisNexis; and
• Stephen Fairley, chief executive officer of The Rainmaker Institute.

While it may seem like the Wild West at times, social media does in fact have a very real role to play in both the business and practice of law. According to the 2012 Attorney Selection Research Study by The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG), 26 percent of American consumers used one of the major social media sites when gathering information about a legal issue and more than one in five (22 percent) said they turned to a social media site to actually find a lawyer they felt might be able to help them with their legal need.

The LegalTech panel discussion will explore:

1. The state of social media in the legal industry today and an update to guide attendees through the year ahead;
2. New and improved social media best practices in specific online channels (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, etc.); and
3. The various ethical and legal considerations about which law firms must be aware, including an update of key decisions and guidance issued by various state bar associations.

CLE credits are available — up to 1.5 general CLE credits depending on the state. 

If you can't make it to LegalTech feel free to ask questions, comment or just follow us on Twitter using #LNsocial.

Phillip Livingston, CEO of Marketing and Business Solutions at LexisNexis, posted about Facebook's new "Graph Search" feature that they will begin to allow people to test.

What Graph Search will mean for lawyers looking to leverage social media remains to be seen. According to Whitson Gordon, editor in chief at lifehacker.com: "This is an awesome new feature for Facebook, not an awesome new feature for the internet. For anything not related to Facebook or your Facebook friends, you'll still be better off going to Google, or Yelp, or Amazon...." Others are predicting Graph Search will prove useful to people seeking lawyer referrals, lawyers looking for job opportunities, journalists needing legal SMEs, and more. We'll be watching the Graph Search launch with keen interest!

So what is it?

"It's going to cause people to do all kinds of searches they have never done before because you couldn't do these searches before," says Danny Sullivan, founding editor of SearchEngineLand.com in a story by the Los Angeles Times. In short, it adds another layer of possibilities for what you'll be able to search for and find on the site. As opposed to searching the Web, Graph Search takes place within Facebook. If it proves popular, it could mean users begin to spend even more time on the site.

According to Facebook, Graph Search will enable you to search using simple, specific phrases like "photos my friends took in New York City" or "restaurants my friends like in London." You can look up anything shared with you on Facebook, and others can find stuff you've shared with them. Each person sees unique results. If there isn't a match, it will show results from Bing.

"Web search is designed to take a set of keywords (for example: 'hip hop') and provide the best possible results that match those keywords," Facebook further explains in a press release. "With Graph Search you combine phrases (for example: 'my friends in New York who like Jay-Z') to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that's been shared on Facebook."

Graph Search is available now in a very limited beta. It is expected to launch publicly within the next few months. Stay tuned!

Read original post here.

In the webinar excerpt "Top Four Reasons Why Social Media Matters," I join Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, to describe how lawyers can generate new business with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

There's a huge online conversation among consumers about legal issues. You can be part of the conversation, or you can miss it and the business that goes with it.

Stephen and I outline four reasons that social media works for lawyers:

1. It is one of the most cost-effective means of building your platform.
2. It will increase traffic to your website.
3. It will influence buying decisions by your potential clients.
4. It connects you to referral sources.

"The holy grail of your marketing is to build your word-of-mouth referrals," Stephen says. "Social media gives you a way to build a massive platform rather rapidly and is one of the most cost-effective ways to do so."

To get a free Social Media Evaluation, contact a LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Specialist.

Blogs and social media are also an effective way to boost traffic you your website. "The two things Google loves are fresh, relevant content and inbound links," notes Stephen. "The more links you have to your website the better Google will reward you by pushing you to the top of search engine results."

To get a free Website Evaluation and Consultation, contact a LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Specialist.

Social media is so prevalent now that it influences consumer buying decisions. "If you start adding things up, you can see that social media has the ability to influence thousands and thousands of people. If the average person on Facebook has 130 friends, if you can get your Facebook fan page to over 500 connections, you have the ability to influence 65,000 people," Stephen says.

"Does social media work? That is the wrong question," he says. "The right question is, which social network will work best for my practice area?" He quoted from a survey by Hubspot:

• Is your end client a business, a CEO or an executive of a company?  If yes, you are a business-to-business firm.Business-to-business firms — over 45% — say that the No. 1 source of acquiring a customer was from LinkedIn.
• Is your end client a consumer?  If yes, you are a business-to-consumer firm.  Business-to-consumer firms — 68% — say they had acquired a new client from Facebook.

LinkedIn is a fantastic place to develop referral sources. One of the things that lawyers enjoy about LinkedIn is the ability to join a group. When you belong to a LinkedIn group, you can meet lawyers and referral sources online and then connect with them in person.

"Top Four Reasons Why Social Media Matters" is an excerpt from the LexisNexis webinar "Join the Conversation: Social Media Strategies for Your Law Firm." View additional LexisNexis webinars for the latest insights and best practices in online marketing for law firms.

Read the following guest post by Janet Ellen Raasch, a writer and ghostwriter for lawyers.

The best law firm websites have an entirely new look and feel. Propelling these dramatic changes are the user interfaces and content delivery systems popularized by smartphones and tablets, as well as online usage preferences and habits created by social media.

In light of these changes, your law firm website is more important than ever before.

Research conducted by Greenfield/Belser and the Brand Research Company shows that more than 75 percent of potential clients locate and vet lawyers online, and that these clients are profoundly influenced by the quality of your website.  Amazingly, it takes users only about 1/20 of a second to form an initial impression of your firm.

“Your website must convey your message strongly, succinctly and in very little time,” said Joe Walsh.  “In the old days, when first meetings took place in your office, law firms invested a lot of money in attractive office space.  Today, these meetings take place online.  Your online space must create a strong impression.”

Walsh is a principal and creative director at Greenfield/Belser, a national leader in brand research, strategy and design for professional services firms.  He discussed website trends and best practice before the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association.  The presentation took place Oct. 9 at Fogo de Chao in LoDo, Denver.

Social Media Set the Pace

The most-popular social media sites offer users a “mash up” up different applications and a strong graphic navigation system.  These elements are migrating to websites. So, too, are social media themselves.

Social media “buttons,” with links to the firm’s content on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, should appear on every page.  The firm should consistently post fresh content to these social media sites as well as the firm’s own website.

“Navigation, or how you get around on a law firm website, need not be limited to the usual navigation bar or internal links,” said Walsh.  “Navigation presents a wonderful opportunity for creativity, especially when links are incorporated into graphics.

“In an illustration, for example, you can click on a graphic and be taken to more information about that subject,” said Walsh.  “An industry page can present with a page-full of client logos.  When you click on the logo, it revolves and the case story appears.  The bio page can present with interesting pictures of lawyers.  When you click on the picture, the bio appears or the lawyer steps forward and talks to you.”

Even Microsoft is betting on image-oriented navigation for its new operating system, Windows 8.  Instead of the usual menu-based navigation, it is using clickable “live tiles” on the home page, which are not only links but also stream new information.

Also carried over from social media is an increased comfort with scrolling.  Until now, web designers aimed at creating short pages that precluded the need to scroll.  Because of social media, users are now much more comfortable using scrolling.  This opens up new design opportunities.

“Finally, within the next 18 months, mobile devices will be used more often than computers to access the Internet,” said Walsh.  “Law firms must create mobile versions of their websites with layouts that look equally good on smartphones and tablets.”

Stand and Deliver

“Most existing law firm websites are based on similar templates,” said Walsh.  “Most often, this consists of some version of a large horizontal photo, with three columns of content underneath.  Navigation runs along the top and bottom.

“They all look pretty much the same and say the same thing,” said Walsh.  “In my opinion, they are wasted pixels.  How is a potential client supposed to use this information to choose you over another firm that looks and sounds exactly the same?

“Break out of this mold,” said Walsh.  “Stand and declare.  Toss away the templates and have the courage to try something completely original and different.  Your home page can look any way you like, and say anything you want it to say.”

Your home page should make you stand out from the crowd.  “Too often, law firms get bogged down in text on their homepages,” said Walsh.  “Determine what makes your firm unique.  State it prominently.  In fact, make this just about the only text on your home page.  Repeat this brand message on every page (even search pages).

“Any graphics used for your homepage and elsewhere in your site should also reflect your uniqueness,” said Walsh.  “This automatically rules out stock photos and other stock images, like globes, courthouse pillars, and striding business people carrying suitcases.  It rules out the use of models instead of your own lawyers and staff.

“Especially, you want to rule out photos of skylines, buildings, lobbies and conference rooms,” said Walsh.  “Do you think that the fact that you are in a city, in a building, have a lobby and offer a furnished conference room in any way makes you unique? It doesn’t.  Don’t waste your valuable homepage or website space on clichés.”

Think like a Client

Too many law firm websites function as online brochures, talking on and on about the firm and its “features” – its history, its practice areas, its attorneys and its news. Research shows, this is not what visitors are interested in.

Potential clients are interested in “benefits” rather than features.  They want to know that you have solved problems like theirs, for businesses in their industry, successfully in the past.  They want to know that you will answer their phone calls, staff their matters correctly, provide them with ongoing education and bill them appropriately.

“Organize your website around client industry and client needs, not your law firm organization chart,” said Walsh.

“Potential clients also want to work with a law firm that is a good cultural fit,” said Walsh.  “After all, law is relationship-based.  Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through on your website, and don’t confine personality to the careers or bio section.  Let potential clients know what it would be like to work with you over the long term.”

One great way to demonstrate client-orientation is through the use of client matter or case stories.  “Use short, vibrant stories to showcase your firm’s professional values and the way you solve problems,” said Walsh.  “These can appear in many places – in bios, in practice area descriptions, on industry pages and in dedicated ‘experience’ sections.”

Of course, you must get client permission to use these stories.

The New Graphic Website

Today’s online news, content and social media sites are rich in graphics.  Take a look at Facebook, Flickr or Pinterest.  Carefully consider USA Today, or the homepages of CNN.com or MSN.com.  Today’s effective law firm website should also use graphics.

Photos are an important element, as long as they are original (not stock) and reflect the firm’s unique message.  Imagery is central and defining.  Photos should do more than simply break up blocks of words.  

Also, photos are a good way to demonstrate client-orientation.  Make ample use of photos of clients, their businesses and their industries.  Photos of lawyers that appear on their bios are often stiff headshots.  Instead, use a less-formal photo that provides additional information about the lawyer’s personality and interests.

“But don’t limit yourself to photos,” said Walsh.  “There are many interesting ways that other types of graphics can be used to display information.  Why present a dense page of unreadable text when a list, chart, table, map, diagram or illustration could present the same information in a much more interesting and compelling way?

Online elements like surveys, questionnaires and “games” invite user interaction.

Think Outside the Box

“On the websites we design,” said Walsh, “we often use handwriting and drawings.  We create diagrams on whiteboards.  We arrange a collage of personal and professional items on a lawyer’s desk or on a bulletin board, and use that picture on the lawyer’s bio.” 

In a website designed for a law firm composed of lawyer/scientists, Greenfield/Belser used the layout of the periodic table of the elements to organize information on the site.  “This resonates strongly with the firm’s clients in the scientific community,” said Walsh.

Color, motion and sound also grab attention.  “Online color is free,” said Walsh, “and yet many law firms fail to make full use of it.  In the age of YouTube, visitors to your website are used to video and animation.  Although eight minutes of a talking head can be deadly, 30 seconds of a professionally done video can be extremely effective.”

Webinars, seminars and presentations should be recorded and made available on a law firm’s website.  “We recommend building a ‘mini-site’ for a special event within the main law firm website,” said Walsh.  “This includes information about the benefits of the event, the presenters and the topic, as well as links to useful resource materials.”

Certain items lend themselves to be broken out or placed in sidebars as graphic elements for special emphasis.  These include case stories, client testimonials (print or video), fast facts, awards, accolades and rankings.  This sort of information disappears when it is buried in paragraphs of text.

Keep online content fresh

Previously, law firm websites content consisted mainly of words and pictures.  Today, they include a vast range of content, from illustrations to webinars to video.

No matter what the type of content you are posting, however, one rule remains the same.  It must be kept fresh.  Each time you add new content to a law firm website, it “shakes” the web and attracts the search engine spiders to take a new look.

“Words will always be an important part of law firm websites,” said Walsh.  “We just have to be more careful how we use them.  On the Internet, people read 25 percent slower than they do on paper.  Plus, they scan rather than read.  You cannot present them with a dense block of grey text and expect them to read it carefully – or at all.

“Headlines and subheads are important for providing ‘clues’ to the busy reader,” said Walsh.  “Sentences and paragraphs should be kept short and active, with lots of white space.  Lists and bullet-points are good, as long as they are not too long.  Keywords should appear in headlines and subheads, and in the first paragraph of any text.

“Avoid abstract language about legal concepts,” said Walsh.  “Use concrete, engaging stories to keep readers interested.”

Attorney bios or profiles are a good place to introduce fresh content.  Most law firm bios consist of a dry list of accomplishments.  Instead, create bios and profiles that truly reflect an individual lawyer’s personality.  What makes him or her unique?  Supplement credentials with meaningful quotes and personal outside-the-office interests.  Support this message with meaningful graphics.

The best law firm websites do not sell, they teach.  They establish law firms as thought leaders in their targeted niches.  In addition to case stories, websites should provide links to a steady supply original work like the firm’s blog posts, e-alerts, newsletters, white papers, analysis and original research.

Law firms should know that more than 75 percent of potential clients will use the Internet to find and research them before making a call.  In the Internet age, your website has become extremely valuable real estate.  It should look and feel unique.  One way to do this and set you apart from the competition is to adopt the look, feel and navigation techniques made popular by social media.   

For examples of these concepts, see samples on the Greenfield/Belser website.

Janet Ellen Raasch is a writer, ghostwriter, editor and blogger at Constant Content Blog who works closely with professional services providers – especially lawyers, law firms, legal consultants and legal organizations – to help them achieve name recognition and new business through publication of keyword-rich content for the web and social media sites as well as articles and books for print.  She can be reached at (303) 399-5041 or jeraasch@msn.com. View her online bio here.

In the following post, Stephen Fairley, author on The Rainmaker Blog,  describes how using social media can accelerate the referral process.

Social media has become a fundamental shift in the way we communicate and find information -- or rather, the way information finds us.  

When you consider the overwhelming number of people who are now using social media, the question you should be asking is not, are my prospects, clients, and referral sources using social media? The question you should be asking is, which network are they using most often?

A survey last year by the American Bar Association's Legal Technology Resource Center found that 56% of attorneys are already using a social network. This means for you skeptics out there, if you are not maintaining a presence on at least one social network you are already behind the curve. Of those networks, LinkedIn is the most popular, followed by Facebook – however, Facebook is still the social site favored by prospects.

For attorneys who are looking to connect with consumers (versus business owners), like criminal defense, personal injury, bankruptcy, estate planning, and family law just to name a few, Facebook should be your primary focus because of the sheer number of people that can be found there (over 950 million registered users and growing).  

Depending on the demographic of your clientele, you may have more success with one social media platform compared to another -- but it is important that you have a presence on them all.  For example: Business oriented attorneys, like business litigation, securities, and intellectual property, should focus more of their efforts on LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn also has the highest number of attorneys who use the network so it's a little more difficult to stand out as compared to Facebook or Twitter.

What many people fail to understand is how people are starting to use social media.  Social networks are more and more being used as personal search engines mainly because Google has become too generic and they often don't trust what they find there.  

This trend is especially true in the under-30 age group. In fact, many social media experts are starting to point to Facebook as the new Google! Tens of thousands of searches are conducted every day on Facebook for resources and reviews of products, services, and service providers.  

The long-time phenomenon of asking your friends and colleagues for a referral has simply gone viral and online. Social networks are quickly multiplying the number of connections a person can ask when seeking a referral to a trusted advisor.  

Read about Stephen on his bio.

Senior Copywriter for the Law Firm Marketing Solutions group at LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, Dee Latham enlightens us how commenting affects our social media presence.

I know what you're thinking: How can other folks' comments really help my blog? Comments or feedback mean that people are reading your blog, which is the purpose. When a blog receives comments from regular posters, it becomes more dynamic and it attracts more visitors. The more visitors it receives, the more perceived value. It's a basic way of gaining readers, highlighting your strengths and ultimately driving more leads to your firm.

There are also things to watch out for, however, such as being mindful of hot-button topics and responding to comments. Take this one as an example: How will the new healthcare laws affect your audience? There are numerous pros and cons for either side, which is exactly what is needed to stir up interest, but really it can only do you harm to respond to posts, especially the negative ones. Why? Once you comment, it can be construed as imparting legal advice in an unregulated way. And the question arises as to whether attorney-client relationships are created. Sure, fresh comments are a way to make the search engines fall in love with your blog to keep its URL ranked high on searches. But don't get caught in the ethical trap of engaging in these types of discussions through blog commenting and social media.

Here are some other tips to help keep your readers engaged:

• Ask a question. Leave posts that are open-ended and prompt an answer.
• Refine your "blog dialog." Get to know your own "voice"; consistency of tone is key as your readers get more familiar with your writing.
• Post often. Keep your content fresh; by not updating your blog with new posts, you may be missing out on opportunities to grow a responsive readership and readers will take you less seriously.
• Check your local bar. Are there any disclaimers that need to be included when you post? Your local or state bar can provide tips to help you keep compliant.

And don't forget:  The more you nurture your blog, the better it will be for your firm in the long run.