Social Media Rocket Matter

Natalie Alesi@legalerswelcome Social Media for Law FirmsSamantha Collier Rocket Matter Webinar@samtaracollier March 22, 2012 – 12:00 pm ET

Law firms and lawyers are using social media for clientacquisition, knowledge management and businessdevelopment. This webinar is designed to show you how toget started. Today we’ll cover:• A brief history on social media• Statistics in favor of social media• Scenario based work flows• How to set up an effective Strategy, Facebook Page, LinkedIn Profile, blog content and, of course, Twitter

Social Media for Law Firms1. SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS

Which online lawyer AVVO profiles do in-house ACC 6% legal professional look Value Martindale- Index Hubbell at most? 8% 19% Legal 500 8%Chambers & Partners LinkedIn 9% 18% Super Lawyers Best Lawywers/US 16% News and World Report 16% Source: 2011 ABA Technology survey report

Individual Attorneys using social media for professional purposes in 201170 62605040 3730 22 192010 6 70 LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Lawyers Law Firms Source: 2011 ABA Technology survey report

 In-house attorneys exhibit widespread trust (84%) in blogs They read attorney-authored blogs more than those of actual journalists More than half think a prominent blog will influence clients to hire one firm over another Decision makers are relying on blogs for critical business info and in deciding which firms to hire. Recent analysis found that 68 of the top 100 firms are publishing 272 blogs. That is up from 156 blogs in 2010 – a 74% increase.

Law Firms and Social Media FACT: Washington Post20 percent of law firms have a full-time social media specialist on staff, and about 40percent said blogging and social networking initiatives have helped the firm land newwork. Nixon Peabody is in the final stages of hiring it’s first social media manager who is expected to start in late April. Latham & Watkins hired Dimitra Kessenides in late August 2011, a former journalist at The American Lawyer. Dechert hired public relations specialist Peggy Heffner in the late summer of 2011 in a newly created position that focuses on growing the firm’s presence across various networks. McKenna Long & Aldridge hired Sabrina McGown in 2011. She works with attorneys to tweak LinkedIn profiles and blogs to increase search engine results.

Social Media for Law Firms2. SCENARIO BASED WORKFLOW

It’s really very simple…Scenario 1: Bob decides to join LinkedIn and obtains a new matter through aLinkedIn Group where he regularly joins discussions and answers questions. Bobpractices in IP and after answering a question in a related group, he was hired.

It’s really very simple…Scenario 2: Jeff enjoys writing and would like to write a blog. He gets approval (ifneeded), determines his platform and creates an editorial calendar. Jeff sticks tohis schedule and writes consistently. He shares his posts on Facebook, Twitterand LinkedIn, and engages with his readers. He is then hired by a large corporationdue to his expert reputation.

It’s really very simple…Scenario 3: Kim has heard a lot about Facebook and finally decides to jump on thebus and start using it for business development. She sets her privacy settingsappropriately and creates lists so she can share information with relevant groups(family, friends, co-workers, etc.). She posts about work every so often and when theneed arises for her services, one of her colleagues recommends her to a friend and sheis hired. Go Facebook!

It’s really very simple…Scenario 4: Julie finally joins Twitter. She creates an effective biography and links toher website profile. She tweets consistently, finds her target clients and joinsconversations when relevant. She posts valuable content and takes the conversationoffline when appropriate. She is hired for a smaller matter at first. She then lands herfirm a large litigation file through the same client.

Social Media for Law Firms3. SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Before you get involved with socialmedia, you must: Get approval from upper management Get buy in from lawyers in the firm Define your top ten dream clients and be very specific. Look for them online. You’ll be surprised!

Define your goal(s): Increase number of sales and/or leads Improve customer engagement Network with peers and colleagues Keep up-to-date Monitor the competition

Social Media for Law Firms4. LINKEDIN

Set Your Account Settings

LinkedIn Applications for Lawyers JD Supra’s Legal Updates Events SlideShare Publications Wordpress Answers TripIt Reading List by Amazon Polls

LinkedIn Groups Join relevant groups relating to your practice area or university alumni groups Monitor the discussions and get a feel for the group’s conversation style Join discussions when appropriate and add something of value. Ask and answer questions Mention your practice area when relevant Add connections you interact with in groups and take the conversation offline when appropriate.Did you know?9 out of 10 in-house legal professionals turn to online lawyer profiles orlegal directories at least once a year!

Social Media for Law Firms5. TWITTER

What makes a complete TwitterProfile?

Social Media for Law Firms6. FACEBOOK

Social Media for Law Firms6. BLOGGING

 Determine the type of work and clients you want. Choose your platform and blogging system. Identify your target audience. Consider influencers and amplifiers to get to have your name and message brought in front of a larger audience. Get an RSS reader for inspiration on what to blog about. Consider writing about practice updates, rule changes, anything in the news you can relate to your business, how you solved a clients problem (without naming names of course), checklists, top 5 posts, etc. Comment on other blogs only when you can leave valuable information (not – “good post”.) Consider using tools such as Google Analytics to monitor what’s popular.

Social Media for Law Firms7. FINAL NOTES

Did you know there is Tweetchat for legal? #legalchat Fridays 11 am ET legalchatinfo.wordpress.com

Checklist Define WHY? Define Your Audience Start with ONE Channel (LinkedIn)  Understand privacy settings Listen, listen, listen & watch others Start a blog or expand the one you have, create engagement Understand your state ethics rules with regard to advertising Understand firms social media policy, be on the committee Manage your content and create a content schedule Get mobile, download social apps Engage others, RT them, thank them, talk to them, build a relationship, network, have conversations

DON’T Be spammy Be salesy Critique others for their opinions Not be consistent with content Confuse channel audiences Be scared Post the same content across all networks at the same time. Jump on the next thing every time a new social network comes out.

Resources  http://blog.linkedin.com/  http://help.linkedin.com/app/home  https://www.facebook.com/help/privacy?ref=contextual  http://support.twitter.com/  http://mangageflitter.com  http://twournal.com  http://twistory.com  http://www.techinasia.com/techinasia/wp- content/uploads/2010/10/executives-using-social-media.png  http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/law-firm-blogging/

Join our community! Natalie Alesi @legalerswelcome www.legalerswelcome.com Linkedin.com/in/nataliealesi Facebook.com/legalerswelcome Gplus.to/nataliehuha nataliebethalesi@gmail.com Samantha Collier @samtaracollier www.socialmediaforlawfirms.com Linkedin.com/in/samanthacollier Facebook.com/socialmediaforlawfirms Gplus.to/samanthacollier samanthataracollier@gmail.com #legalchat 11 am ET Fridays

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Social Media Rocket Matter

by Samantha Collier

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