I had the pleasure of co-hosting a LexBlog webinar with Tiffani McDonough of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP last Wednesday, June 25th. Another big thanks to our audience for listening in and asking great questions. We had fun and hope you did too. Below the recap, you’ll find links to the recording and slides as well as the webinar survey. I will also list a few of the posts/resources I mentioned during the presentation for you to refer to.
A big thanks to Jenna Running for doing a great job facilitating and keeping us on task, Kristina Corbitt for all the behind the scenes work she did helping with logistics, and Cara McDonald for helping provide momentum in getting the word out about the webinar.
LexBlog Core Beliefs
Relationships and word of mouth will always be key to driving new business for lawyers. Today, having a strong online presence is crucial to driving business development. Your online engagement has to be authentic in order to accelerate those relationships and word of mouth. These are the reasons (THE WHY) we here at LexBlog empower lawyers to network through the internet (See: What I Believe Informs Everything I Do for You as a Client).
State of the Marketplace for Lawyers Today
If you need that push to participate online or to take what you are doing to the next level, consider:
- 98% of business decision makers read blogs –Forrester
- 74% of in-house counsel use social media in listen-only mode – Greentarget, InsideCounsel & Zeughauser Group
- By 2025, Millennial generation will make up 75% of the workforce – Brookings
Per Tiffani, clients look to social media as a research tool and they expect law firms to be cutting edge and invest resources in this area to help keep them informed.
Start by Following the Right People
No matter what tool you decide to use, begin with the end in mind. Social media is not a broadcast tool. Find people that command your attention…what do they want to hear? What do they care about? Before you can dive in you need to have a good understanding of your goals.
Three Ways Lawyers Can Use Social Media to Launch Their Careers
Whether you are in law school, a young lawyer just starting out or someone who has been practicing for a long time but not sure where to start, here are a few things you can do.
#1: Listen
More to the point, in order to identify common language, values, fears and aspirations, the initial focus of a marketing enterprise should be on listening. – Eric Fletcher , Marketing Brain Fodder
- Create Situational Awareness
- Follow influencers in your area of expertise
- Listen to clients & potential clients
- Gain insight into what is happening in your particular industry
Tiffani: “Social media is perhaps the fastest/most efficient way to communicate breaking legal news.”
- Twitter
- Start slow, follow a few key players in your circles
- Great spot for breaking news
- Go to place for breaking news – like Tiffani finding circuit court case that was just decided
- Flipboard
- Single place to pull discover, collect & share information you care about
- Nice visual display
- Content easily sharable
- LinkedIn
- Go beyond setting up profile
- Listen to your connections
- Join groups / answer questions
- EXAMPLE: Tiffani belongs to and listens to questions posted in HR groups
#2: Share
Now that you have gained some situation awareness, take a step further and begin to share articles of interest or comment on blog posts. Always remember the 80/20 rule: you should share others’ content 80% of the time and your own (or your law firm info) 20% of the time. You will build social media equity this way.
- Connect & Build Relationships
- Sharing and commenting on content from others, even other lawyers, can help expand your reach nationally
- Can be a less intimidating way to connect and make an introduction to someone you’d like to meet
- Natural way to build on your listening habits
- Generation Networking Opportunities
- Offline networking can typically be 1:1
- Online networking allows for the 1: many
- Networking online helps you decide what to take F2F – softens the relationship
- See also: The Strength of Weak Ties in Social Networking: Seek to be Worth Knowing
Though local publications and speaking engagements are great networking tools, social media allows you to expand your reach. – Tiffani McDonough
#3: Write
Writing to build presence or gain exposure has always existed for lawyers. As Dorie Clark says, “If you want to have an impact, you might as well be the one setting the agenda by blogging your ideas.” To learn more about what Dorie has to say, you can check out her Harvard Business Review article titled If You’re Serious About Ideas, Get Serious About Blogging.
- Demonstrate Your Expertise
- Write to showcase expertise can lead to both external & internal exposure
- Show clients and potential clients you understand their business
- Flexible medium
- Write in conversational tone
- Discuss/comment on current issues in your industry
- Support Your Goals
- Remember: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
- Who are you writing to?
- Take a serious issue try to present it in creative way
- Your personal insight makes you interesting
- Leverage & Repurpose
- Do not have to start from scratch
- What work have you already done?
- Articles you’ve already written?
- Comment on other’s work
- Address questions you commonly receive from clients
“Draw on your day to day practice for blog post ideas.” – Tiffani McDonough
Some final thoughts to leave you with. Start off by using social media as a listening tool until you feel comfortable engaging as an active participant. Once you do start to engage or publish, remember to try and keep your ideas fresh and creative. You do not know the outcome of how social media can impact your life and your business until you start to experience it.
Here are the 3 Ways Lawyers Can Use Social slides and recording (embedded below).
http://vimeo.com/99373228
Resources:
- Related to LinkedIn Publishing: 8 reasons LinkedIn publishing is not going to kill law blogs (Published by Kevin O’Keefe) & 3 reasons lawyers should “post” to LinkedIn (Published by Heather Morse) & Eric Fletcher on C O P E (Create Once Publish Everywhere)
- Great recap of trends/statistics in legal marketplace: Law Is A Social Business (Published by Kevin McKeown)
- Facebook related question: How Facebook works for professional networking by lawyers (Published by Kevin O’Keefe)
- McKinsey to Professional Services: “Huge ROI From Social Media” (Published by Kevin McKeown)
Thanks again to everyone. Would love your feedback whether you attended live or listened to the recording. Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LexBlog3Ways
Image courtesy of ModernWorkers.com