make social media make sense for your law practice

Portent, Inc. Make Social Media Make Sense

for Your Practice

Sara Lingafelter

July 24, 2014

Law school taught me to cite my sources: http://bitly.is/1r7qQE6

Hi. I’m Sara.

I play outside.

I’m a lawyer.

n inactive v

marketer.

For ethical

guidance,

consult the

REAL experts.

RPCs  and  advisory  opinions  on  point  have  been  addressed  in  CLEs  including:    •  Jeanne  Marie  Clavere  on  

Ethics  &  Social  Media,  KCBA,  December  2013  

•  Social  Media  PiHalls  and  Best  PracIces,  WSBA,  April  2012  

I love what I do.

I’m a marketer. ^ in part.

Portent, Inc. is one of North America’s elite Internet marketing companies. Located in Seattle, WA., Portent is a full-service agency with in-house design, creative, and development teams including experts in paid advertising, analytics, SEO, content strategy/writing, and social media.

Greetings from the #smithtower

About Portent

Ahead of

The Horizon

We create customer experiences worth talking about.

But first… how are other lawyers using social media?

65 lawyers answered up to 15 questions about their social media usage and here are the results.

Disclaimer: this is a survey, not a study.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Important

Not very important

Do not use to market my practice

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Important

Not very important

Assuming  Ime    and  money  IS    an  object,    start  here!  

Oh  yes  you  do!  

Why should you create customer experiences worth talking about?

Whether you think you “do marketing” or not, you ARE your marketing department.

Why social?

How do people weigh social in hiring service professionals?

Who is YOUR audience?

1.  Clients  2.  Prospects  3.  Press  /  Influencers  4.  Referrers  

1.  Professional  2.  Non-­‐

professional  3.  Personal  

hVp://bit.ly/1ukE1Wi  

What is social media practice?

hVp://bit.ly/1oPxTNg  

Truth:    it’s  WAY  more  than  just  playing  on  Facebook  all  day.  

What IS social media practice, really?

Listen

hVp://bit.ly/1jVZEb0  

Respond

hVp://mzl.la/UePoi0  

Engage

Manage your reputation

•  Who  would  you  rather  have  impacIng  your  reputaIon:  you,  or  others?  

•  Social  profiles  rank  highly  in  search  engines;  can  push  down  other  pages  in  rankings.    

Build community

hVp://bit.ly/1yzUHHN  

Curate content

hVp://bit.ly/1r7UnO1  

Create content & tell stories

hVp://bit.ly/1nREpXr  

Trigger people to take action

hVp://bit.ly/1r7Vgq3  

What are some realistic goals?

Think microconversions, not metrics.

Example  microconversions:    •  Email  list  sign-­‐ups  •  Reviews  •  Referrals  •  MenIons  by  influencers  /  press    

What platforms should you consider?

There’s always the big three.

There’s always the big three. four.

personal professional

Nobody  loves  Google+  more  than  Google.  

But don’t underestimate the “little guys.”

But what about [insert objection here]?

Time

A  possible  “ramp  up”  plan:    Start  with:    •  Take  15  minutes  a  day  to  listen  and  respond  to  inbound  messages.  

 Then  add:  •  Curated  content  •  “Opportunity”  listening  •  Networking  groups  /  pracIce  area  

groups  

Then  add  (if  it’s  right  for  you):  •  Content  creaIon  •  Paid  social  

Tools There  are  many  free  /  low-­‐cost  tools  to  make  social  management  across  plaBorms  easier.    •  Sprout  Social  •  Hootsuite  

Talent Not  everyone  has  to  do  social…    

…but  everyone  who  does  social  started  somewhere.  

Trolls 1.  Count  on  your  “got-­‐yer-­‐back  posse”  

2.  Engage  professionally  and  in  public  (when  possible)    

3.  “Block”  judiciously  4.  Delete  only  when  

absolutely  necessary  

Ethical obligations

•  Consult  the  WSBA  and  KCBA  CLEs  on  point  

•  Leverage  LOMAP  if  you  have  specific  quesIons  not  answered  by  those  CLEs  

Reputation risk

Build  your  confidence  by:  

•  focusing  on  listening  to  start  

•  focusing  your  efforts  on  “closed”  communiIes  (but  remember  they’re  not  private)  (e.g.  LinkedIn  groups,  mailing  lists,  etc.)  

Personal vs. professional boundaries

Operate  in  accordance  with  your  ethical  obligaIons  AND  your  best  judgment  and  comfort  level.  

“But I can’t stand social media.”

You  don’t  have  to  like  social  media  to  be  present  on  social  media  plaHorms.        Just  be  sure  to  set  expectaIons  for  plaHorm  visitors,  so  they  know  how  to  reach  you.    And,  focus  on  what  you  DO  like  (a  plaHorm,  a  community,  etc.    Build  relaIonships  with  other  aVorneys  at  a  minimum,  even  if  you  never  talk  to  a  client  or  prospect  online.  

Questions?

Portent, Inc. is one of North America’s elite Internet marketing companies. Located in Seattle, WA., Portent is a full-service agency with in-house design, creative, and development teams including experts in paid advertising, analytics, SEO, content strategy/writing, and social media.

Greetings from the #smithtower

About Portent Small Business Solutions

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With 18 years in the industry, you can trust our expertise.

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About Portent

Thank Portent, Inc. 506 2nd Ave. Suite 1700 Seattle. WA 98104-2354 | Tel: 206.575.3740

YOU.

Sara Lingafelter @saralingafelter http://www.portent.com