[ ][ ]

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CHEAT SHEET:

HERE’S HOW TO OWN YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

For lawyers, social media has been a strange, amorphous idea with no real guidelines but is still something that needs to be harnessed properly. You and your firm could be missing out on tons of opportunities and thousands of billable hours if you’re using the wrong strategy. Here is your reference sheet for the big 3 in social media; use it as a guideline for boosting your online

presence and maximizing your firm’s brand on social media sites.

THE WHY

THE HOW

77% of business, legal, and professional services have adopted social media outreach strategies over the past 3 years. By employing the proper social media utilization strategy, there is a potential to improve worker productivity by 20-25% which could in turn add up to 1.3 trillion of annual value across the four major industries. Over 31% of all referral traffic came directly from social media platforms and that trend is expected to increase in 2016 as more people join social networks.2

Facebook Without good design, your page will lose out on crucial traffic and appear unprofessional. Here’s a look at a couple of firms and why they are doing it right:

Miller Starr Regalia

• Clearandcrisplandingpage,withproperly-sizedintrotothefirm• Goodblendoflegalcontentandthepersonalsideofthefirm – the human side of the firm is shown from the photos – a list of related “likes” that are part of the community

Fenwick & West

• Acasualtonethatisuniqueandsocialmediafriendlyyetstaysontopic• Engageswiththeaudiencewell• Largefocusonindividualsofthefirmandphilanthropy–veryhumanizing• Agoodcomboofpromotion,shared,andoriginalcontent

A survey of over 1,300 Facebook pages determined that over 80% of law firms were unsuccessful in their social media strategy.3 A common mistake is having an automated feed link, which delivers content from your website and blog to your FB page. Diversify your posts on FB to keep your followers engaged. It takes a human feel.

Know how to own your page

• CheckoutKershaw,Cutter&Ratinoff.Withover2,750likes,theytakeaveryinteractiveandhumanapproachto their FB strategy – Though they could improve on design, they have lots of links, shares, and events in the community, and they’re not a huge law firm! – Shows the effectiveness of proper engagement even when other parts are lacking

TwitterBe interactive, engaging, and consistent.

• Hashtagsleadto122%higherengagementrates4 • @mentionsget51%moretraction5

Greg Wilson – example of well-rounded individual attorney profile

• Quickandinformative“aboutme”• Consistenttweets,retweets,andengagement• Goodcontentdiversification• Gooddesignandlayout.• Linkedtohisfirm

Appelman Law Firm – example of a well-rounded law firm

• Highlyinteractive• Consistentposts• Alltweetshavelink/picture/video• Informativebutnotopinionated

LinkedInBe interactive, engaging, and consistent.

• 96%oflawyersand90%oflawfirmsmaintainLinkedInaccounts6 • Greaterthan15%haveattainedclientsfromit7 • LinkedInisaboutconnectingwithyourmarketandindustry

Lee Rosen – example of a leader in social media marketing for lawyers. Check out his LinkedIn and other pages for great examples of how to run your online presence.

• Veryprofessionalyetengaging• Establishedasathoughtleader• Lotsofnavigablecontent

Bringing it Home: Keepyourbrandingmessageconsistentacrossallsocialnetworkingplatforms.Theycanvaryalittle,butyourFacebookshouldn’t be ultra-casual if your LinkedIn and Twitter are professional. Have the same recognizable atmosphere across each to keep users grounded, and make the right impression for your firm.

In summary, social media is a way you can own and control your image and reputation, educate your clients, become the go-to source for legal expertise in your practice areas, and provide a personal touch for current and potential clients. Law firms not taking advantage of the opportunities in social media will be beaten by their competitors who are.

1.http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_social_economy2.http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/02/03/social-media-now-drives-31-of-all-referral-traffic/3.http://www.franchise-info.ca/monetizing/2015/04/why-most-law-firms-facebook-st.html#.VlOrNd-rQ004.http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/promoted-tweets-best-practices/5006685.http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/promoted-tweets-best-practices/5006686.http://www.mycase.com/blog/2015/02/lawyers-social-media-2015-infographic/7.http://www.mycase.com/blog/2015/02/lawyers-social-media-2015-infographic/

Contact Commexis today to learn more about getting

your social media marketing working for you!

856.520.8218 I Commexis.com