Social Media for Law Firms by Samantha Collier

3 Changes You Need to Know about the Tweets App on LinkedIn

2012-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of moans and groans about the upcoming changes to the Tweets App on LinkedIn. Don't worry, this isn't Facebook we're talking out. I've distilled it down to three key points you need to know:

1. The change is taking place January 31, 2012.

2. You can still link your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. LinkedIn is not eliminating the ability to send updates between your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. From the settings tab in your LinkedIn profile, you can still choose to send all of your tweets or only those with the #in hashtag to your LinkedIn status updates.* Here's how you can link your accounts if you haven't already. You should definitely consider linking your accounts to get the best bang for your buck on your social media efforts.

3. Your tweets will still appear on your home page newsfeed for your connections to see but you won't be able to follow your LinkedIn connections from the application settings page. The standalone Tweets application on LinkedIn will not be supported after January 31, 2012.

You can direct any further questions to LinkedIn's Help Center or you can ask me directly at samanthataracollier@gmail.com.

*Please note it is extremely aggravating to someone's direct twitter stream in a LinkedIn newsfeed. Be extremely cautious about how you set this up. You work hard for your LinkedIn connections - you don't want them to delete you. I prefer to use the #in hashtag method. -just my 2 cents!

Will You Watch the World's First Twitter Moot?

2012-01-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of a Twitter Moot? Probably not.

On Tuesday, February 21st, at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET) the good folks at West Coast Environmental Law will be hosting the self proclaimed World's First Moot Court on Twitter. Follow it using the hashtag #twtmoot.

How Will it Work?

Three judges and teams from five law schools across Canada will participate in a mock appeal of a recent precedent-setting environmental case, West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia via Twitter.

The judges are:

Noted lawyer and Law Professor Kathleen Mahoney of the University of Calgary;
The widely recognized Lawyer Blogger Omar HaRedeye; and
Lawyer, turned award-winning mystery writer, William Deverell.

The Twitter moot will see teams from five Canadian Universities - B.C., Dalhousie, Ottawa, Victoria and York (Osgoode Hall).

This is an interesting way to blend social media, law and legal arguments in front of a global audience... in 140 characters or less.

Will you be watching?

3 Mistakes Lawyers Make When Taking Social Media Conversations Offline

2012-01-23T06:20:00.000-08:00

Attorneys spend plenty of time debating the importance, or lack thereof, of social media. Let me be clear: learning how to bring online conversations offline is the single most important skill lawyers need when using social media for business development. Everything else is secondary.

Without careful consideration on how to set up an offline meeting, sooner rather than later, your leads will fizzle and die.

The social media community is acutely aware that businesses are competing for their attention. How will you, as an attorney, take on this task without appearing like a greasy car salesman? Here's 3 mistakes lawyers make when trying:

1. You ask your lead for an offline conversation minutes after following them on Twitter, liking them on Facebook or any other social media interaction.

How to fix it: You must build rapport with your potential clients. This requires genuine conversation and interest in their well being. A common comparison is the dinner party. Would you approach your dream client and talk business without building a relationship first? If so, how is that working for you? Not that great right? First, you must watch how your potential clients socialize online. How's the conversation going? What do they talk about? What's their social style? Do your research before making your first contact.

2. Your social media platforms are ghost towns of activity. This is one of the most common mistakes attorneys make when using social media. Twitter accounts are forgotten. Blogs are abandoned. You get the picture.

How to fix it: Be consistent with your online social media endeavors. Spend at least 30 minutes every day on each social media account you choose to join. Pencil it in to your calendar, set a reminder in Outlook, and most importantly, don't skip it. Being a common fixture online builds trust within your chosen platform. It takes doing something 100 times to make it a habit - get started! Being consistent with your postings and engagement builds a track record of positive, relevant activity. When your prospect checks you out online, he or she will see you're reliable.

3. Go into social media with a me-first attitude. One of the most common social media mistakes is to assume you can get clients online without "giving back". Law firms are notorious for being blatantly self promotional. Check this attitude at the door please.

How to fix it: Educate rather than promote. Give away something of perceived value. Do you have white papers you can give away for free that your lead might be interested in? Do you have mutual interests that you might be able to keep them up-to-date on? See what your target client is interested in and see if you can help out in any way. The trick is to be authentic without looking like you want something in return.

How much do these mistakes cost attorneys in the long run? Enough to make their social media efforts worthless in my opinion. Make sure you properly qualify your potential leads before trying to take the conversation offline. Doing so ensures a smooth transition!

How have you taken the conversation offline? How has it worked? And, the golden question, have you gotten work through your social media efforts? Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Most Popular Social Media for Law Firms Posts in 2011

2011-12-30T05:15:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's already the end of 2011? This year has gone flown by. I'd like to thank you for reading and supporting my blog, Social Media for Law Firms. It's been an incredible year and I look forward to sharing many more with you! As a recap, I'm sharing the top ten most popular posts of 2011. Enjoy!

1. Lawyers - Do You Answer Twitter Questions? If not, You Should!

2. How To Use LinkedIn to Connect with Potential Clients

3. The Perfect Twitter Bio

4. Will Google be Offering Google Law Soon?

5. What's Hot and What's Not - in Business Development by @LarryBodine

6. Social Media Policies for Law Firms

7. 10 Social Media Sharing Trends Lawyers Need to Know

8. Advanced LinkedIn Tips for Lawyers from the Law & Social Networking Group on LinkedIn

9. This Law Firm Gets Social Media @DLA_Piper_News

10. Lawyers, Makeover Your LinkedIn Profile With This Easy Tool!

On a personal note, 2012 is the beginning of a new chapter for me. I'm working from home starting January 3, 2012 doing work for MBM as well as providing social media support to legal consultants, lawyers and law firms. The best part is I get to pull my kids out of daycare and spend more time with them!

My Interview with @noahkravitz (Noah Kravitz) - How Much is a Twitter Follower Worth?

2011-12-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

How much is a Twitter follower worth?

The question being raised in what could become a landmark lawsuit in the United States where a company (Phonedog.com) is suing a former employee (Noah Kravitz) who left the business and took his 17,000 Twitter followers with him.

When he left the company, he kept his Twitter account but changed his username from @Phonedog_Noah to @NoahKravitz. According to the New York Times, Kravitz was told he could keep the account as long as he tweeted about the company from time to time. Eight months later, Phonedog filed a lawsuit against him, claiming the followers list was essentially a "customer list" and he owed them $340,000 - or $2.50 a month per follower for eight months.

Check out Noah's interview on CNN:

I contacted Noah today via Twitter with a couple questions I thought you'd be interested in:

1. Did the company you worked for have any sort of social media policy? Did they ask you to sign anything?

No. In fact, Monday after I officially left the company, they published my farewell post and video, both of which directed people to follow me @noahkravitz if they wished.

2. Did you tweet during and after business hours?

Yes. I tweeted on a wide variety of topics at virtually all hours.

3. What advice would you give those interested in social media but afraid of legal ramifications?

Make sure that you're versed in your employers' social media policies before you agree to do anything, including publicly associating yourself with the company. If you're the employer, make sure you have clearly-defined social media policies and whatever legalese necessary to go with them.

Most importantly, communicate ahead of time! Be up front about what belongs to who, what time is company time vs personal time, and so forth. Be very clear about the ramifications of using a company name in any of your online handles (Twitter handle, Facebook name, etc). I can speak from personal experience: Break ups can cause people to do things you never could have imagined back when everyone was best of colleagues and friends. Cover all the bases you can before you start tweeting or posting so you can hopefully avoid a situation like mine later.

And don't forget that a big part of why people follow various Twitter accounts is the personality behind the account. At Technobuffalo, where I work now, we have an @technobuffalo account but then the individual writers keep personal accounts as well. The personal accounts are personal - not company property - but we'll use them to talk about content on the site. Followers like to read each of our perspectives on a single issue, and also get to know us on a personal level. I report on consumer tech, but I tweet a lot about things like food, music, sports and whatever's going on in the world at a given moment. It's fun and it creates a shared connection that can be valuable to author, follower, and "company" alike. It's a delicate balance between what's personal/public and company/individual, but it's worth figuring it out. So long as both sides are honest and agree to terms (and, I guess, uphold them), social media is a fascinating evolution with a lot of value to the world.

4. Where can people find you online?

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/noahkravitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noahkravitz
And I currently serve as Editor at Large for TechnoBuffalo.com

What do you think? Do you think Phonedog has a right to Noah's Twitter account? I think Noah 100% owns his account and has every right to keep it. Please keep in mind everything Noah mentions above when tweeting on behalf of your law firm. Stay tuned for more details!

Social Media: Why Should I Care - Free Webinar Recording Available (How did we do?)

2011-12-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Natalie Huha of Just Engage Inc. and I recorded a webinar I think you'll find useful. Most of you already know social media is necessary when it comes to marketing but this is a good refresher. We discuss LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogging.

I have to warn you there is a lot of laughing too - we had a little too much fun. It takes about an hour to run through but put it on while you're sitting at your desk working.

I'd also appreciate any feedback you have about the webinar. We are planning to do more in the future and want to know how we did. :)

Click here to view the free webinar recording. You have to register but I promise you'll find it useful!

Top 5 Social Media for Law Firms Posts This Week

2011-12-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

1. Can You Buy Twitter Followers? FindLaw Thinks So by Kevin O'Keefe. Do you think it's important to have a lot of followers on Twitter? If yes, would you purchase them? Kevin O'Keefe talks about FindLawLP using Twitter's Promoted Accounts feature to "buy" followers. It apparently worked but is it really necessary? Does it go against what social media is really about?

2. Thought Leadership 2.0 by Adrian Dayton. Adrian examines the term "thought leadership" with James Durgam, a lawyer and chief marketing officer at McGuire Woods. It's a term we hear often but what does it really mean? "It's like playing in traffic: If you want to get hit, you gotta get out there. You gotta be playing in the street. Our rainmakers think about business development all the time - it is really a matter of focus...". Excellent article full of great tips.

3. Holiday Gift Procrastinators Unite! by Tom Kane. This is one of my favorite posts for obvious reasons. Most of my week has been spent licking envelopes and sending gifts. Why not give away a solar powered bikini? Yes this article really includes it.

4. Twitter Jargon You Need to Know by The PR Lawyer. Do you know what MT, PRT and QOTD mean? No? Click the link to become a Twitter Acronym Pro.

5. Remember Your Love/Hate Relationships by the [non]billable hour. I like this article because it's short and to the point. It also includes yellow pads of paper which always remind me of lawyers :) A good read about how to build the perfect practice y identifying the types of clients you want and the types of clients you'd rather leave at the doorstep.

The Most Common Law Blog and SEO Mistake in the World

2011-12-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

Creating a successful law blog takes time, work, dedication and motivation. There's a million other things to do instead of sitting down at your desk and churning out content... for free (unless you're a paid blogger - than kudos to you!). I read an article by Marcus Sheridan, the Sales Lion, that will improve your results substantially if getting more web traffic is one of your goals.

Marcus says this: "If you don't have a keyword phrase goal for every blog post you ever write, you`re missing the boat."

What are Keyword Phrase Goals? To increase relevant traffic to your law blog or website you should be writing about content your ideal clients are looking for online. Keyword research can help increase traffic to your site. Placing proper keyword phrases in your blog's title and/or article can help. Google changes it's algorithms all the time so it's never an exact science but it definitely helps. Keeping your content fresh and interesting helps too. Check out Google's tool over here for more info on key words.

Marcus suggests that SEO should be your top priority unless you have oodles of subscribers. Witty blog titles on your law blog help but they should also include relevant key word phrases. Your goal is to appear on the prized first page of Google search results. What are your ideal clients searching for online? How are they searching for it? What combinations of words are they using? You need to get into their heads for a moment. Marcus goes on to say he should be able to guess what your keyword goals are from your last ten blog post titles.

Creating a successful law blog is tough. There's a lot of competition out there as more and more legal industry folks are realizing social media can be utilized for marketing and/or business development. Make it easier by doing some keyword research and optimizing your posts. Try it out for a couple weeks and monitor your Google Analytics. Let me know how it works in the comments below.

My #Clawbies2011 Nominations for the Canadian Law Blogs Awards

2011-12-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

It's time to nominate your favorite Canadian Law Blogs in the 6th Annual Canadian Law Blog Awards hosted by the good folks at Stem Legal. The list of Canadian law bloggers really grew this year so if you're having trouble remembering all your favorites, take a gander over here. The list is sorted by practice area, province, recently added, etc. These are my nominations for 2011

Thoughtful Legal Management by David J. Bilinsky. I love this blog, and not just because he starts off blog posts with music notes and song lyrics. He is the man when it comes to practice management for lawyers and law firms. His articles are current, consistent and interesting to read. When it comes to blogging, Dave has it down.
BC Injury Law and ICBC Claims Blog by Erik Magraken. Although I don't read ICBC and BC Injury Law blogs often, I am nominating Erik because he takes blogging and social media seriously (and effectively). I had a personal need for information relating to ICBC this year and who did I think of first? Erik. That's social media that works. I didn't end up needing his services (thank the lucky stars above) but it was neat that his name popped into my mind.
Wise Law Blog y Garry J. wise. Wise Law is one of my favorites. Garry posts timely information about legal developments in Canada and the United States. If you need to stay up to date - subscribe to his site. You'll thank me later. He also uses Blogger like me which gives him extra points.

Have you voted for your favorites yet? Head over here and check out the voting rules. Only 27 days left!!

Are Google+ Pages a Big Waste of Time for Law Firms?

2011-12-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

We all know about Google+, the social network created by the smart folks at Google. There's a lot of debate going on if it will overtake Facebook or not. My answer to that question is simple - who cares! It's good for Facebook to have some healthy competition but in the long run I only care about one thing - are my potential using it. If so, I'll open an account. If not, I won't. It's pretty easy.

I sat on the fence for a long time when it came to Google+. When it first came I out I practically bribed someone to get a beta invite on the first day. (Yes, I am a little obsessed when it comes to social media). It was interesting to inspect a new platform and try out all the functions and features. Hangouts are neat video chats with up to ten participants. You organize your friends with circles that makes sharing easy and efficient. Overall, it has a clean simple interface that is easy to use and get used too.

To date Google+ has over 40 million members. That's almost one third of LinkedIn's 135 million users which is impressive because LinkedIn launched in May, 2003. Facebook currently has over 800 million members so Google+ still has a long way to go.

Google+ launched Google+ Pages for businesses on November 7th, 2011. I've been asked numerous times if I think law firms should create Business Pages and my answer is yes for these reasons.

Google can't verify brands which opens the possibility someone else might claim to be you or your firm. There isn't a clear means for Google to distinguish similar brands so if your firm has a common name you should take action to claim your name.
Hold interoffice meetings, client meetings, etc. using Google+ hangouts. You can have up to ten participants and I'm sure you can come up with some creative ideas and topics.
Share newsletters, blog posts, content, etc. with various targeted circles easily.
Create "Content Circles" specific to one practice area and hold weekly discussions.
Creating a Google Business Page may help with your firm's SEO although there's been some debate. It doesn't hurt to try. Make sure you create a baseline first prior to opening an account to see how it pans out.

Will you be creating a Google+ Page for your law firm? Why or why not? Do you think they are a complete waste of time? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below!

This Law Firm Gets Social Media @DLA_Piper_News

2011-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday I profile a law firm that gets social media. Today the prize goes to mega-firm DLA Piper with offices all over the globe.

Website

DLA Piper's website still includes elements of a traditional law firm website with headings such as Press Releases, Legal Insights, etc. Their social media accounts are displayed along the bottom right of the page and include Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Last week my friends Tim Baran and Carolyn Elefant pointed out it's only a good idea to link to your social media accounts if your accounts are up to date. This is extremely important. DLA Piper is also the only firm out of all the top AmLaw 200 that uses Flickr. Their blog list isn't included on their homepage - I would recommend they do this.

Twitter

The DLA Piper Twitter account is going strong with 4,933 followers the last time I checked. They tweet often, use hashtags, respond to questions and don't self promote all day long. They also retweet other content which is important. Their page is branded and they replaced the infamous egg logo with the DLA Piper logo. It's important to keep your account current and up-to-date. You'd be surprised how many big law firms have reserved their names but don't have any tweets and/or protect their tweets.

Facebook

The DLA Piper Facebook page is a flurry of information. They effectively use photo albums, promote blog posts, allow comments and encourage discussion. You can also tell from their URL shortner that they use Hootsuite to share content through their social networks. DLA Piper also has separate Facebook pages for HR, graduates, blogs and different countries. The only advice I'd give them is to create a landing page to greet new non-fans and encourage them to "like" the page. They currently have 517 likes.

YouTube

The DLA Piper YouTube channel is branded in their signature blue and has 21 subscribers to date. The channel has had 5,288 views (very few by YouTube standards) and they joined in April, 2010. I think it's great they are incorporating video into their social media strategy and look forward to see more law firms doing this in the future.

Flickr

I was pretty shocked to see a Flickr icon along with their other social media accounts. Their account is full of interesting photo albums and they've also upgraded to a Pro account which allows massive amounts of storage, analytics and ad-free browsing and sharing. The cost is $24.95 per month. Their pictures are mostly client events and charities.

LinkedIn

The DLA Piper company page on LinkedIn has more than 7,420 followers and they are taking advantage of the new "status update" feature for company pages. They also include a feed of their blog posts, mentions in the news, activity on LinkedIn and much more.

Here are links to DLA Piper's social media information:

Why I Love @GetClicky

2011-10-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

Every Monday is tip day. This Monday is real time web analytics company Get Clicky (@getclicky on Twitter). This is an incredibly popular product among my colleagues and myself. I even have the paid version which says a lot - I'm incredibly "thrifty". The paid version is $9.99 per month or $59.99 annually. You can register up to ten websites and/or blogs at that price. You can test out the pro version for free without a credit card for 21 days. I highly recommend it.

Visitors

The #1 reason to get GetClicky is the Visitor Log. The pro version allows you to see real time information about who is on your website right now. This information includes:

Location information: country, city, state, etc.
Company information. If someone is looking at your page from home it will most likely show their Internet provider information.
How they found your site = referring link, search terms, etc.
Actions they took (clicked to another page in your site, etc.)
Operating system, web browser, resolution, etc.
The number of times they visited your site.

Can I stress you can easily see which company is looking at your website? This is gold if you have defined your target audience. Perhaps you can follow up with a newsletter, email, phone call, etc. I should also mention you can see the location of each visitor on a map. You can also name IP addresses for people you know and ignore their hits if you prefer.

There's also a neat little feature called "spy" that makes you feel like a private investigator (or a stalker). You can see who is on your site right now via a map image and get notified when new people come online. It's very easy to read and you get a great overview of the traffic to your site.

Have you used GetClicky? Are you going to download the free trial? Let me know what you think of if you have another service you prefer.

Top 5 Social Media for Law Firms Posts This Week

2011-10-19T05:02:00.001-07:00

1. Breaking: PA Supreme Court to Tweet Rulings by The PR Lawyer. This is definitely a sign of how social media is becoming main stream in the legal industry. A must read.

2. Eye Tracking SERPs by Amanda Walsh of The PR Lawyer. SERPs (stands for search engine results pages) are important to understand when it comes to legal marketing and the Internet. Amanda discusses research regarding the way user's eyes track over a page of search results. The first two hits that come up are typically the most popular. A very good read to better understand how people read content on the web.

3. Why Your Client Service Improvements... May Not Be by Jay S. Fleischman of Legal Practice Pro. Jay examines why "Click Here to Chat Live" may not be the best option for your law firm website. Includes a very interesting transcript of an online conversation.

4. How to Network: Get Out and Do Things. With People. by Sam Glover on The Lawyerist. Sam (great name by the way) discusses how to fail at networking and what things to do and which people to do them with. His ideas are refreshingly simple... and easy.

5. 3 Trends to Help Your Law Firm's Search Engine Ranking by Tom Matte of The Matte Pad. Tom keeps readers up to date on how to improve your law firm's search ranking by sharing three important tips - one important factor is your website must be mobile device-friendly.

This Law Firm Gets Social Media @LuceForward

2011-10-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday I profile a law firm that gets social media. Today the prize goes to AmLaw 200 Luce Forward, a forward thinking firm with offices throughout California.

Website

Luce Forward displays their social media account information (LinkedIn company profile, Twitter and Facebook) on the home page of their website. More and more firms are starting to do this and it's a great way to promote your social media endeavors. Some firms may feel it's too much, too soon but it all depends on your target client - do they use social media? In Luce Forward's case, the social media accounts are displayed in a banner that runs across the top of the page - not too flashy, I like that. They also include sharing buttons on the attorney bio pages.

Twitter

Luce Forward definitely "gets" Twitter. They post regularly and use hash tags efficiently. They also cross promote their Facebook account on Twitter - great idea. It's important to not appear too "self promotional" when using social media. This can be tricky when it comes to law firms due to the nature of the work and who the target client is. Luce does it in a way I like by asking questions. They remember it's a "conversation".

Facebook

Law firms and Lawyers love or hate Facebook for business. I feel that a well organized Facebook page that adheres to your law firms' branding and style is always a good idea. Luce Forward does Facebook right for a number of reasons including:

New visitors are met with a nicely designed landing page that asks readers to "like" their page.
Facebook URL is personalized.
JD Supra tab
Twitter tab
LinkedIn tab
Good use of photo albums

LinkedIn

Company pages on LinkedIn are becoming more dynamic month by month as I wrote in my recent post Check Out the Major Upgrades to LinkedIn Company Pages this week. Luce Forward's page is definitely up to par. Their page has many sections including:

Well written "about" page.
Mentioned in the news section.
Complete address information.
Recent blog posts.
Activity feed.
Well defined Services page with nice use of images. (You can also add Youtube video's here)

Blog

Eric Lane of Luce, Forwad authors the Green Patent Blog, a blog about discussion and analysis about intellectual property issues in clean technology and renewable energy. Eric writes posts regularly and comments are allowed which is absolutely imperative when it comes to authoring a successful law blog.

Eric's website bio links to his blog which is also fantastic. I'd like to see a blog link on the homepage of the website as well.

Here are links to Luce Forward's social media accounts:

Hat tip to Luce Forward for being on the leading edge of social media for law firms. I'd like to see more law firms following suit. Does your law firm get social media? Would you like to be showcased? Contact me at samanthataracollier@gmail.com.

10 Social Media Sharing Trends Lawyers Need to Know

2011-10-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

The Digital Buzz blog posted a neat article over the weekend called Infographic: Social Media Sharing Trends. (Digital Buzz is a great blog to follow if you like infographics, statistics and videos relating to social media).

Here are ten social media sharing trends you need to know:

The best time to share your content is at 9:30 am Eastern Time.
The most content is shared on Wednesday.
Most users will click on shared content within the first two minutes.
If each page view generated a second of attention we would see 90 years of attention daily.
Cut and paste sharing can still be up to 10 times more used than social sharing tools.
Twitter is #1 of all time when it comes to growth in shares %.
The Facebook Send is trending up 756% in the past year
iGoogle is trending down 68% in the past year
The most social sharing takes place in the United States.
We process more data in one week than the Hubble Telescope collected in its first 20 years!

Social sharing is imperative when it comes to creating your social media marketing strategy. It's important to add sharing buttons in every place you generate content. Make it easy for people to spread the word!

Here's the infographic for your viewing pleasure:

http://digitalbuzz.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Sharing-Trends-Large.png

Five Ways to Promote Your Twitter Account

2011-10-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

Every Monday is tip day. This Monday is five ways to promote your Twitter account. I was asked this question by Jeffrey Schlossberg, a New York attorney who was the first in his firm to open a Twitter account - good for him! He asked:

I am just getting started on Twitter. Can you suggest methods for how I get my Twitter information out there? I already put a link in my email signature and will be adding it to my monthly newsletter.

He's off to a great start by adding his Twitter account to his signature line as well as promoting it in a monthly newsletter. Where else can he promote his newly minted Twitter account? Here's some of the ideas I suggested:

Add your Twitter info to your business card
Integrate your Twitter info with your LinkedIn Profile (learn how to post tweets on to your LinkedIn profile by using the #IN hashtag)
Sync your Twitter account with your LinkedIn profile and start following all of those contacts who use Twitter
Do you have a Facebook page? If so, add a Twitter tab.
Do you blog? If so, add a Twitter widget.
Add your Twitter account to your online web bio (if your firm allows).
Join some LinkedIn groups for attorneys who use Twitter and share your account info

It's imperative you share your Twitter info in as many places as possible. The fact is, it takes dedication and perseverance to stick with it - why not make it as successful as possible?

What are some of the strategies you used to promote your Twitter account? How has it worked for you?

Top 5 Social Media for Law Firms Posts This Week

2011-10-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of content when it comes to social media for law firms. There is also a lot of repetition. It's my goal to provide you with up-to-date, original work that you can learn from and actually apply to your every day practice.

Each Friday, I will share five of my favorite social media for law firms blog posts. Please let me know if you agree with my choices, have more posts to add, and benefited from the posts in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you. Please note not all posts might be about how social media relates to the legal profession in particular - but the information will always be useful!

Without further ado, here are the top five for this week - enjoy!

1. Using Facebook Productively by The PR Lawyer

2. Blogging Levels the Playing Field by Adrian Dayton

3. 40 Million Google Plus Users Can't All Be Wrong by Larry Bodine

4. Google Plus: A Lesson for All of Us, Including Google by Nancy Myrland

5. New Company Updates: Learn More About the Companies You Follow by The LinkedIn Blog

Check Out The Major Upgrades to LinkedIn Company Pages

2011-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

LinkedIn launched some pretty fabulous upgrades to Company Pages today. The biggest change was to the "Follow Company" feature that now looks eerily similar to Twitter and Facebook.

Previously LinkedIn company pages were pretty boring, okay VERY boring. There was really no point in visiting them. Historically, it took me about thirty minutes to create a company page and ensure all the information was accurate for my clients. Other than hyperlinking your company page to your profile page, there wasn't a lot to do after that.

Well things have definitely changed. Will LinkedIn become as popular as Twitter and Facebook? I'm not sure but they are definitely heading in the right direction. Here is a breakdown of the updates:

Companies can post status updates that will be seen on follower's homefeeds or by going to the company's overview tab. Each follower's network may see updates if the follower comments, shares or likes.
Only administrators can post company status updates. You can assign non-members of your company as administrators as long as they are connections.
Status updates can be up to 500 characters including spaces.
You will be able to view impressions and engagement on each company page 24 hours after an update is published.
LinkedIn will be monitoring the number of posts a company posts and excessive posting may result in a deleted page! So don't post too often! You don't want to be seen as spammy.

I'm very impressed with how far LinkedIn company pages have come in the past couple of months. You can also embed Youtube videos on service pages. This is a great feature that is sure to get you noticed among your peers. Have you taken the time to update your page? Don't forget you can always contact me should you need any help.

Here's a video from LinkedIn outlining all of the changes

Lawyers & Law Firms: How To Create An Editorial Calendar

2011-10-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

This post about editorial calendars (and their importance) is designed for legal marketers and lawyers. My goal is to bring you up to speed on how this process can help simplify your online publishing schedule.

Most legal professionals do not come from a publishing background. Yes, they write articles, books, papers, etc. but they don't have experience organizing the process by which we post and distribute content. Hopefully I can help! Editorial calendars will ensure you have regular content to post to your website, Facebook page, Twitter, email newsletter, blog, etc. They will also help ensure the right content is posted to the right channel.

Content Strategy

Determine your goals for each social media channel. Who are you trying to reach? What type of voice are you going to use? Facebook and Twitter require a more personable voice. Your website needs a professional tone. Pick social networks where your readers gather. Write content your clients want to read. Educate your readers rather than "sell".

Forms of Content

Determine what types of content you will publish: articles, webinars, vlogs (video blogs), blogs, how-to's, FAQ's, etc. Use Google Analytics or Get Clicky to track the popularity of each. You'll also notice which types of content you enjoy publishing - stick with these. Follow the news and become the go-to person for everything related to your practice area.

Tip: Try and publish content that engages with your readers - this is gold.

Schedule

Create a list of what to publish and determine the time period - daily, weekly, monthly, etc. I'm currently working on creating a weekly schedule. My goal is to post tips on Mondays, profile a firm's social media strategy on Wednesday and a roundup post on Friday. My editorial calendar includes these details. Write your content based on this schedule and publish accordingly. Make sure you cushion your content by writing 2-5 times your publication frequency. Should you be creating an editorial calendar for a group blog you will have to add a number of steps including:

Assigning who is responsible for what content
Determining who will review and approve content
Determining who will publish content
Decide who will moderate comments and engagement

Tools

Use software such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to schedule posts for Twitter and your Facebook Page. It's important to monitor these accounts so you respond to "@ replies" as they appear. Scheduling posts helps but you need to engage with your readers. It's not just "set and forget".

Schedule your blog posts in Wordpress or Blogger ahead of time if your article isn't too timely. Create your editorial calendar using Google Calendars, Outlook or Microsoft Word. Publish it month by month.

Creating an editorial calendar will simplify your social media publishing life. You will begin to enjoy writing rather than drag your feet! Do you use an editorial calendar? How has it helped?

Social Media Time Management for Lawyers & Law Firms

2011-10-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

How much time do you devote to your social media strategy? An hour a day? Couple hours per week? What kind of results have you had to date? What kind of results would you like to have?

If you're new to the social media game I recommend you spend at least thirty minutes a day listening and watching. Open a Twitter account and follow lawyers in your practice area. Watch how they interact with their followers and do likewise - in your own style of course! Create a Facebook page for your firm and add relevant apps such as JD Supra, Networked blogs, Twitter, etc. Research and follow blawgers and see if blogging could work for you.

Add a reminder to your outlook calendar and don't ignore it! It's important that you do this research - don't pass it on to an assistant or marketing professional. You need to understand how everything works before you can outsource repetitive or administrative tasks.

Social media can be perceived as complicated or a big waste of time if you don't do the research. I'm confident you'll "see the light" if you are diligent in your schedule. Let me know how it works for you! And don't forget I'm always available for questions and comments. :)

Facebook Rolls Out Major News Feed Update

2011-09-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

"All Your News is Now in One Place" -Facebook

Facebook rolled out an updated news feed interface this morning resulting in moans and groans being heard across the country. We've been traumatized by numerous changes during the past two weeks and there are still more to come according to Facebook.

Today's update includes an updated news feed which promises to show users stories that are both timely and relevant . Facebook will post what it feels are "top stories" at the top of your page segregated by a blue triangle at the top left corner of the story. Users can assign or take away the importance of a story by clicking on the drop down box on the top right of the story.

If your law firm has a Facebook page it's important to consider how often you post and what you post on a daily basis. Users can quickly dismiss your content as irrelevant literally banishing you from their newsfeed. Make sure you post content that is not seen as "spammy" and don't post more than once or twice a day. Monitor which posts are shared often and try and replicate those.

A real-time ticker is displayed on the right side of your screen above the chat interface. All user activity is paraded before you - photo comments, shared links, uploaded photos, etc. Pictures are also displayed a tad larger. Should you decide to click on a particular activity, a second column appears to the left of the ticker showing an expanded view of further activity. You are not directed to a new screen hence keeping you on the main page as Facebook prefers.

Mark Zuckerberg has labeled this transition time as the social network's "launch season". With competitor Google + in the background I wonder what other changes we can expect. What do you think of the new interface? What changes might we see in the future?

How Much Traffic is Twitter Sending to Your Blog/Website?

2011-09-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Do you know how much traffic Twitter is sending to your blog and/or website? It's imperative you track your "referring URL" traffic in Google Analytics to see what marketing efforts are driving traffic to your site. Does the majority of your traffic come from Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Or maybe somebody mentioned you in a blog post. Wouldn't it be nice to head over and say thank you? But I digress, I'll get back to the subject of the post.

I read on Larry Bodine's blog yesterday that Twitter is releasing a new web analytics tool that will allow website owners to see how much traffic is generated to their site from Twitter.

Why use Twitter Web Analytics instead of Google Analytics?

You can measure the effectiveness of your Tweet Button
Better understand how much of your website content is being shared across Twitter
Simple dashboard with easy-to-understand features. Google Analytics can get a little complicated.

Twitter Dashboard:

Google Analytics:

Twitter Analytics is currently in beta testing mode and a lucky group of partners will gain access this week. Twitter will roll it out to us common folk in the next couple of weeks.

Do you know which sites drive the most traffic to your site? If not, you better get started! It's also a good idea to bookmark all of your "mentions" across the web to get an idea of where you stand online. Are the right people talking about you? And more importantly, what are they saying?

Create Value to Gain Influence. Stop Bragging!

2011-09-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

Originally published on Develop Socially on August 18, 2011

It’s 12:15 am on a Wednesday night and I can’t sleep. I’m moving October 1st and I can’t stop thinking about paint colors and what kind of bunk beds to buy the kids.

Instead of tossing and turning in bed, I decided to come downstairs and peruse my Google Reader.

I love it when I read something that really inspires me. Something that makes me stop reading, close my eyes, and think. A concept that disrupts and questions the usual train of thought. The Quiet Theory of Influence did that to me:

Converting visitors into buyers is a soul-less use of your creative energy. Reject it, out of hand.

I find more value in creating something of value. I find influence a better metric than sales or traffic or reader numbers.

And I’ve learned something that the screaming marketers will never tell you: instead of screaming, prefer quiet.

When everyone yells “Look at me!”, become quiet.

When others seek attention, turn your attention inward.

When everyone wants pageviews and sales, be valuable.

When others brag of their success, let others laud you instead. When others cling greedily to copyrights, give your work away.

We all have different reasons and agendas for using social media. But most of us are incredibly in love with what we do. And we are a lucky bunch because we get to socialize for a living. It’s not as easy as it looks but once you “get it” it starts to come naturally.

It’s easy to become frustrated when we don’t achieve all of our goals, but instead of yelling louder, we can get quiet and focus on creating content that our readers will find valuable. Instead of focusing on what we can get, focus on what to give.

The article gave a great example. Imagine you owned your own muffin shop. If your muffins were mediocre, you’d have to do some outlandish marketing tricks to get people in the door. But if your muffins made people roll their eyes in ecstasy, they will tell the world of your deliciousness, and the world will pound on your muffin-scented door! (That would be a good skill to have!)

It all comes down to traditional marketing methods: word of mouth advertising, referrals, etc. It also helps if you truly love what you do, it shows! I hope this inspired you as much as it did for me! I’m going to try and sleep now – good night!

Sept. 20 - Social Media Week is Coming to Vancouver - Meet @KevinOKeefe, @NgartonJones @CarolineClapham @David_Bilinsky @LawHeadHunter and Me @samtaracollier

2011-09-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about Social Media Week yet? It's a global event taking over the world from September 19 - 23, 2011 in Beirut, Berlin, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Glasgow, L.A., Milan, Moscow, Rio De Janeiro and Vancouver. Hundreds of thousands of people will come together all over the world to discuss the role of social media in today's society.

Imagine how excited I was when I found out Vancouver was hosting Social Media Week and double that excitement when Warren Smith of The Counsel Network asked me to join the Legal Social Media Talk. Here are the details straight from the website:

Social Media Marketing for Lawyers and Law Firms Tuesday, September 20 at 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Location: TBD

Seminar Topic: Social Media Marketing for Lawyers and Law Firms

Moderator: Warren Smith, The Counsel Network (@LawHeadHunter)

Presenters:

Nicole Garton-Jones, Owner, Lawyer & Mediator, Heritage Law (@NgartonJones)

Caroline Clapham, Associate, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (@CarolineClapham)

Kevin O’Keefe, CEO, Lexblog (@KevinOKeefe)

David Bilinsky, Practice Management Consultant, Law Society of BC (@david_bilinsky)

Samantha Collier, Business Development Coordinator at MBM IP Law (@samtaracollier)

Overview:

The buzz around social media is reaching deafening proportions, but do you know where to concentrate your efforts to generate the best results? While LinkedIn remains the most popular form of social media for professionals have you considered the role or Twitter, Facebook Blogs or even Google+ for your law practice? This workshop will discuss the risks and limitations of social media for legal marketing and business development and is aimed at both law firm marketing departments and individual lawyers that want to use social media to compliment their practice.

Register for free here as spots are filling up quickly. I hope to see some of my fellow Vancouverites there!
It's sure to be a great discussion.

How To Kill Engagement on Your Legal Blog

2011-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest mistakes professionals make when it comes to blogging is to not allow reader comments. Blogging is about building a community around a common topic or discussion. It's not just about publishing content.

From a legal perspective I understand why free-for-all commenting is not permitted. Most law firms like to "control the message" and allowing readers to state their opinion goes against the grain so to say. Especially if that comment is negative or questionable. Other problems include spam and self promotional comments.

Blogging is part of the social media realm. Social = Two-Way Conversation. A blog that doesn't allow comments is exactly like a static website or law firm newsletter. You might as well spend your blogging budget on something more useful. To actually gain a steady following of targeted readers you must engage in conversation. Ask questions. Inspire conversation. Have an opinion! Not allowing comments is like saying that your opinion is the only one that counts - is that the message you want to come across? I think not.

There are a variety of settings when it comes to blog comments. You can allow anyone to comment without moderation or you can enforce a moderation policy: readers can submit their comments for your approval. This might be the best option if you've had a spam problem or malicious comments.

I like commenting platforms such as Livewyre or Disqus. They are easily integrated with Wordpress and Blogger and allow users to log in with Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, etc. These platforms also encourage conversation and allow readers to share their comments on various social networks.

Don't be worried about negative comments either. Most times they end up in a friendly debate and you might just end up making a great friend. I've heard about this happening many times.

I read an article over at the Social Media Explorer on how to build a community via comments and these were some of their tips:

Allow commenting (of course!)
Ask for comments
Write a comment policy
Show readers how to comment
Respond to your commenters

Now it's my turn to pick your brain. Do you allow commenting on your blogs? Have you had any issues or serious problems? Have any questions for me? I look forward to hearing from you!