how law firms can utilize social media to influence prospects

© 2009 451 Marketing www.451Marketing.com Slide 1© 2009 451 Marketing www.451Marketing.com Slide 1

Presented by: AJ Gerritson, 451 MarketingAugust 26, 2009

How Law Firms Can Utilize Social Media to Influence Prospects


Agenda for Presentation• What is social media• Why should your law firm care • How to get started formulating a corporate

social media strategy• How to avoid the pitfalls of a social media

campaign• What tools are available to you• Summary


About Us

• Founded in February, 2004 • Located in Boston, MA• A collaboration of 16 industry veterans committed to being best-of-breed online lead generation specialists• Recognized as one of the country’s top Internet marketing agencies • Strong B2B focus, many professional service clients• www.451marketing.com


Core Strengths• Online Lead Generation Marketing

• Social Media Marketing

• Social Media Monitoring and Response

• Web 2.0 Utilization and Implementation

• PR 2.0 (PR through Social Media)

• Public Relations

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• SEO Leveraged Public Relations

• Pay-Per-Click Advertising

• Online Video

• Content Development


How We Have Helped Companies• Our efforts increased lead-flow by 420% for a 600 attorney law firm over a six month campaign.

• We created and executed an online lead generation campaign for New England’s largest tax, accounting, technology consulting, and wealth management firm that produced almost $650k in new contracts within seven months.

• Our social media strategists have helped shorten sales cycles by engaging our clients’ prospects in conversations that are relevant to our clients’ solutions.

• Our team has implemented social media protocols for dozens of professional service firms. This has helped our clients build a culture of business development while alleviating many brand management concerns.


Social Media?


Social Media? Can be confusing..


Social Media?


Social Media?• Is the technology and platforms that enable

people to communicate with each other online.


Social Media?• Is the technology and platforms that enable

people to communicate with each other online.

How are they conversing?• Blogs, Micro Blogs, Online Chat, RSS,

Widgets, Social Networks, Social Bookmarks, Message Board, Podcasts, Video Sharing Sites, Photo Sharing Sites, Wikis…


Google31 billion searches every monthNearly 70% of all searches are done on GoogleMore than 1 trillion URL’s in Google’s index

You TubeMore than 70 million videos on YouTube

Years it Took to Reach Audience of 50 MillionRadio 36 YearsTV 13 YearsInternet 4 YearsiPod 3 YearsFacebook 2 Years

Internet Passing TelevisionIn June, European internet consumption reached 14.2 hours per week compared to 11.5 hours for TV.


Explosion of Social Media


7%


Monitoring7%


7%

Solution Provider


Are there statistics about social media influencing the purchasing decisions of your firm’s prospects?


MarketingSherpa asked 4,000 B2B decision makers how they chose a new vendor:

•80% said they found the vendor;

•20% said the vendor found them.

7%

MarketingSherpa Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007–2008.


The Rise of the Digital C-Suite: How Executives Locate and Filter Business Information.- Forbes Insight

Key findings of C-Suite online behavior include:•74% of executives find the Internet to be "very valuable" in terms of helping them to find information vs. 25% of executives who find print newspapers to be "very valuable" for the same purposes. 63% of executives surveyed indicated that search engines were "very valuable" to helping them to locate business information. 70% of searches are prompted by something that an executive read online vs. 38% that were prompted by an online advertisement. •25% of executives over 50 view work-related content on business-related websites.

"Generation Netscape" •35% of executives under 40 maintain a work-related blog •32% contribute to, or read, micro-feeds through sites like Twitter (more than half of those executives state that they use Twitter daily or several days a week) •40% subscribe to and read content through an RSS feed41% of executives under the age of 50 click on the paid listings on search engine results vs. 6% of the executives over the age of 50.


Forrester Research polled more than 1,200 business technology decision makers in North America and Europe about their social media participation throughout the buying cycle.

The report stated that 77 percent of technology decision makers (who make purchasing decisions on behalf of companies) use social media for business purposes.


• Creators — 27% publish a blog, publish Web pages, create/upload video or music, or write articles and post them online.

• Critics — 37% post reviews of products or services, comment on someone else’s blog, or contribute to online forums.

• Collectors — 29% use RSS feeds, vote for Web sites online, or add tags to Web pages or photos.

• Joiners — 29% maintain a profile on a social networking site or visit social networking sites.

• Spectators — 69% read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch video from other users, or read online forums and reviews.

• Inactives — 23% do not participate in any social media activities for work purposes.


Harnessing the Power of Newer MediaPlatforms for More Effective Marketing

The two-year study shows dramatic growth in the use of social media as a marketing tactic.

•57% of B2B marketers are now using social media channels, up from just 15% in the earlier survey from two years ago.

Building a Strategy


Building a Strategy

1. Map out your goals and measure of success. Recognize where your resources may fall short. (Leads? Awareness? Influence? Website rankings or traffic?)

2. Identify where your customers are online.

3. Listen to their conversations.

4. Be genuine in your interactions.

5. Be a resource.

6. Measure success.


Ready to get started?


How do you avoid pitfalls?


Resource for you:“How to Avoid a Social Media Disaster; Implementing Protocols at

Your Company”

Download Article:http://www.451marketing.com/Free-White-Paper-Disaster.php


Tips for Implementing Your OwnSocial Media Protocol

Step 1:Review your goals and objectivesAsk yourself these questions:• What are our marketing goals?• How will social media help further our marketing success?• How will we regulate social media use among our staff?• How can we help employees balance supporting the company while maintaining individuality on social media outlets? • How will a corporate social media protocol help us reach our social media goals?



Step 2:Identify your company’s existing assets and delegate rolesAsk yourself these questions:• Which staff members are the strongest writers?• Which staff members will oversee the maintenance of social media use?• What can other members of my staff do to help implement and carry out our social media protocol?• Who will be responsible for decision making?


Step 3:Establish a set of rules and guidelinesQuestions to consider:• What information do we want to keep private?• What kinds of information would we benefit from making public?• What personal social media use is appropriate? Inappropriate?• How will we measure which rules are helpful and which are not?• Who are our quality followers? How can we continually engage them?• How can we consistently send our messages?• Should we have a set of rules for proactive social media use? Reactive social media use?• How do we respond to positive engagement versus negative engagement?You will need to track every interaction that is made and have a set of protocols in place that can be referenced quickly.



What tools are available to you?


Resource for you:“How to effectively utilize LinkedIn for lead generation”

Download Webinar:http://www.451marketing.com/Free-Webinar.php


Summary for Presentation

1. Social Media is the umbrella term to the technologies and platforms that enable people to communicate online.

2. Your prospects are already online. Join the conversation.

3. Before you begin utilizing social media you MUST map out a clear strategy.

4. Implement protocols to avoid social media disasters.

5. Understand that engaging in social media is a commitment of time and resources.


AJ Gerritson, Founding Partner451 Marketing21 School Street, 3rd FloorBoston, MA [email protected]: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ajgerritson@ajgerritson