leveraging social media 2016 final
TRANSCRIPT
Presented by:
Debbie Bridges Duffy, President, Bridges Court ReportingKimber Russell, Esq., Senior Discovery Consultant, BlueStar
Leveraging Social Media
Prologue: Why Lawyers Must Educate Themselves on Social Media
• Ethical obligation/Competence
• Business Development• Client Retention
• Competence– Client posts– Discoverability– Service
• NY divorce court judge allowed husband to be served through Facebook because he had no fixed address (Baidoo v. Spinnell)
Relevance to practice of law
• Competence– In 2012, the ABA amended Model Rule 1.1
Comment 8:“To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyershould keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice,including the benefits and risks associated with relevanttechnology, engage in continuing study and education andcomply with all continuing legal education requirements towhich the lawyer is subject.”
Relevance to practice of law
(by Findlaw) 2014 2005
Internet 38% 7%
Consult local bar association
10% 13%
Ask friend/relative 29% 65%
Yellow pages 4% 10%
How do clients find attorneys?
Agenda: • Most widely-used platforms• Benefits of developing social
media strategy • Getting the most from each social
media platform• Best practices/avoiding pitfalls
Most widely used platforms:
Benefits of developing social media strategy
• Increased SEO/ROI• Branding• Business Development
– How are clients finding you– Incorporating social media into
client lifecycle
Demographics
Demographics
Demographics
Communicating on different platforms:
Status updates SharesLikes
EndorsementsRecommendations #
Getting the most from: • Proper profile
configuration• Headshot• Endorsements• Recommendations• Becoming an influencer• What to share as an
update– Use of easy-to-share
imagery
Getting the most from: • Personal page
v. Fan Page• About us page• Status updates
Getting the most from:
• Trending topics• Hashtags• @ Mentions• Following • Gaining
followers
Best practices: LinkedIn
• Content to share• Don’t treat like Facebook• Subjects to avoid discussing/sharing
Don’t Do
Best practices: Facebook
• Engage without creating legal relationship
• Content to share• What NOT to do
Best practices: Twitter
Oreo during 2013 Superbowl
The Bad: #WhenSheLands
• Make sure to keep personal/professional accounts separate
• Adopt a social media policy to ensure ethical compliance
• Professional responsibility rules still apply to online behavior– Maintaining privacy & client confidentiality– Adherence to solicitation & advertising guidelines– Using cautionary language to avoid unintentionally
forming attorney-client relationships
Ethical Considerations
Develop your social media strategy
• Identify your goals• New business• Expand client base or practice area• Expand into new geographical market
• Choose audience• Prospective clients• Clients in new practice area• Referrals
• Create targeted messages• Demonstrate expertise with useful content—not repetitive sales pitches
• Share • Interact
Analytics• Which platforms
are getting the most traction?
• Increase fan/follower engagement
Final considerations:
– Anything can go viral• All updates are immediately
visible to all your connections• Even deleted posts are cached
or are otherwise searchable long after deletion
– Privacy is not guaranteed• Other members can see when
you view their profiles
Q & A• For a copy of this presentation, or if you have
any questions about incorporating social media into your legal practice, email [email protected] or