ethical social media marketing for lawyers june 20

Ethical Social Media Marketing for Lawyers: Tips and Strategies

When: June 20, 2013 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST

Speakers: Natalie Alesi and Samantha Collier

Agenda

1. Social Media for Law Firms Overview 2. Which Social Media Platforms to Focus On3. Social Media Scheduling4. Social Media Ethics for Lawyers

Social Media Overview for Lawyers

Your potential clients expect to find you online via your website and social

networks.

Lawyers are using social media to build their reputation AKA social influence.

Social media is different than traditional legal marketing.

Your competition is using social media, trust me.

Conversations must be authentic when using social media.

Lawyers are using social media to super-charge their event

attendance.

What are law firms doing in 2013?

Video Bios & YouTube Channels

Engaging on LinkedIn & Twitter

Publishing Content Via Blogs

Social Media Platforms and Scheduling Tools for Lawyers

Lawyers Use LinkedIn Because:

• Their clients are using LinkedIn. According to Kevin O’Keefe, 9 out of 10 use executives often.• Clients and potential clients want to research you on

LinkedIn.• It’s known as the “business” social network and people are

joining at a rate of two people per second.

Don’t Forget to Optimize Your Profile: Professional picture you wouldn’t mind your

grandmother seeing A catchy headline that describes your practice Utilize your summary section and include keywords

describing the type of work you want (SEO) Add all of your contact information Customize your URL

http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname Add your previous employment and education Join some groups

Lawyers Use Twitter Because:

• Keep up to date regarding news and current events• Network with colleagues, potential clients and referral

sources• Share your blog posts, 3rd party articles and other

interesting content to build expert reputation• Engage in real time conversation

Lawyers Use Facebook Because:

• The number one source of work is word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations. Your Facebook network is full of family, friends, school chums, colleagues, etc.• You can easily share work related content a couple times a

week so if the need arises for your services, your name comes to mind. • You should create a Facebook Page for your firm at the

very least.

Lawyers Use Google+ Because:

• It has become the second largest social network.• The audience is different than the other social channels.• You can create Communities.• It helps with your Author Rank and establishes Authorship.

Social Media Management Tools:

• All you to easily filter conversations based on your interests.• You have the ability to schedule posts during the week

when you have the time to manage your accounts.• You can access these on your mobile devices for quick easy

reading, sharing and having those conversations.

Social Media Ethics for Lawyers.

What do the rules and ethics opinions say about lawyers use of social media?

Bland v. Roberts – A Facebook

“like” is not constitutionally protected speech

Six states passed legislation regarding employers' access to employee/applicant social media accounts

Despite lawyers’ fears, states are receiving few, if any, bar complaints arising out of lawyers use of the Internet for marketing and business development. Grievances related to lawyers’ marketing efforts are arising out of non internet-based activities. ~Kevin O’Keefe

PhoneDog LLC v Noah Kravitz

Employer-employee litigation over ownership of social media

accounts

Virginia Court: First Amendment protection for lawyer-bloggers

Can lawyers friend a judge on Facebook?AND

Is being connected to opposing counsel a problem?

California Rules of Professional Conduct

Attorney may post information about her practice on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media websites, but those postings may be subject to compliance with rule 1-400 if their content can be considered to be “concerning the availability for professional employment.” Such communications also may be subject to the relevant sections of California Business and Professions Code sections 6157 et seq.

CONCLUSION

Do LinkedIn Endorsements

Violate Legal Ethics?

What constitutes dispensing advice on social channels?

Can a lawyer advise a client in litigation to delete their profile?

If you do use social media for promoting your law firm or yourself, you must comply with the general regulations set forth in lawyer advertising rules…

If you protect your tweets and someone has signed up to receive your information, do the rules apply?

Florida Bar Rules

Internet Defamation—What Can You Do When You Are the Target?

List of Dont’s

Don’t post misleading information: past results, promised results and testimonials

Don’t make statements that characterize the quality of your legal services

Lawyer is responsible for the content for the information they post on their page but is not responsible for information posted on their page by a 3rd party, unless the lawyer uses the 3rd party content to break advertising rules.

Mobile State Bar Apps

Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Virginia and more recently Arizona

References• http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLawReg.nsf/9dad7bbda218afe885257002004833c5/a502e8b302def7a5852576e3004fc685!O

penDocument• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media• http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202585881253&Social_media_and_legal_ethics&slreturn=20130517093024• http://

www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_table_of_contents.html

• http://ethics.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/9/documents/Opinions/CAL%202012-186%20%2812-21-12%29.pdf• http://kevin.lexblog.com/legal-marketing/ethics-blogging-law/• http://www.legalethicsinmotion.com/category/social-media/• http://www.lawsitesblog.com/2013/05/do-linkedin-endorsements-violate-legal-ethics.html• http://www.lawsitesblog.com/2013/01/california-rules-on-ethics-of-social-media-postings.html• http://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=lawreview• http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/social-media-ethics-regulations/• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-york-state-bar-association/id490365840?mt=8• http://kevin.lexblog.com/2013/05/11/nine-of-ten-executives-using-linkedin-often/• http://www.natlawreview.com/article/internet-defamation-what-can-you-do-when-you-are-target• http://kevin.lexblog.com/2012/06/15/virginia-court-first-amendment-protection-for-lawyer-bloggers/• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_advice• http://theneighborhoodentrepreneur.com/lawyers-bar-associations-get-onboard-with-mobile-apps/• http://socialmediatoday.com/lizgross144/1516661/how-add-live-twitter-feed-your-powerpoint-presentation

Natalie AlesiLegalersWelcome, Inc.

m. 609.447.1020nalesi@legalerswelcome.com

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Samantha CollierSocial Media for Law Firms & Shift Digitalsamanthataracollier@gmail.com

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