how to use blogging and social media to build a thriving law practice

How to Use Blogging and Social Media to Build A Thriving Law Practice

With Guy Alvarez and Kevin O’Keefe

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Agenda• Introduction

• Why Blog?

• Blogging Platform

• Blogging Content Tips & Strategies

• Why Social Media?

• LinkedIn Best Practices

• Twitter Best Practices

• Facebook Best Practices

• Measure/Analytics

• Q&A

Guy’s Story

• Recovering Lawyer• Spent early part of my career as head of Law Jour-

nal Extra which today is Law.com• Moved on to become Global Director of Digital

Marketing for KPMG• Founded Business Development Institute• Became Director of Social Media at PLI• Have consulted for a wide array of companies and

firms in and outside the legal market over the last 15 years on digital marketing and social media.

Kevin’s Story

• Kevin O’Keefe is CEO and publisher of LexBlog, the leading provider of professional turnkey blogging solutions.

• He helps lawyers and law firms to network through the Internet to build relationships and enhance their reputations

• Kevin was a trial lawyer for 17 years. In 1996, he started his own law firm and began to use the Internet for business

Why Blog?

• Build relationships

• Share useful information

• Raise awareness of your services

• Build a thought leadership platform

Blog Platform Considerations

• Scalability

• Security

• Ease of use

• Visual appeal

• Integration with existing tools

• Measuring and analytics capabilities

It all Starts and Ends with Content

• You cannot have a successful social media strategy without the right content

• What is the right content? Client centric Provides guidance or value Non – promotional Free of jargon Easily consumable Shareable Personable

Blogging Content Tips & Strategies

• Topics should illustrate a particular legal problem or issue and highlight what is different or unique in the way you think about it or approach solving it.

• Basic categories include:

• Length• Tone• Visual

General practice pointers or checklists Client stories Reaction to recent legal developments Personal stories about you as a lawyer

Distributing Content through Social Media

The purpose of Social Media• Stay “top of mind” and listen to your

target audience (clients, prospects, alumni, colleagues, influencers, press)

• Develop Strategic relationships• Thought Leadership: Demonstrate your skills,

knowledge & experience• Gain Competitive and Business Intelligence• Drive traffic back to your website/blog

First Things First: Social Media Listening

Best Practices for LinkedIn• Your profile• Groups• Sharing best practices• Pulse publishing platform

LinkedIn Tips• Photo• Headline• Summary• Join groups. • Connect• Share a status update every day. • Use the alumni search feature to expand

your network. • Publish your work on LinkedIn.

Best Practices for Twitter• Be active and engage• Follow the rule of thirds

1/3 of the time: Share relevant or educational information

1/3 of the time: Engage with others (replying, re-tweeting or mentioning)

1/3 of the time: Take the time to read and discover influencers and relevant content.

Best Practices for Twitter• Use hashtags• Be authentic• Always use images and links• Interact with clients and your peers• Connect with

influencers

Best Practices for Facebook• Build your network• Create your firm page• Invite people to like your page• Write a blog post about your page• Join groups• Post three times a week

Best Practices for Facebook

• Always use images• Share firm culture and community

involvement and initiatives • Share knowledge to your page AND your

personal account• Consider targeted boosting

How do You Measure Social Media success?

Social media ROI for law firms

• AWARENESS• REFERRALS• LEADS• CLIENT SATISFACTION• REPEAT BUSINESS• NEW BUSINESS• THOUGHT LEADERSHIP• PRESS

Return

Other Ideas to Promote Your Blog• RSS/Email subscription• Email newsletter• Infographics• SEO• Syndication

GENERATING BUSINESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Our Mission• To help law firms and other professional services

firms to understand and leverage the power of digital marketing to enhance their thought leadership position in the market and to better engage with their clients and prospects.

• Using the latest technologies and methodologies, we help firms sell their services, build their brands and develop digital platforms that power and transform their marketing and business development strategies.

Build A Name For Yourself With the most comprehensive blog publishing

software in the legal industry

Our Mission• Comprehensive blog

publishing software • Professional design • Initial consulting • Hosting • Coaching

• SEO • Email notifications • Free ongoing support • Syndication across LXBN,

the world’s largest net work of legal blogs

Learn More at LexBlog.com

QUESTIONS?

Guy Alvarez www.Good2bSocial.com [email protected]

Kevin O’Keefe http://kevin.lexblog.com [email protected]