Back in May, we put out a blog post about the importance
of a social media program to small law firms. We extolled the virtues of engaging in blogging and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google +, as well as the benefits of e mail newsletters, and explained why a robust social media program is a great, low cost marketing investment for small law firms.
We recently came across a 2012 white paper published by Managing Partner Forum that discusses the results of a survey on social media among law firms. The survey was conducted by the research firm ALM Media Intelligence during late 2011 through January 2012. ALM surveyed 179 attorneys and law firm marketing officers to gather information about firms’ use of, and attitudes about, social media marketing.
We recently came across a 2012 white paper published by Managing Partner Forum that discusses the results of a survey on social media among law firms. The survey was conducted by the research firm ALM Media Intelligence during late 2011 through January 2012. ALM surveyed 179 attorneys and law firm marketing officers to gather information about firms’ use of, and attitudes about, social media marketing.
The results are illuminating and provide some excellent
insights into the marketing practices and strategies of large law firms. Nearly
85% of the respondents were from firms with more than 75 attorneys, with more
than half the respondents from firms with more than 500 attorneys.
Among the more salient findings uncovered by
the survey were the following:
- Nearly 90% of respondents said that they believe that the integration of social media into their firms’ marketing, business development and recruiting efforts is important.
- Almost 85% of the responding firms said their lawyers are active on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
- Approximately 70% of the responding firms maintain one or more blogs.
- Nearly 50% of respondents reported that blogging and social networking initiatives had helped produce leads for new matters or clients.
- Approximately 40% said their blogging and/or social media activities had helped them land new work.
- Over 40% of those surveyed said that blogs and social media networks helped to increase the number of calls their firms receive from reporters in traditional and new media. Roughly the same number said their presence in the blogosphere and on social media networks had also increased the number of speaking invitations their lawyers receive.
- More than 50% of the responding firms said they plan to increase their budgets for social media marketing.
These are just the highlights; the
report is packed with all kinds of interesting information. For example, over a
third of the surveyed firms which do not use social media said they believe they
need to do so, but had not yet determined how best to approach it.
The report revealed that while
participation among larger firms in social media is robust, the amounts that
those firms are spending on social media marketing are quite small. Over 90% of
the firms have a firm page on LinkedIn. More than 70% have a firm Twitter feed
and over 60% have a firm Facebook page. Yet, 28% of the surveyed firms allocate
less than 1% of their marketing budget to social media and 23% allocate only
1-5% of their marketing budgets. However, many of these firms reported that they
intend to increase their social media spending for things like attorney
training.
One particularly interesting aspect
of the survey was the reasons given for engaging in social media. In order of
importance, these were
- establishing attorneys as thought leaders in key practice areas;
- raising the firm’s public profile and strengthening its brand;
- monitoring what is being said about your firm;
- providing intelligence on competitor firms and clients;
- recruiting new associates and lateral partners;
- maintaining contact with former lawyers;
- producing leads; and
- (generating new clients and matters.
The survey clearly reflects the
recognition by big law of the value an active social media presence. A number
of respondents commented on how social media platforms are an extremely cost effective
way to increase visibility and recognition. For minimal dollar investment, a
firm can reach large numbers of current and potential clients and referring
sources. Many firms say they have phased out printed newsletters and other
mailed marketing materials in favor of on-line initiatives, which are much less
expensive and have the ability to reach a larger audience more often and more
effectively.
Although many small firms and solo
practitioners have been slow to recognize the value of an active social media
program, the direction being taken by big law should be instructive. We’ve always
been big advocates of active social media marketing programs for small firms. Of
course, we understand that small firms lack the marketing manpower of their
larger brethren, so we’ve put together a low cost, multifaceted social media
package as a key component of our offering. Linked to your firm’s website, it
will improve search engine results and provide all of the benefits that large
firms seek to achieve – establishing you as a leader in your field, providing
visibility, improving your public profile and promoting your brand. You can
contact us any time to find out more.
You can read the full survey by
clicking on the following link:
http://www.managingpartnerforum.org/tasks/sites/mpf/assets/image/MPF%20-%20WHITE%20PAPER%20-%20Fans,%20Followers%20&%20Connections%20-%20ALM%20-%206-12-12.pdf20ALM%20-%206-12-12.pdf
The Omega Legal
Marketing Blog is a service of Omega Legal Marketing, a dedicated law firm
marketing company specializing in creating custom designed marketing programs
for small law firms and solo practitioners. You can learn more about us at http://omegalegalmarketing.com; you
can contact us at admin@omegalegalmarketing.com.
