Many lawyers and law firms feel that social media marketing doesn’t apply to them. This is absolutely wrong. These days, there is such a large number of people of all ages, economic status, and race on social networks, social media is exactly where  prospective clients are. The problem that I have learned through my experience with the law industry is that there are a completely different set of social media lawyer ethics.  Lawyers must be so careful not to overstep the boundary of giving so much information that it can be viewed as ‘legal advice’ in a court of law.  This leaves them vulnerable to legal action should someone take what they posted on a blog or on their Facebook page and experience harm in some shape or form as a result of that ‘legal advice’.

From the Marketing Zen‘s blog post, here’s some great tips for lawyers and law firms looking to get in the game (I’ve added some of my own comments after MZ’s content in italics.):

So how does a smart lawyer use social media without getting into serious trouble?

Start a blog that focuses on your practice area.

For example: a lawyer with expertise in banking or finance could write a post detailing how to file for bankruptcy. Immigration lawyers could explain the different types of visas, including requirements and application processes. Blogging is a great way for you to show off that expertise (and your finely-crafted writing skills), while also adding more of a “human” personality to your firm.  With the correct use of keywords and phrases, you’ll also reap the SEO benefits in the long run.

Remember the phrase ‘Content is King.’  The more content you have on your site that is applicable to your business and services, the more likely someone is to find your site through organic searches on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.  Wordpress is an easy-to-use system that has optimization for search engines built into it with categorizing, metatags, etc.  On the ‘human’ aspect that MZ mentions:  Blog are a means to voice your expertise and your personality.  You are virtually in front of your website visitors selling yourself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Speaking of personality…

For individual lawyers, social media doesn’t need to be all about legal stuff, all the time. In fact, it probably shouldn’t be. Specifically if you’re focusing on Twitter, you can balance legal content with tweets about your hobbies, favorite sports teams, family, or vacation plans. You’re a person with a life outside your career (I hope). People looking for a lawyer are looking to communicate with a real, live human being – not a lawyer-bot (the obvious exceptions being people from the future and the seriously tech-obsessed).

With my most recent law client that deals with family law (i.e. divorce, child custody, etc.), one of the main points I stressed was to not always be selling themselves and their services.  In fact, I recommended that they create a voice of empathy and post information that might help people avoid divorce such as relationship advice or resources on how to find therapy.  Divorce is an ugly experience that noone wants to go through and seeing a law firm posting all information on divorce can disheartening content in your newsfeed.

Become a source for news.

This can be as easy as tweeting news stories on relevant topics a few times a week, or you can take it to the next level and blog about recent legal developments. Many successful social media strategies rely on content aggregation and curation, in addition to creation. Why? It demonstrates that you have a worldview extending beyond your firm’s walls. Demonstrate that you really get what’s going on in your field, and you just may impress potential future clients.

Don’t accidentally get yourself into trouble.

There’s a difference between sharing insight on a topic and actually giving legal advice over the Internet. As I’m sure you know, do not leave room for your thoughts to be interpreted as legal advice. If you’re on Twitter, include a blurb in your bio along the lines of “Thoughts here should not be taken as legal advice,” in the same way many professionals indicate that their opinions do not represent their employers.

It should also go without saying, but any conduct that would be inappropriate anywhere else is also inappropriate on social media. For example? If you can’t reveal confidential client information anywhere else, you definitely can’t do it on Facebook. If you’re not supposed to discuss details of ongoing cases, you should also not post that information on Twitter. Sure, roll your eyes. People really do these things.

Additionally, you should consult your malpractice insurance provider.  I have learned that certain insurance plans do not cover malpractice suits that arise out of content on a blog or social media.  You will want to make sure that you would be covered should something happen due to content posted.

Create a social media policy.

This is the simplest way for a law firm to keep itself and its employees out of trouble: set up guidelines for social media use. First, clearly define your goals. Clearly define what constitutes social media: Facebook, Twitter, blogging platforms, and LinkedIn should definitely be on any list, but you may want to include other sites you think are relevant. Next, clearly state who is allowed to speak on behalf of your firm. You might allow other employees to state that they work for you, but do not represent your views (as many companies do). Finally, make sure you state what the consequences are for breaking the social media policy. Be specific.

If you’re a lawyer using social media, please leave a comment or question!!  I am social and love to share knowledge!

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It’s a simple, yet effective concept to help build up your fan base on Facebook:

1. Devise a promotion that is attractive to your target audience - In this case, tequila lovers.
2. Create the platform on Facebook that allows them to access that promotion once they’ve ‘Liked’ your Facebook page.
3. Promote!

Sauza chose a $5 rebate for eligible tequila drinkers.  Once directed to the custom tab on their page, a user was required, through a ‘fan gate’, to click the ‘Like’ button in order to access the custom tab where their coupon was waiting to be printed.  A great idea because all the user has to do to get the $5 coupon was ‘Like’ their Facebook.  Definitely worth a click!

Since the coupon was launched, I have seen the Sauza Tequila fan page go from 60,000 fans to over 90,000 (in less than a month!).

Currently I am developing a Christmas essay contest for Gogo Inflight Internet for their Facebook page, going out to 1.4 Million people.  I’ll post the details of this project as soon as it is launched!

If you are interested in learning what I can help you do on your Facebook page, or already have a brilliant idea, contact me to have me create a custom tab for you: info@gohardent.net.

The battle of the SMM juggernaut can be looked at in different ways:

1. You have the social network sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
2. You have the social media/bookmarking sites (Stumbleupon, , digg.com, Reddit.com, etc.)

Even though Facebook’s new subscribe feature is new, Facebook’s response rate absolutely trounced the competition:

Gone are the days of simply getting thousands of followers and calling it a successful social media campaign.  No matter if you are a business, artist, media entity, or individual promoting yourself, your main goal is not just to be the most popular kid in school, you would like to see a conversion of followers to revenue!  Simply posting your product on your wall is not going to drive sales (or traffic for advertising sales business models).  You must engage the audience to capture them and keep them coming back.  If you build it, they will only come, and keep coming back, if it’s interesting.

So here are 5 tips on how to engage your Facebook audience:

#1 Custom API tabs

Facebook recently (Feb -2011) launched API capability for designing custom tabs for your Facebook page.  In simple terms, these tabs using API basically import a webpage that you have designed into a tab on your Facebook page (typically hosted on your own server) so that you are able to create dynamic functionality and have it live on your Facebook page.  As you create tabs for your page, think about how you can offer users utility on Facebook but without hosting all of your content on your Facebook page. Where appropriate, include links that drive users back to your website.

Facebook also gives you the choice to have your custom tab the landing page for when a new user visits your page; make sure to utilize this if appropriate. This way you can shape their initial interaction on your page.

Honda - Facebook Custom Tab

#2 Share articles or blog posts, video, or work samples

If you produce content that is hosted on your own website (i.e. blog, video, articles, project portfolio, etc.), be sure to post it to your wall.  Articles or blog posts and videos are always going to catch the interest of people, while showing samples of your work is going to sell your work better than any sales pitch you can write.  If you are not producing this kind of content, then you should seriously consider doing it!

Even if there is a high level of overlap between visitors to your website and your Facebook page, don’t assume that people are seeing every new piece of content on your website. Promoting content is an effective strategy because the content will be consumed on your site but can gain additional visibility through sharing, commenting and Liking on Facebook. Media companies are major practitioners of this because they have produced a wealth of content, but you don’t have to be The New York Times to take advantage of this strategy.

Simply posting the content won’t necessarily generate the results you are looking for though.  Put yourself in the shoes of a user and think about what motivates you to click on a posted article link or actually read a status update.  The most effective posts are ones that invoke feedback or responses to the post.  If you combine this with simple navigation back to the source (don’t post the full content if you can, just a teaser!) where you have a call to action to your point of sale, you can generate the results you are looking for – $$$.

Amnesty International USA does a good job on their page of posting updates from their website and blog. Many of these items have generated significant feedback on the page. At the same time, interested readers are driven back to the source, where they are encouraged to subscribe to a newsletter and donate to the organization.

#3 Everyone loves a ‘tease’

I briefly mentioned above the idea of ‘teasing’ your audience.  When posting something on Facebook that is hosted on your own website , you should provide your fans with a clear picture of the content being shared: A headline, a photo, and intro text. You should provide only a teaser to piqué the user’s interest and then link to the full content on your website.

Target does a good job of this on their page. They will pose a question that is likely to generate interest and then link to the related product to that topic.  By piquing interest, but not showing all the content, people will be more likely to click the link to your website where you have the chance of closing a sale (or adding unique users and/or page views for ad based business models).

#4 Contests and sweepstakes

People love a chance to compete and win something, or just simply entering their email address for a chance to win a giveaway.  Many companies are using contests and giveaways to engage their fans on Facebook, but  they also be a great tool to cross over audience interaction on your website. Especially when your contest is more than a simple giveaway, you may find it easier to integrate your overall brand identity when the promotion lives outside of the confines of Facebook. With the right platform you can run the contest on your brand site and still benefit from integration with Facebook and other social channels.

One of the more common and successful giveaway campaigns is the notion of getting people to Like your page in order to enter a giveaway.  Additionally, companies are also encouraging people to Share the giveaway with their friends for extra entries in the giveaway.

A slightly different idea is exemplified by the airline WestJet. They strongly promote their contest on their Facebook page, but all of the interaction takes place on a branded site where they have full control over the user experience.

The best format depends on the goals of your initiative.  If you have a small audience on Facebook and need to grow, then hosting something on Facebook may be the better option.  If you already have a strong following and want to increase crossover traffic to your own website, then the second model may be better.

#5 Make your audience feel special with ‘exclusive’ offers

Whether you are an ecommerce site promoting a sale, a publisher providing access to exclusive content or a small business offering a coupon, you can selectively determine how you present offers on your website and through social channels.

By rewarding your Facebook fans with offers that only they can take advantage of, you build brand loyalty and entice new fans to jump on board for these exclusive rewards.

Try providing your fans on Facebook with access to offers on your website before promoting to other channels. This will encourage people to stay engaged with your brand on Facebook, but ultimately you are able to drive them back to your site.

Managing multiple consumer touch points can certainly be a daunting task. As long as you have a clear sense of which channels best serve specific objectives, you can derive benefit from Facebook marketing, Twitter marketing, and other social networks without sacrificing the investment you’ve likely made in your website.

What do you think? What other strategies have you used to effectively engage your Facebook audience and bridge the gap to your brand website?

Have questions to ask me or other readers on this topic?

Please feel free to post comments and/or questions below!

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So how can a business create an effective marketing campaign with little or no marketing dollars to back it?? Answer: Strategic Partnerships.

Times are tough; the economy is stagnant, but we’re all in this together. Get two complimentary brands to work together on a marketing campaign, pooling their resources and man power, and you get a more powerful message while being cost efficient.

Take The MEN7 Network and AskMen.com campaign in 2009, for example. The two brands are similar, yet they don’t crossover too much that they are direct competitors. AskMen.com provides Male oriented online editorial lifestyle content, while The MEN7 Network provides Male oriented video lifestyle content. Put the two together and you have a marketable source for Men around the world.

The two brands joined forces to present the “MEN7 Top7 Lists” which was a 7 week series in which they cover Top7 lists of things men want. AskMen.com presented the editorial content on their site which was then supplemented MEN7 hosted video of the list which includes still shots and video footage. MEN7 produces the video spot and hosted Katie Cleary (Deal Or No Deal).

By joining efforts The MEN7 Network is able to leverage AskMen’s 7 million + visitors a month while AskMen is able to leverage the high quality HD production from MEN7 without either having to put up production/marketing dollars outside their current existing budgets.

By getting in bed with the right partner, businesses can have joint prosperous results.

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The question is:  How does one attract on audience to a post without having a loyal following already developed?

Than answer:  There are several resources out there that allow you to syndicate your posts that have a huge following of people who are looking for articles and/or blog posts that are on topics they are interested in.

Here’s a few tips and resources that I use to get my own posts read and spread:

1. Post on discussion boards and forums. Post snippets of your article or the article title in forums and on discussion boards that are related to your target market or topic focus. Don’t forget to include your full name and website or blog URL where the article is located.

2. Post on social news websites. Post links to your articles on sites like stumbleupon.com, reddit.com, or digg.com.  These are social news websites which users can post links to content on the Internet. Other users may then vote the posted links up or down, causing them to become more or less prominent on the news feed.  Articles are categorized based on topic.  The more accurate you categorize your post, and the more interesting the topic in that category, the more people will vote for the link which in turn gets more eyes on your article.

3. Be social! We all know how popular Facebook, Twitter, NetworkedBlogs and other social networking sites have become.  These sites are also places where massive amounts of content gets posted and consumed.  An individual, company, or group can strategically build an audience on these sites and not only get their posts easily consumed by their audience, but get their audience to share the posts with their friends rapidly growing the viral nature of these massive social networks.

4. Compile articles into an e-book. For example, if you own a gym and want to get more people in to work out, offer an e-book on the top 10 ways to motivate yourself to get to the gym. Distribute these e-books either through your website, to your e-mail list or via a safelist — a membership-based e-mail list often used by marketers that allows you to send your content to anyone who has signed up. Give your readers the right to distribute them as well. If your e-book is for sale, offer to share revenue if readers distribute it to their list and sell it. This is called an affiliate marketing program.

5. Write a variety of articles. The trick to reaching a massive amount of people is to create a variety of articles. For example, if you want to promote your public relations service, you could post content on how to write an article, how to come up with attractive article titles, what’s the right format and ideal word count, how and where to distribute the articles, how to submit to hundreds of article directories within the shortest time, etc.

6. Add a disclosure statement, build an audience. These should go at either the end or bottom of each article.  Your disclosure statement should promote your blog, social media pages, and can also say something like, “This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.”

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ID345, a Denver based company, has the answer to this problem, www.contxts.com.

All you do is go to the site, register your info,  and customize how you want the SMS message to appear when received.  Once you have your user ID and customized card saved, all you have to do is have whomever you want to have all your contact info to text your user ID, mine is “luisg” for example, to 50500 and the person will received a text that is your customized message.

In my case, mine is in the format:

Luis Guajardo
Title
Mobile
Company
Email
Company Website

They recently have launched a beta widget in their site where the information with actually be texted over in a Vcard.

What’s interesting is that TechCruch, a well-respected blog on the tech news around the world, wrote an article on the fact that we need to eliminate the paper business card (See Article).  Personally, I try to avoid printing out everything possible.  This is a world that is becoming more and more paperless.

One argument I have to this simple SMS business card, is that this idea removes the creative component to the business card.  As a business owner myself, and a designer, I spent a lot of time designing my logo to establish my brand.  But the solution is simple, contxts should start allowing users to create a jpg image that can be uploaded and sent as a pic SMS text.  I’ll be waiting for that upgrade soon guys!!

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