Growing Your Practice Through The Use of Social Media

Des Walsh

Legalwise seminar: Social Media - Ethics, Skills and Practice Management

Brisbane, 28 March 2012

Copyright © Des Walsh 2012

What We'll Cover

Social Media Overview

Working It

Expand your network Boost your visibility Build your professional brand Manage your career

Being Strategic

Learners All – a.k.a. Disclaimer

I'm learning too. These are my thoughts. They do not constitute legal or business advice.

The social media landscape is changing as we speak and will continue to do so.

Caveat lector, caveat auditor.

(longer version at the end of this slide deck)

Social Media Defined

Social media is an ever-growing and evolving

collection of online tools and toys, platforms and

applications that enable all of us to interact with and

share information.

Increasingly, it’s both the connective tissue and neural

net of the Web.

Ann Handley

How Social Media Looks to Some

How it Looks to Others

Social media is about social science

not technology

Brian Solis, Author, The End of Business as

Usual

Terminology

The New Marketing Context

Connected/social consumer

Expanded trust zone

Continuous partial attention

Current Social Platform Usage by Law Firms Globally

Data source LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Global Social Media Check-up, 2011

Objectives, Platforms & Tools

Expand your network

Boost your visibility

Build your professional brand

Manage your career

Expand Your Network

How big should your network be? Dunbar's number

Granovetter and the Strength of Weak Ties

You need Quality + Weight of Numbers

Eventually, it Just Grows

Boost Your Visibility

Conversation not monologue

80/20 ratio information/promotion

Practice “fan” page with timeline

YouTube channel - “Ourpractice TV”

Build Your Professional Brand

Blog gives you virtually unlimited scope to share

knowledge and insight with clients and

prospective clients

Google+ - use Circles, Hangouts, Business Pages

and get value from Google Search Plus Your

World

Manage Your Career

Keep your profile up to date

Build the network you need

Get helpful recommendations

Remember the smart passive candidate is active

on LinkedIn

Social Integration

Influence & Advocacy

Influence measurement – test and learn

The grail is measurable customer advocacy

How to be a Top Influencer

Be active in a sufficient number of channels

Create and maintain a high quality network

Participate frequently

Always Be Strategic

Align social strategy with practice business strategy, values and culture

Ensure managing partner's and other partners' buy-in

Accept that authenticity can't be (fully) outsourced

Think social business, not just social media

Deal with cultural change

Think about reverse mentoring

Strategy Options

Comprehensive

Streamlined

Assessment (resist the temptation to skip this!) Strategy Development Implementation

What We Covered

Social Media Overview

Working It

Expand your network Boost your visibility Build your professional brand Manage your career

Being Strategic

Case Studies & Success Stories

Lexblog.com – from Kevin O'Keefe's Seattle garage in 2003 to 6,000 blogs now

ChinaLawBlog.com - a recognised authority on law and doing business in China: (blogger Dan Harris, based in Seattle, does not speak Mandarin, although China-based partner does)

See Von Muenster Solicitors (Sydney) for integration of website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube vmsolicitors.com.au

Lots of good stuff, including Australian references, in the Martindale-Hubbell study report – link at end of slides

Acknowledgements & Links

Images

Logos and other company marks are the IP of the respective companies

Coolangatta Sunday Market - Des Walsh

Gambling in Deadwood – via Flickr, stereogab, Creative Commons: http://bit.ly/stereogab

Sachertorte – via Flickr, Jennifer Woodard Maderazo, Creative Commons http://bit.ly/choctorte

Word picture by Des Walsh from wordle.net

Social Media Strategy methodology image – from Social Media Academy http://bit.ly/GH63Nl

Sources

‘Global Social Media Check-up: A global audit of law firm engagement in social media methods', LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell survey – download whole report free http://bit.ly/GChKFH

'Law firms taking a half-hearted approach to social media: LinkedIn predominates, firms hesitant to engage with clients', Managing Partner (MP) Magazine http://bit.ly/mpmaglaw

Learners All – the Long Version

The data included are to the best of the presenter's knowledge accurate and up to date.

Opinions and commentary about social media and business strategies are drawn from the presenter's observation, study and experience and are provided for information and general education purposes only.

The social media landscape changes on a daily basis and any reputable social media strategist or consultant will tell you we are all learning as we go.

Strategic and tactical social media decisions should not be made solely on the basis of the commentary and suggestions in this presentation and should be tested against the specific practice's or individual's business goals, resources, values, culture, and market context, preferably in consultation with a suitably qualified/experienced social media specialist.

Thank you for your attention.

This slide deck is available from the day of the Brisbane seminar, 28 March 2012, on Slideshare at my page there: http://slideshare.net/des/

I have uploaded to my website some resources, including links to examples of successful use of social media by lawyers and law firms: the link is http://deswalsh.com/sociallawyers/

For seminar attendees, if you wish to connect to my network on LinkedIn, I would be happy to accept an invitation: please mention in the invitation or a separate email that you were at this seminar.

All my social links at http://xeeme.com/deswalsh Phone: 0413 089 355 @deswalsh

To your success!

Des WalshSocial Media Strategist, LinkedIn Specialist, Business Coach