Post on 20-Jun-2020
LI11: Effective and Ethical Use of Social
Media
Presented by
Gina Rubel, Esq.
The handouts and presentations attached
are copyright and trademark protected and
provided for individual use only.
1
Effective & Ethical
Use of Social Media
for Law Firms
Gina F. Rubel, Esq.
About the presenter
Gina F. Rubel, Esq.
CEO of Furia Rubel Communications since 2002
Represents law firms, firm agencies, banks, and other professional service providers
Practiced law before returning to proactive communication roots
Manages integrated communications strategy, crisis planning and training, and trial publicity
Active on social media (Twitter @GinaRubel)
Grew up in Philadelphia and now lives on a farm in Bucks County, PA
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
2
Does the firm understand the benefits?
Does the firm understand the risks?
Are there protocols to avoid risks?
Managing law firm social media
What are the best practices?
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Benefits of social media to law firmsBrand Awareness Media Relations / News Dissemination
Business Development Message Management
Crisis Management Monitor Public Opinion, Client Intel.
Client Retention Real Time Communications
Differentiation Reputation Management
Discovery / Research (Listening Tool) SEO
Improves Efficiency Supports Mission and Objectives
Increases Trust and Confidence Thought Leadership
Marketing Cost Savings Transparency
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
3
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Biggest trends in digital media
last year
Mobile overtakes desktop traffic by 33% (Parse.ly)
Social distribution jumps 21% (Parse.ly)
Adults looking to hire an attorney go online (LexisNexis)
Social media is the No.1driver of all website traffic (Shareaholic)
Lawyers spend 2.1 hours each week blogging (ABA/MyCase)
39% of lawyers have obtained clients from blogging (ABA/MyCase)
Internet advertising budgets skyrocket 84% above TV & Print (ZenithOptimedia)
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
4
33% of lawyers and 52% of law firms maintain a Facebook presence.
10% of lawyers and 19% of law firms maintain a Twitter presence.
Source: American Bar Association; MyCase
96% of lawyers and 90% of law firms maintain a LinkedIn profile.
62% of law firms maintain social networks.
78% of lawyers maintain one or more social media profiles for professional purposes.
Lawyers spend 1.7 hours per week on social media for professional purposes.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Source: American Bar Association; MyCase
The most common reasons
lawyers maintain social networks
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
5
Source: American Bar Association; MyCase
Lawyers in the following practice areas
PERSONALLY maintain social networks
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
6
Risks of social media to law firms
Making false or misleading statements
Prohibited solicitations
Disclosing privileged or confidential information
Improperly friending judges, witnesses, experts, etc.
Prejudicing jurors
Inadvertently creating attorney-client relationship
Communicating improperly with clients
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Misconduct © Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
1.6 Confidentiality of Information
3.6 Trial Publicity
4.1 – 4.4 (Transactions with Persons Other Than Clients)
5.3 Responsibility Regarding Nonlawyer Assistant
7.1 – 7.6 (Information About Legal Services -Communications)
ABA Model Rules of
Professional Conduct
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
7
Confidentiality of information
Rule 1.6
“Lawyer shall not reveal informationrelating to the representation of a client…” Exceptions: authorization, complies with Rule 3.3 and to prevent harm, death or criminal act
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Truthfulness in statements to others
Rule 4.1
Lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of material fact or law or fail to disclose same to a third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
8
The lawyer asked for a continuance because of the death of her father. The lawyer had posted status updates on Facebook, detailing her week of drinking, going out and partying. In court, in front of the judge, she told a completely different story.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Communicated with person
represented by counsel - Rule 4.2
A lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of legal representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter unless there is consent
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
9
Responsibility regarding nonlawyer
assistant - Rule 5.3
A “nonlawyer” employed, retained, or associated with a lawyer is bound by the same rules of ethics.
Rules cannot be delegated or avoided.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Information about legal services
Rules 7.1 to 7.5
7.1 Communication Concerting a Lawyer’s Services
7.2 Advertising
7.3 Solicitation of Clients
7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization
7.5 Firm Names and Letterhead
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
10
Implement a social media policy
code of conduct
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
• What does the firm want to accomplish using social media?
• What are some of the firm’s business goals and can they be supported through social media?
• Who is your engaged target audience?
• What protocol do you have/need for social media engagement?
• What types and sources of content are available?
• Use relevant tools and apps to track social media.
• Evaluate content performance.
• Use data collected to measure success against goals.
• Refine plan: focus on what works best and repeat.
• Create an editorial calendar based on your content strategy.
• Use tools that streamline your process.
• Schedule social media posts.
• Engage with the target audience when appropriate or necessary.
• What type of posts will work best to meet your goals?
• Which social networks will work best to reach your audience?
• How and when is your audience engaging on social media?
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Protocol for social media engagement
11
• What does the firm want to accomplishusing social media?
• What are some of the firm’s business goals and can they be supported through
social media engagement?
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
• Who is your engaged target audience?
• What protocol do you have/need for social
media engagement?
• What types and sources of content are available?
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
12
Types of content for law firms
Articles, Media Mentions & White Papers
Lateral Hires
Awards, Accolades & Rankings Legal Updates & Alerts
Blogs Mergers & Acquisitions
CLEs, Events, Seminars & Sponsorships New & Expanded Services
Client Congratulations Successes (when permissible)
Employment Apps & Job Openings Trial Publicity (when ethical)
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Sources of content for law firms
Case Studies & Client News / Experience Memos of Law
CLEs & Seminars Practice Area FAQs & Myths
Client & Colleague Questions State & Federal Supreme Court Decisions
Firm News & Videos Trending Issues (Google Alerts)
Industry News: JD Supra, Lexology, LexisNexis, Mondaq
Trial Briefs
Media Coverage Typical Transactions
13
• What type of posts will work best to
meet your goals?
• Which social networks will work best to
reach your audience?
• How and when is your audience
engaging on social media?
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Create once, publish everywhere
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
14
Source: Greentarget & Zeughauser Group, 2017 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey
Employees versus firm brands
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
• Create an editorial calendar based on
your content strategy.
• Use tools that streamline your social media
process.
• Schedule content and corresponding social
media posts.
• Engage with the target audience when
appropriate or necessary.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
15
89%
75%
69%
65%
61%
58%
47%
43%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
Exposure
Traffic
Marketplace Insight
Loyalty
Leads
SEO Rankings
Mkt. Profitability
Improved Sales
Source: AIS Media
Blogs and benefits
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
1Overall Solo 2 to 9 10 to 49 50 to 99 100 to 499 500+
Source: American Bar Association
Size of firms maintaining blogs
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
16
Family Law21%
Employment & Labor29%
Commercial Law25%
Litigation25%
Source: American Bar Association; MyCase
Lawyers in the following service
areas blog the most
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
LEGAL INDUSTRY NEWS ANALYSIS
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
17
Morrison Foerster social media resources
• Socially Aware is the firm’s niche blog and corresponding newsletter for the practice area
• Communicates how social media can affect clients; keeps clients’interest in mind
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Blogging best practices
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Answer frequently asked questions; quote others
Use keywords – “Law firm case management software”
Repurpose content: CLEs, brief and memo of law topics, etc.
Do not give legal advice, use generic language, don’t use legalese
Write and share EVERGREEN and TIMELY single-topic posts
Create once, publish everywhere; Tag anyone mentioned
Use sub-heading with keywords (H1 and H2 tags in HTML)
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
18
Source: Pew Research Center, Social Media Update 2017
Facebook statistics
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
19
Like other cases that have permitted service via Facebook, the holding in K.A. was highly fact specific. Nonetheless, as individuals increasingly communicate exclusively through social media and other electronic means, and as courts become increasingly, albeit slowly, more comfortable with that reality, service via Facebook and other social media platforms may become more common.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
20
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
21
Facebook best practices
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Include relevant contact information and type of law you practice
Use a vanity URL (choose carefully)
Verify page (in settings) – helps with SEO
Be transparent and authentic
Use personable profile photo / cover photo
Monitor, communicate and personally engage
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Source: Pew Research Center, Social Media Update 2016
LinkedIn statistics
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
22
23
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
LinkedIn update statistics – 24
hours after post
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
24
LinkedIn best practices
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Use LinkedIn Pulse - republish copyright-owned articles & blogs.
Use keywords in title – “Intellectual Property Law Partner”
Use location descriptions – “Nashville entertainment lawyer”
Connect with everyone that you know or want to know
Use professional profile photo and full keyword-rich bio
Monitor, share, like and engage using keywords and hashtags
Share articles, photos, videos, quotes – all with links and attrib.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
25
Twitter statistics
Source: Pew Research Center and Buffer (2016) © Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
26
Rule 1.1, Comment (8) - Competence“…keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, …..”
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
Twitter best practices
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Include relevant contact information and type of law you practice
Use a vanity URL (choose carefully)
Verify page (in settings) – helps with SEO
Be transparent and authentic
Use personable profile photo / cover photo
Monitor, communicate and personally engage
Use handles (@ALAbuzz & @GinaRubel) & hashtags (#BizLaw17)
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
27
• Use relevant tools and apps to track social media engagement.
• Evaluate how content is performing.• Use data collected to measure success
against goals.• Refine plan: focus on what is working best
and repeat.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
SOCIAL SHARING MEASUREMENT
Buffer Cision
ClearView Social Google Analytics
CoSchedule Meltwater
Hootsuite Mention
PostBeyond Nuvi
SEMRush
TrackMaven
Trendkite
Resources for sharing and measuring
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
28
Social media rules of engagement
Post relevant and timely content with purpose
Share blogs, articles, news, videos and images regularly
Drive traffic back to original content on your blog or website
Engage in relevant and ethical discourse
Use a marketing strategy, target relevant audience
Incorporate rich-media and thoughtful use of visuals
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Common social media mistakes
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
Not taking social media seriously for the practice of law, legal marketing and business development
Forgetting content marketing / social media is subject to professional ethics rules
Believing that anything posted on social media is private
Misusing social media as a discovery and investigation tool
Failing to counsel clients about THEIR use of social media
Condemning social media as a passing fad
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
29
Barriers to social media engagement
BUDGET Social media platforms are free but time is money.
BUY-IN Get law firm management buy-in and have them communicate to the lawyers.
TOO TIME CONSUMING
A strategically planned and well-managed social media can be efficient and effective.
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING / TRAINING / POLICY
Teach lawyers how to engage with social media and put protocols in place for ethics, compliance and common-sense.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
© Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
A new tool that reinforces content from the Regional Legal Management Conferences East and West through a series of 10-minute videos reflecting key points from a dozen speakers.
Visit:http://www.lawcountability.com/ala-edition/
to learn more and sign up for a free pilot account.
Lawcountability – ALA Edition
30
Your opinion matters.Please take a moment now to evaluate this session.Thank you.
Social Sharing: @ALABuzz @GinaRubel #BizLaw17
How to Post Articles and Blogs on LinkedIn Pulse STEP 1: Login to your personal LinkedIn Profile and click on “Write an Article.”
STEP 2: In the next window, add your content:
A. Use the formatting tools B. Add an image or video (recommended) – if Furia Rubel has created a piece of art
for this content on your website or blog, it can be used here C. The Headline is the title of your article/blog – include SEO words D. Paste your content
STEP 3: Click the “Publish” button in the upper right – a pop‐up window will appear. STEP 4: Add a teaser sentence to introduce your content to the LinkedIn community. Click “Publish” to make your content live on LinkedIn.
Page 1 of 2 Writing effective blogs for law firms: Furia Rubel
Writing Effective Blogs for Law Firms
Blogging is an important part of your firm’s content marketing plan. As the marketing agency for your
firm, we want to help you to create effective blog content as efficiently as possible. We have compiled
some guidelines for you so that we can serve you strategically.
General Guidelines for Writing an Effective Legal Blog
Write about a single topic.
Avoid legal advice. Be general. Give opinions only when it is in the firm’s best interest.
Draft blog posts in a Microsoft Word document.
Do not concern yourself with formatting other than paragraph breaks. All formatting needs to
be removed before being placed on the website/blog platform. Stick with single spacing and no
indenting, bolding, underlining, etc.
Use only one space between sentences, not two. (If you cannot break yourself of this habit,
that’s fine, just be aware that the extra spaces will be removed before the post is published.
Digital publishing platforms no longer require the extra space that the manual typewriter once
did to maintain readability.)
Use 11‐point type in a sans serif font style such as Ariel, Courier, Calibri, or Verdana, which have
been shown to improve reading comprehension of online and mobile content.
Each blog post should be in the range of 500 to 1,500 words.
Save the post with a document title that includes the topic and the author’s last name and the
version number (v1, v2, etc.) for version control.
When you want to link to something, highlight the text that you wish to link to, insert a
comment box from the review pane over the text, and put the link in the comment box. When
the blog post is published on the blog platform, the links are added once the copy has been
uploaded, so separating out the links makes the publishing task more efficient.
Types of Blog Posts
There are two types of blog which are most effective for lawyers: 1) breaking topic posts about court
decisions, legislative rulings, breaking news, etc., and 2) evergreen blog topics that are general in nature
and can be posted at any time and still be relevant to your target audience. Both types of posts are
important for effective relationship development and legal marketing.
Breaking topics blogs: If you are going to blog about topics that are current, you must write the
posts and published them in a timely manner. If you’re talking about a decision by the Supreme
Court and how it affects your target audience, you want to get it written and posted within 24 to
72 hours of the decision (preferably closer to the 24‐hour mark). Otherwise, it’s no longer news
and will garner less readership.
Evergreen topics blogs: Attorneys often overlook these, but evergreen topics are extremely
important to include in your blogging plan. These usually address issues that you deal with every
Page 2 of 2
Writing effective blogs for law firms: Furia Rubel
day, issues that can be discussed in general terms and that don’t change frequently. Think about
the questions that your clients ask you regularly (aside from “how much will it cost?”). Your
answers make for great evergreen blogs. Evergreen blog content can be shared repeatedly over
time, generating three and four times the amount of traffic that most breaking news posts will.
How to Come up with Blog Topics
Blogging does not have to be a daunting task. Since blogs need to address a single topic in a short and
concise manner, it should be easy to come up with topics to blog about that serve your target audience
with information about your areas of practice to establish you as an authority. Here are some ways to
come up with topics:
Keep a notepad next to your phone or keep notes in your mobile device. Every time a colleague,
client or prospect asks you a substantive question, write it down. The answers to those
questions are almost always worth blogging about.
If you’re a transactional attorney, consider every transaction for a blog topic. For example, every
contract has many clauses. Corporate attorneys can write short blogs about the benefits and/or
pitfalls of various contract clauses such as termination clauses, non‐compete clauses, liability
clauses, etc.
Review your memos of law and briefs for substantive (non‐fact‐specific) content that can be
edited and turned into blogs.
Write about experiences in generic terms. For example, “We recently represented a franchise
owner who had a dispute with the franchisee in Philadelphia. . . . ”
Set up a free Google Alert on specific topics in your area of expertise and review them daily. If
something is breaking in the news, you’ll be on top of it. If you do set up a Google Alert, consider
creating a Rule in Outlook that sends all of those alerts to a dedicated folder that you check
once a day. That way, alerts will not clutter your inbox.
Utilize content from CLEs and seminars you have presented for blog topics.
Have someone record presentations you are giving and then have them transcribed. Edit the
transcription into several blog posts.
THINK COPE: Create Once, Publish Everywhere.
Consider Search Engine Optimization When Blogging
Draft a title that describes your topic in the way people might search for the information
included in the blog. For example, “Understanding Real Estate Transfer Taxes in Philadelphia.”
Use keywords in a natural way that describe your topic, your area of practice, the county or
counties within which you practice law, the state, etc.
Use the words "lawyer" and "attorney" interchangeably, since people search for both terms. For
example, "business divorce lawyer" and "business divorce attorney."
Stay away from legalese.
Use specific keywords that your target audience may be searching for. For example,
“Commercial real estate and residential real estate can be subject to real estate transfer taxes in
Philadelphia.” Don’t just say commercial and residential real estate, use the full phrases.