Senior partners cool on social media
About two-thirds of law firms cannot find the time and resources to build and maintain a strong online presence, even though more than 75% have committed to using social media as a business tool, a survey of 50 law firms has found.
RTS Media managing director Ralph Savage, who commissioned the survey, said: ‘This is like asking lawyers to man reception at the same time as doing their day job. Law firms must invest time and resources so that staff are available to monitor traffic throughout the day and share interesting content in line with the firm’s communications strategy.’
Some 43% of the surveyed law firms use LinkedIn and 34% use Twitter. However, only 13% use either platform to create a dialogue with existing and potential clients, while some 45% still believe they are best used for making ‘company announcements’.
Technology is not a problem. Some 65% of respondents said they had found it ‘easy’ to learn the ‘lingo’ and use ‘hashtags’. Content is not an issue, either, with 55% reporting that finding something interesting to regularly ‘share’ or ‘tweet’ is also ‘easy’.
The main problem is winning management support, with 58% of respondents saying it is ‘difficult’ to convince senior management and partners that social media has a role to play in the firm’s development.
The Social Media Legal Survey 2011 polled marketing managers at 50 UK law firms.
Comments
Senior parnters cool on social media
The same firms who are too busy to engage in social media may soon find they have lots of spare time as new entrants and other firms take their business.
A compreshensive survey publisehd this week polled over 1000 consumers and 150 businesses. 96% of them wanted to deal with their solicitor online. Online is the new high street and this report suggests that firms will need a clear online strategy and that means investment in the right technology tools and marketing experts.
You can see a short 2 min video of the findings at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXZVfFMmcj8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL or buy a copy of the report at http://www.pepperminttechnology.co.uk/what-clients-want
Time to wake up and smell the coffee before it is to late.
They ought to be getting involved
Sensible use of social media is a very highly cost-effective marketing tool. We now get between 10 and 15% of our new business enquiries through Linked-in alone - this is ten times the amount we get from all forms of paper advertising and three times what we get from searches on the internet (the largest source, by a mile is our e-newsletter).
Firms that ignore social networking (or who attack the wrong spaces within it) are really missing a trick.
Social Media is a cheap way forward
I can't not understand why most firms (especially the obvious ones) are so adamant on building a strong online presence. It baffles me. Yes, you already have your clients in the bag but what if they run into difficulties tomorrow and you need another source of revenue, what do you do?
By the time you start canvassing for business, the news that you've been dumped or lost one of your clients circulates everywhere before you know it and potential clients will stay clear. So why not be visible online as a cheap insurance policy for future lost sales?
It doesn't cost much you know. A mature savvy individual or 2 can do the work, work on blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin etc and it wouldn't cost an arm and leg = just £40k per annum or even less.
You wonder why Quality Solicitors are out to take over. They're young, diverse and vibrant I guess, and that is the key to success in today's economy.
You crack us up
You wonder why Quality Solicitors are out to take over. They're young, diverse and vibrant I guess, and that is the key to success in today's economy.
Best assumption I have read all year, made me laugh, thank you.
And Arlene Adams - online solicitors - really. catch up, who doesn't conduct work constantly in front of their Outlook screen all day, leading to same client repeat work, not to mention offering online legal services in some form or other.
Will someone come up with some decent advice to be a successful law firm, as all the ideas and new ventures are turkeys at the moment.