Amy Juers of Edge Marketing joined a panel of marketing experts at Legalweek to share their respective experiences and advice on succeeding in the changing landscape in social media marketing.  We were delighted to see a high level of interest and attendance by business development and marketing professionals from large and medium law firms, as well as service providers.

Panel including Christopher Postizzi, Director of Communications, WilmerHale;  Gina F. Rubel, Esq., Founder & CEO, Furia Rubel Communications, was moderated by Jennifer Carr, Senior Business Development Manager, Lowenstein Sandler LLP.

The conversation focused on the use of social media for B2B marketing and community engagement. While it can be difficult to derive hard and fast metrics on new clients and revenue originating from (or influenced by) an organization’s social media presence, panelists agreed that social is becoming more important in the legal industry.  It’s not uncommon for prospects to use social media to research services and all marketers understand the importance of having a social media strategy.

New to social media? Or looking to improve your organization’s online presence? The panel offered these tips:

• Social media isn’t one size fits all, and it’s not for everyone. But do your research to understand what your best opportunities are to make it work for you.
• Social media really can make an impact for attorneys who want to build their brand, but do your research to know which channels make sense based on your audience and their preferences.
• An estimated 90% of companies have a social presence, so most of your prospective clients are there (and likely your competitors, too.)
• Don’t feel like you have to be on every social site; it’s ok to start with just one or two platforms where your clients are. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
• Most important: Know you goals. What are you trying to accomplish thru social media?
• Law firms should focus on the social sites that attorneys are comfortable using. The panel presented research on social media in legal services that reports LinkedIn as the favored platform in legal, with 86% rating it valuable and credible.  Among In-house counsel, 73% report using LinkedIn on a fairly regular basis.

Above all, whether you are a law firm, technology or service provider, your online reputation relies on high quality content and interactions, published at the appropriate time.  The messages and content in social media should not be left to a junior employee or intern. Make sure posts go through the correct approval processes before sharing via social media.