Using law blogs to win business: law firms continue to embrace social media

Law 2.0Yesterday I was speaking, in my capacity as SEO & Social Media Manager at Moore Legal Technology, to a partner at a Scottish law firm about using social media and blogging for generating new business for his law firm. After various conversations with him asking me how I was able to speak with authority on legal blogging or how I was able to write legal content at all, I explained that in a previous life I was a qualified solicitor having trained at one of the largest commercial firms in Scotland. Working for a large commercial law firm, you generally have to account for every 6 or so minutes of the working day and declare it in a timesheet at the end of the day. And if you are writing legal content for a website or blog, the purpose will most likely be business generation or business development (see point 2 of my Top 5 Reasons for Young Lawyers and Barristers to get blogging article on Pupillage Blog) while providing valuable content to readers. Generally, the more useful content that can be provided the better: Content is king, provided your blog or website allows the content to appear well in search engines. Needless to say, the solicitor I was speaking to agreed that he could see the benefit in blogging for business.

Brian Inkster wrote extensively last year about how law blogs can be used for business purposes in The Time Blawg’s Elephant in the #LawBlogs Room Blog Post. This post should be consulted for anyone wondering what benefits are to be gained by firms by blogging (my comment on the subject can be viewed here.)

Following on from this, it’s great to hear (and indeed I know from experience) that law firms continue to win business by blogging and using social media. I published the following blog post on the Moore Legal Technology Law Firm Websites, SEO & Social Media Blog earlier today and I thought it would be useful for WardBlawg readers also:-

It is no surprise to hear that 4 in 10 law firms in the US are reporting winning new clients through blogging and social media. The news comes through ALM’s Legal Intelligence report on law firms’ use of blogs and other social media ($499 to download) via Daryn Teague (@darynteague), as picked up by one of the leading authorities on legal blogging, Kevin O’Keefe, in his article 40% of Law Firms and Attorneys Get Clients From Blogs and Social Media.

In their report, ALM Legal Intelligence look at US law firm use of social media. They report that a massive 85% of US law firms are using social networking to generate business online.

Some of the key points from the report include the following:

•    Over 60 percent of law firms noted that they have at least one law blog.
•    Nearly 85 percent of law firms are making use of social media tools including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
•    49 percent of law firms noted that law blogging and social media activities have helped produce new leads.
•    41 percent of law firms reported that social media activities and law blogging had helped the firms to win new business.

Further statistics and commentary are provided in Kevin’s article on his website Real Lawyers Have Blogs and further comment is included in an article by the Washington Post entitled ‘Law firms get into the social media game’ (a slightly misleading title: law firms have been getting into the social media game for years now). See also Kevin’s response: words of warning for those firms considering social media marketing to be purely about advertising.

Social media for law firms

The report confirms what many other legal marketing professionals have been saying for years: blogging and social media for law firms works; it is not a fad; and if used properly, it can produce some fantastic results for firms. Contact Moore Legal Technology to find out how your firm can generate more business online.

Guest law blogging

Want to expand your law blogging reach and connections? Guest law bloggers are welcome on any of the following sites:-

Banking Blawg | Legal News Blog on Banking & Finance Law
Commercial Blawg | Legal News Blog on Commercial Law
EuroBlawg: Law 2.0 | Legal News Blog on EU Law
Family Blawg | Legal News Blog on Family Law
India Blawg: Welcome to Indian Law 2.0
IntellectualPropertyBlawg — Intellectual Property Law News
Labour Blawg | Legal News Blog on Employment Law
PersonalInjuryClaimsBlawg — Personal Injury Claims Law 2.0
Property Blawg | Legal News Blog on Property Law
RenewablesBlawg — Renewable Energy Law News
ScotsLawBlog: Scots Law 2.0
USBlawg | Legal News Blog on US Law
YouBlawg: Legal Guest Blogging | Your Law 2.0
Criminal Defence Blawg | Legal News Blog on Criminal Law

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And if anyone has any personal or professional success stories from their blogging or social media activities, it would be great to hear from you in the comment section below, or on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn.

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