1st Day of Social Media
Welcome to the annual 12 Days of Social Media! It's a bittersweet year for us - leadership of the SIG is changing into good hands. In 2016, Nancy Myrland and Rising Star Jessica Aries will be leading the group. It's been a fun few years, planning webinars and 12 Days.
This year, we're switching things up a bit. We're featuring interviews with some smart people in social media - asking them three questions about the state of social media.
Without further rhetoric, let me introduce you to our first interviewee, Mr. Jon Holden, Director of Marketing at Forward Level Marketing. (Also a Canadian, but by the nature of this post, you don't get to hear his fabulous accent.)
1. What's the next big thing in social media marketing for law firms in 2016?
I think the next big thing is not actually a platform, a tool, or the latest trendy thing of the moment. I think the next big thing in social is when we (the marketers) start building some structure around our efforts. For sure, keep on top of the latest, coolest gizmos, but focus on building a repeatable strategy for your content, one that addresses business goals, and not just marketing goals. One way we can achieve that is to stop trying to fit practices into a firmware mould. Different practices need to be treated like different businesses, with different buyers of that service. Highly targeted content that aligns with your specific target is far more critical than a broad strokes approach. Absolutely, an overall brand consistency for the firm is critical, but don’t try and treat everyone the same, and apply the same solutions or marketing approach to everyone.
2. Who do you see doing social media marketing right, and what can others learn from them?
I don’t think its necessarily a case of pointing out an individual firm “doing it right”… I think it’s more of a case of “who’s getting internal buy-in the best”. There are many very talented and creative social media marketers in our industry… but all of the planning, great ideas and innovative thinking is pointless without the buy-in of firm leadership. Also, if your CMO is not fully behind your efforts, and doing a full-court press with your managing partners, your great ideas are reduced down to “we tweet out links to our latest publications and news releases”. Ensure you educate your CMO on the why behind the how/what. CMOs are incredibly smart people, but they may not know everything, and they need to know the why to get firm buy-in to support your initiative. If you want to see who’s doing social media right, all you have to do is look for leadership teams that believe in marketing, and you will find a successful social marketer not far behind.
3. What’s the biggest challenge for law firms trying to be active in the social media space, and how can they overcome it?
FEAR. Hands down, fear is a sickness in legal. It can cripple the most successful lawyer, law firm or marketing department. Really, fear is the only limiting factor for social media. Social is affordable and accessible to even the smallest of firms, whether you are talking social media tools, or the people who run your social. The term social media has pervaded our senses and even the oldest of lawyers have heard of it, and know it’s important. But fear of getting caught saying or doing anything that would embarrass the firm, give up too much information, or in any way make the firm vulnerable is typically shut down quick. The same fear that always leads to IT departments having multi-million dollar budgets to help “protect the firm”, often has the opposite effect on marketing. Fear can keep your lawyers from producing a blog, from openly showing firm culture, from giving opinion on public matters (especially in larger firms where an opinion may conflict with another lawyer/attorney and embarrass the firm).
So how do you overcome it? Educate…educate… educate.
And walk into a lawyers office armed with stats and knowledge to back up the ask. Show your expertise in the area. It makes all the difference. And it’s usually all about how you position it. Be smart about the ask, think from a lawyers perspective.
Here are a few examples.
Blogging Don't:
Do not walk into a lawyers office and say “you should blog”.
Blogging Do:
Instead walk in armed with stats, knowledge, and talk in language they understand… “the latest industry surveys are showing that while your target are silent consumers of social, 60-70% of buying decisions are influenced by blogs/content…so it is critical that give this a try.”
Video Content:
Do not walk into a lawyers office and say “if you do a video it will get 400% more hits than a written piece.”
Video blog do:
Legal is a referral business. Video helps your referral sources get an authentic experience of your personality, which will help them make decisions on what it would be like to work with you. It’s a modern substitute for face to face meetings.
Education and positioning alleviate fear every time.
About Jon Holden
It is the rare individual who is capable of working quickly and accurately. Enter Jon Holden: a creative adrenaline junky with a penchant for details. Jon vibrates at a higher frequency than most – although that could be attributed to the Tim Horton’s coffee constantly coursing through his veins. He is unique in that the more he tackles, the more calm and collected he becomes. If Jon isn’t developing campaigns that are seamlessly integrated with a client’s strategy, or meticulously working through the details that will bring that campaign to life, his head is spinning with endless new ideas, whether it’s an undeveloped iOS app, a fresh blog, or a genius product invention.
Jon is a problem solver who thrives on new challenges. He views these moments as opportunities to make his mark, determining what the client’s business actually needs, then creating solutions to address them. Jon will guide you from idea to execution, elevating your brand at every touch point. His work ethic, charming interpersonal skills, deep love of music, and self-deprecating humour can all be attributed to his Newfie roots. Oh – and just for fun – ask him to say “bear” next time you see him.
Jon Holden
Forward Level Marketing | Director, Marketing
T 403.693.5148 | M 403.973.4287
E jon@forwardlevel.com | W forwardlevel.com