On the ninth day, Lindsey Bombardier of Lenczner Slaght discusses three key areas of focus when communicating the value of digital/social media and gives an in-depth look at her firm's recent holiday card campaign.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING THE VALUE OF DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA IN OR TO LAW FIRMS?
We communicate a lot of information to our lawyers and we must remember that we aren’t the only ones trying to get a message through. Be well prepared and well informed.
It’s all about the data – Whether you’re launching a new campaign or finding a new way to communicate a routine marketing activity, likes and shares alone don’t prove success. And while high impressions are wonderful (well done, congrats!) they mean literally nothing to most lawyers without proper context. Enter the quarterly results report. For each key project, we create one. While each is tailored, they always include: routine data points, analysis of data measured, opportunities and outcomes, and qualitative feedback. When presented to a lawyer or committee, data is compared to the previous quarter, previous year, and/or industry standard. Our analysis includes what’s worked well and what needs attention or improvement. Our reports are brief and branded. Results are always reported in-person. This process works and helps us make better marketing decisions.
When clients engage, marketing wins – LinkedIn now has more than 500 million total users and Twitter has more than 100 million daily users. So chances are pretty high that clients and firm contacts are online. Review and analyze your followers as well as their level of engagement. At the outset of new projects, explain your findings to your lawyers (they’re brilliant, they will understand!) and start having smarter conversations about how best to tailor your marketing tactics. Further, clients and prospects often interact with social posts; likes are good, comments are better! Don’t miss the opportunity for connection. Keep track of positive client stories and use them as ammunition in future marketing pitches.
Training works (or at least helps) – Providing social media training to your lawyers is an investment worth making. Consider the content you want to share and the delivery and format that will work best. We provide annual sessions to students and associates. We invite our marketing partner, who just happens to be a social media whiz, to attend for the purpose of sharing stories on how social media positively impacts his busy legal practice. To support our training, we developed tip sheets for both LinkedIn and Twitter which include everything from setting up a profile, to best practices. If you have the resources, offering a short, one-on-one training session can go a long way – and frankly, the more comfortable your lawyers become with social media now, the easier it will be for you and your team in the future!
WHAT DIGITAL OR SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN/EFFORT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF AND WHY?
It’s been a busy year at Lenczner Slaght. Our team supported and promoted hundreds of activities, launched two micro-sites, won a dozen awards, enhanced recognition in all major legal directories, increased online engagement, developed and pitched a handful of new projects, and worked with more lawyers, more often throughout the year. Proud is an understatement!
But, ‘tis the season! Nothing has brought our team more joy than to watch the reaction from clients to this year’s holiday card, #TheGiftofUnlegalAdvice.
Each year, we print and ship our holiday card to many loyal clients and friends. The format and design for this year’s card was a little different – we included a piece of advice from every single lawyer at the firm. The advice was meant to inspire clients or at the very least, bring a smile to their faces. The card turned out beautifully and the collection of advice was so special that we simply couldn’t keep it to ourselves!
We developed a month-long social media campaign which highlighted each lawyer along with their unique piece of advice. We created new social media images and a daily posting schedule. It couldn’t have been easier!
The reaction from clients has been overwhelmingly positive. But what’s been more fun is the impact it has had on our lawyers – many have been stopping by to chat about the card, to tell us about a positive conversation they’ve had with a client, or to ask when their advice was going to turn up on social media.
A little creativity and expert execution gave us our last big win of the decade!
ABOUT LINDSEY BOMBARDIER
Lindsey Bombardier is the Director of Business Development and Marketing at Lenczner Slaght, Canada’s leading litigation firm. With respect to marketing, she is responsible for developing and overseeing the firm’s programs including media relations, digital marketing, social media, rankings and awards, and more. Notably, in 2019, Lindsey led the roll-out of ReferToHer™ and commerciallist.com.
Lindsey is an active member of the legal marketing community. She is the co-creator of LMANext and a Director of the LMA Eastern Canada Region. She’s a regular speaker on various topics related to legal marketing, business development, and career development.
lbombardier@litigate.com | @LindseyBomb
In case you missed it:
The 1st Day, featuring Meghan Spradling of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn
The 2nd Day, featuring Roy Sexton of Clark Hill
The 3rd Day, featuring Jessica Aries of Peek & Toland PLLC
The 4th Day, featuring Laura Toledo of Nilan Johnson Lewis PA
The 5th Day, featuring Stefanie Knapp of Allen Matkins
The 6th Day, featuring Jacqueline Madarang of Blank Rome
The 7th Day, featuring Nancy Myrland, SIG founding member and past chair
The 8th Day, featuring Kim Lyons of Holland & Knight
Join us!
Please join us on Thursday, December 19th for our final webinar of the year, "Looking Ahead to 2020: What's to Come in Social & Digital Media." During this program, three of our 12 Days contributors will discuss trends, lessons learned, and predictions for 2020.