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What's the return on investment (ROI) in social media? That is the million dollar question lawyers and law firms ask marketing managers and social media consultants on a daily basis.  ROI is a mystery to most people, and there isn't a highly accepted method to measure the economic beneifts of using social media.  

Interested in getting your law firm involved with social media? Here are 3 clever ways to measure return on investment.  It's been my experience that key decision makers like to see a strategy, and ways to measure that strategy's effectiveness (ROI).  

1. Define your goal. Why do you want to use social media? It shouldn't be because everyone else is doing it. Are your clients using social media? Do you want to use it to disseminate information about your firm? Do you want to gain an expert reputation in your practice area? Be as specific as possible.  You will not be able to track your success (or lack thereof) unless you have clearly defined goals for your social media strategy.

One goal to consider would be to increase mentions of your firms name across Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other blogs in your practice area.  You can use tools such as Google Alerts to monitor the web for each time your name, or your firms name, is published.  

My favorite goal is to get more clients when using social media.  To measure this effectively you need to make sure you track the source of work for all incoming clients.  Make sure you get the full picture as well.  How did this client hear of you? If it was a referral, did they look you up online as well? Try and gather all of this information during the intake process. 

2. Define your tools and metrics. Which tools are you going to use to measure ROI?  More importantly, what are you going to measure?  If your goal is to increase website views, consider using Google Analytics or Get Clicky to measure traffic.  

Use Twitter software such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck if you wish to increase your expert reputation via Twitter and/or Facebook.  

It's imperative you outline what you're measuring and how you'll track it to best gage your successes and losses when using social media for marketing and business development. 

3. Set a timeline. How often will you measure your ROI? Create a schedule and stick to it.  Most law firms and lawyers that measure ROI do so on a monthly basis.  Software such as the ones I mentioned above provide easy-to-read charts that you can present to upper management when needed.  

Make sure you ask the right questions when thinking about ROI and social media.  Rather than asking what the ROI is of social media, ask what is the ROI of specific activities we engage in via social media.  Clearly defining your goals, tools and metrics as well as setting a schedule will help assist you in measuring the ROI on all your social media endeavors.  

Social media is no longer a passing fad when it comes to law firm business development, marketing and client acquisition. It’s traditional marketing packaged differently - the same rules apply. One of the most important things you should do prior to opening your first social media account is to figure out where your clients, potential clients, colleagues and referral sources reside online. Doing so allows you to focus your efforts as efficiently as possible.

1. Define your top ten clients first. What types of clients would you like to have? Be specific. Are you looking for specific individuals or multi-national corporations? Grab a pen and paper (or open a new Google Doc) and create a top ten list. Include business names, addresses, contact information, common connections, etc. Research your market’s demographics.

2. Research where your current clients hang out online. Look at your top 20 clients and see how they use social media. Do they use Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogging, etc.? Your target clients will most likely have similar styles and online habits. Take your time and do your research. Perhaps send a questionnaire to your clients asking them about their online habits. Get as much information as possible. You can also gain valuable client intelligence by checking out their social networks.

3. Do your competitors use social media to interact with their clients? You should definitely know the answer. Do a quick Google search and check out their social media accounts. How do they interact with followers and fans? Are some of your target clients getting cozy up with the competition? Record where you find them and use this information later.

4. Does your target client have a website? It’s very common for businesses to now include their social media account information. Take note - these are the accounts you’ll want to open.

5. Search Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ for your ideal clients. If you find them there, create an account. It’s as simple as that. You should also check to see how up-to-date these accounts are. Have they posted in the last couple weeks? How often?

Determining which social media networks to use is imperative when creating your law firm’s social media strategy. Figure out where your clients, potential clients and referral sources “hang out” online. Re-evaluate every six months. New social media networks come and go - don’t jump on the bandwagon each time a new one pops up. From my experience, most law firms use LinkedIn, Blogging and Twitter. How about you? How do you find your clients online? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments below!

Creating fresh content for your law blog can seem just as fun as cleaning the gutters for most lawyers.  Client obligations, billing targets and filing deadlines take priority leaving your blog stale and lifeless.  I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Most bloggers piggyback on newsworthy information to tie their business to a story that is currently generating a lot of buzz in the news. Keeping up-to-date in your practice area and becoming the first to write about breaking stories will gain you and your firm major exposure.

Hubspot recently wrote about how to jack the news to generate marketing buzz and they shared some interesting ideas.  They stated that the opening paragraph of your blog post should answer the who/what/where/why questions about the news story.  This information can be easily found on the Internet or a corporate website. The second paragraph is your chance to shine.  This is where you share your expert opinion aka original content.  If you have a credible source or valuable insight share it here and you'll have the chance to newsjack at supersonic speed.

The early bird catches the worm when it comes to breaking the news.  Yes, you will have to get up in the wee morning hours when the sun is first rising.  It's even better if you live on the East Coast! Follow the news, blogs and journalists in your industry and set up Google Alerts using relevant key words.  It's also a good idea to cozy up to your journalist friends and perhaps they'll throw you a bone once in awhile.  

The key here is to be first.  It's imperative you are #1 so that you become the "go-to" person for everything related to your practice area.  As soon as people start hearing about news in your industry they'll come to your blog for the latest info.  Allow comments and encourage discussion. 

Create a strategy on how to quickly write blog posts.  Perhaps you can brainstorm with a fellow associate or have an assistant do a quick proofing.  Either way, make it simple so that you don't get hindered by red tape or a dragged out approval process. 

Following the news can be a great way to create interesting and useful content in your practice area.  Let us know how it works for you!

Most of us don't think we need to worry about our online reputation.  It's only pop stars and political figures that need to worry right? Wrong. Any lawyer that works with the public (almost everyone) and especially those that use social media personally and professionally need to think about how to protect their e-reputation. Taking measures now can save you embarrassment and even your career in the future.

Larry Bodine recently wrote about 4 Things You Need to Know to Protect Your Online Repulation. His article is based on an infographic published in Mashable and you should definitely take the time to check it out here. 

Your e-reputation is how you are perceived on the Internet.  What do you do when you want to find out more about someone? You check them out on Facebook, LinkedIn, perhaps Twitter and so-on. Up to 48% of recruiters refer to personal websites when deciding whether or not to hire you. 

It's important to monitor social media sites, blogs and websites for what's being said about your and your firm.  A good presence can lead to increased business, promotions and respect.  A bad presence, or no presence, can damage your in person reputation - especially when your competition has a carefully cultivated presence.  

Your online reputation can be influenced by a number of factors. These include public images, comments about your character or work, articles, and/or your criminal history (if you have one).  

Having no presence at all online can also be incredibly damaging as I mentioned before.  When websites first came out most of us never thought we'd actually create one for our business - now it's a given. Not using social media for marketing and business development is becoming a thing of the past. 

Here's how Mashable suggest you protect your e-reputation:

• Create an online presence using a website and/or blog. Join social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
• Create a Google Alert for your name and your law firm's name.  You'll be alerted each time your name is mentioned on the web. 
• Regularly post content that you want to be known for. 
• Learn about SEO and how it can be used to raise the ranking of positive content.
• Don't give anyone your passwords to online accounts and don't give out your personal information such as your birth date, address, etc.
• Ask your friends to delete negative pictures that don't portray your professional reputation. 

Are you a Canadian lawyer interested in starting a law blog? If so, good for you! Blogging is a wonderful way to get involved in the realm of social media.  There are a number of things to consider such as which blogging platform you will use, determining your editorial calendar as well as permission from your law firm if needed.  

I read an article from the Blog Herald titled 20 Legal Facts Every Blogger Should Know and I felt it was worth sharing with you.  The article is based on US law but it's a good reminder on how to conduct yourself and your content online.

1. Your content will reach a world-wide audience in every jurisdiction.  Remember that what is legal in one country may not be legal in another.
2. Your content is being posted to a public forum.  The law largely treats it as public similar to if you printed it in the local newspaper.
3. You are responsible for your content legally and posting anonymously may not protect you.  
4. Copyright protects works of creative authorship and is a collection of rights over those works.  Rights include the right to make copies, the right publicly to display/perform the work and the right to make derivative works.  
5. Copyright is given either to the author of the work or their employer if they are creating that work for their employment. (Contract work does not always transfer copyright). 
6. By default, copyright blocks uses of a work. If you wish to give broad permission to use a particular work use a Creative Common License to let others know the terms they can use it under.  Likewise, if you are looking for a work that you can use, seek one with a Creative Commons license.
7. The current term for copyright in the United States is the life of the author plus 70 years for individuals or 95 years for works of corporate authorship.  
8. Fair use is an exemption to copyright that allows others to use copyrighted works without permission for certain limited purposes. There are no bright lines when it comes to fair use and a fair use is decided on a four factor test that looks at each case in detail.  
9. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it relatively easy to get infringed copies of your work off a site hosted in most countries.
10. Defamation is the communication of any statement, presented or implied to be true, that is false and puts a person, business and/or entity in a negative light falsely harming their reputation.
11. Slander is any defamation presented in a transitory medium, usually spoken word. Libel is anything printed, published or put into a fixed form.  
12. Defamation can be communicated to one party or to a million. 
13. Truth is an absolute defense against a defamation claim but it must be a verifiable fact.  Opinions are not libelous but they must be actual opinions.
14. Libel is largely set on the state level.
15. A trademark is a word, symbol, phrases sound or almost anything uses to identify a business or their goods/services. Registering a trademark helps protect it but it is not always necessary.
16. Trademark law is designed to prevent confusion.
17. Although trademarks protect things copyright can't, such as names and phrases, that protection is limited to uses that cause confusion.  You're free to talk about businesses.
18. There are four types of privacy torts: intrusion and seclusion, misappropriation of image, publication of private facts and false light, the latter of which is similar to defamation.
19. Once a fact has been made public, it's considered in the public domain and repeating it is not the same as making it public.  As such, any information you post to your blog, Facebook, etc. is considered public.
20. Privacy laws vary state to state. 

How are the Canadian laws different when it comes to copyright, privacy, trademark and defamation? It's a good idea to know US and Canadian law as your work will most likely be read in both countries.  It's also a good idea to get all your legal questions answered prior to publishing your post. 

Of late I have been observing more and more examples of video blogging, “vblogs” or "vlogs". This makes me wonder if we have now officially entered a new phase in blogging.

I started to really notice this when I came across Gini Dietrich on Twitter and then checked out her blog Spin Sucks. It appears she produces video blogs on a weekly basis, if not more.

Robin Sharma, a motivational author and blogger has taken his video blogging to a new level. He even vlogs from the back seat of a taxi cab while traveling the world. And he pulls it off effectively!

With YouTube.com now being touted as the second largest search engine in the world (second only to Google.com), it is no wonder we are now seeing our legal industry clients working towards incorporating more videos into their websites and into their blogs.

It seems to me that we are becoming a more "visual" society with less time on our hands. I think we are more likely to watch a 3-5 minute vblog on a subject than we are to invest 10 to 15 minutes in reading about something.

Personally, I find that I am guilty of “speed reading” most blog posts and not really giving them the time and attention that I should. And I do find that a good vblog can get the important information across quickly and succinctly.

What are your thoughts? Would you rather read a post or listen/watch a post?

Yesterday a small group of group of the more influential Canadian legal bloggers met in a downtown pub to share both pints and thoughts with American legal blogging guru Kevin O’Keefe.

It was quite an interesting collection of legal bloggers and legal marketers. There were young and dynamic bloggers like Omar Ha Redeye and Michael Carabash, who are clearly on the cutting edge of this growing social media outlet.

And then there were some of the "elder statesmen" of legal blogging present, not the least of which was Garry Wise of Wise Law fame.

At one point during the evening I heard Garry Wise make a point that it seemed interesting that it took an American visiting Toronto to get a gathering of local bloggers to come out from behind their keyboards. Interesting observation. But could we not do the same for ourselves? Any attempts I have seen at organizing a "Tweet Up" North of the 49th seem to have failed in this industry. Why is that, do you think?

Garry Wise raised point that bloggers have the opportunity to influence people and impact on decisions, yet we don't appear to be quick to meet, discuss and share issues that affect us all.

I agree whole-heartedly with Garry and I, for one, would welcome a regular “Beer for Bloggers” in the Greater Toronto Area. So let’s get going on that.