Law firms are increasingly shifting their marketing and public relations focus from traditional forms of marketing to online legal marketing solutions. The fastest growing and most dynamic of these legal marketing options may be social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and others. The legal profession is rarely an early adopter of new technology, particularly when it comes to new legal marketing forums. While a few State Bar associations have openly embraced this new method of communicating with the public, other State Bars have issued a multitude of warnings about law firms participating in social media networks. Some law firms have chosen to take their chances, while other law firms have decided to avoid social networks entirely. The best approach might be a middle ground that recognizes the need to be aware of how one’s State Bar marketing rules may apply, but makes use of this powerful communication tool in law firm marketing strategy.
The law firm strategy of simply ignoring social media sites, which offer a free way to promote a law firm, is questionable at best. Facebook alone purports to have over 350 million users. This makes Facebook the second largest Internet destination behind Google with even more visitors then Yahoo. Facebook’s reach alone makes ignoring social networks a poor choice. Despite Facebook’s domination of social media space, MySpace still has 57 million users, while there are a bevy of other social media sites that also attract millions of visitors.
This is an enormous audience to reach, so law firms need to find ways to communicate with consumers by using social media sites, while avoiding compliance issues with State Bar associations. There is no doubt that a law firm cannot reach as large an audience by optimizing their own law firm website or by participating in any other online legal marketing program. Law firms often pay tens of thousands of dollars per year to maximize their online marketing presence through SEO efforts, pay per click campaigns, and other legal marketing programs such as online legal directories. It would be folly to think that a communications tool that is free and has a greater reach than all of these efforts combined can be ignored.
State Bar Associations range in their response to social media networks from those that consider almost every posting on a social media network to be a form of advertising subject to State Bar rules on advertising to State Bars that offer continuing legal education courses on using social media networks as law firm marketing sources. The key to avoiding compliance issues is really no different than with any other form of lawyer advertising. A law firm must be aware of its State Bar rules and opinions regarding legal marketing and lawyer advertising. A firm should consider the following issues:
Testimonial Rules: State Bar Associations may consider any posting by a client on a law firm social media page to be a testimonial. It is a good idea to make sure that any area where a consumer can post feedback or comments that could be construed as a testimonial, is monitored by the law firm and in compliance with State Bar rules governing testimonials.
Lawyer Advertising: Unfortunately, many State Bars consider almost any activity on a social network site as advertising, even an attorney’s profile page. It is important to make sure you are familiar with your State Bar rules and make sure that your social network pages would not violate State Bar rules if treated as an advertisement.
Misleading Content: Sometimes content posted on a social media page can be misleading to consumers, particularly content posted by other members of the public. It is important to carefully monitor your social website for such content and to correct it immediately upon discovery.
The bottom line is law firm’s should be familiar with State Bar rules and monitor their social media pages to make sure they comply with legal advertising rules. This is a much better option than avoiding social media sites altogether. The reach and influence of social media websites continues to grow, making them a necessary part of a law firm’s online marketing strategy.
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