5 Things You Need to Know About Reaching Millennial Clients

By Jackie Sofia

Comparing Social Media Use between US Adults overall, and Millennials specifically

Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016/

1. Social Media is essential. The fact remains that millennials are using social media more than any other age group in the U.S. Data released by the Pew Research Center indicates more specifically that Facebook is the choice platform of millennials (88 percent), with Instagram creeping up to second place (60% percent). 
2. Keep a blog, and keep it updated. 33 percent of millennials review blogs before they make any type of financial transaction, compared to fewer than 3 percent who use TV news, magazines or books. Millennials are also incredibly self-reliant. Having always had the internet at their disposal, millennials are used to finding the information they need themselves. You can feed into this self-reliance on your blogs by providing well-written answers to common legal dilemmas that are hyperlinked to your legal experts within the firm. This will also direct your target audience to your firm for further legal services and advice. 
3. Know your limits. The American Bar Association requires lawyers to stay abreast of the benefits and risks associated with technology in relation to the practice of law. While social media can be a great opportunity to stay engaged with millennials, it's a constantly changing environment where many of the old school regulations are being adapted or applied directly towards technological advancements that are deemed within their purview. The good news is that there are resources out there that can help you stay on top of these changes. Regardless of whether your firm even has a social media account, it's important to regularly participate in continuing study and education and comply with legal education requirements. 
4. You have to be one, to know one. Hiring millennials to join your team is one of the more critical investments you can make for the future of the firm and its growing target audience of fellow millennials. According to Nika Kabiri, Director of Strategic Insights at Avvo, one in four Americans are dealing with legal issues, and half of those Americans are millennials. Not only can millennials identify more closely with the younger target audience, but they tend to also be ambitious as well as fluent in social media and digital technology. 
5. Be proud of your pro bono work. Social media isn't the only thing that attracts millennials. They are also interested in what companies do in their community. Millennials may be apt to choose your services over others if you have a pro-bono roster that exhibits a more empathetic and charitable firm. A 2015 Elite Daily Millennial Consumer Study revealed that 75 percent of those surveyed thought it was important for a company to give back to society.

Multi-jurisdictional Law Practices and the Rules of Ethics

By Gina F. Rubel

As the rules regarding legal marketing have evolved over the years, lawyers have had to brush up on the ethics of marketing their law practices. One of the areas in which we field many questions is on the ethical implications of marketing a law practice with offices in several jurisdictions.

There is a great deal of guidance written about multi-jurisdictional law practices and ethical issues. General guidance suggests that attorneys must first be in compliance with their home state’s rules and in the states where the law firm maintains offices.

U.S.-based law firms should, at the very least, be in compliance with the ABA Model Rules.

I often advise lawyers that if they prefer to market conservatively, defer to the ethics opinions and rules of New York, New Jersey, Florida and Indiana. For example, review Marketing Your Practice - Attorney Advertising, Business Development and Ethics in New York state.

Other resources include:

Lawyer Marketing: An Ethics Guide (Hypotheticals and Analyses) by Thomas E. Spahn, McGuire Woods LLP.

ABA CLE Program: Multi-jurisdictional Practice -Major Ethical Issues and Trends by Lou Conti, Secretary/Treasurer, The Florida Bar, Business Law Section and Merritt A. Cole, Former Chair, The Philadelphia Bar Association, Business Law Section

You may also wish to read about virtual law offices and the ethics that apply.

A relevant and detailed article can be found in Law Practice Magazine: Watch Where You Set Your Virtual Foot – Advice on Dealing with Varying State Rules by Daniel J. Siegel.

For more information on the ethics of legal marketing, contact the marketing and PR professionals at Furia Rubel Communications.

Lawyer Social Media Profiles and Linking to the Law Firm

By Gina Rubel

As a Philadelphia-area marketing and public relations agency with a focus on legal marketing, we here at Furia Rubel get asked a lot of questions about how lawyers should handle social media.

Some of the most common questions have to do with the relationship between an individual lawyer and the firm, particularly when it comes to marketing. Should a personal profile for a lawyer on Twitter link to the law firm’s website? Should an individual lawyer brand his or her social media profiles independently or link to and mention the law firm where he or she works?

As with most marketing situations, the answer is "it depends."

For solo and small firms and individual lawyers, social media profiles should always mention their law firm. In these instances, the lawyer *is* the firm – he or she is inextricably tied to the law firm brand.

In big law firms, however, the answer is more nuanced. The attorney first should consult the firm’s social media policy. If the policy permits or requests that the lawyer mention the firm's name in his or her profile, and/or to link to the firm’s website, then this is a best practice.

Many firms require a disclaimer in the lawyer's profile as well. They usually read something to the effect of, "These opinions are my own and are not endorsed by my employer."

Remember, there is strength in numbers, and if you're in a big law firm, being associated with the brand can only support your individual lawyer marketing and business development efforts.

Digital Marketing for Law Firms Webinar

By Gina Rubel

During a one-hour legal marketing webinar hosted by MyCase, I addressed the basics of digital marketing for lawyers. This program covered the basics of why lawyers should be engaging on social media, in blogging, and what types of content draw the most attention.

One of the things I like about webinars is that participants can ask questions. Some of the viewer questions answered during the webinar towards the end of the program include:

• What is the ABA's position on using Facebook for law firms?
• For those of us who target businesses, how relevant is Facebook in a non-consumer-facing practice? 
• How does one expand contacts on Facebook?
• Is it okay to mix personal content such as travel photos with business content such as blogs on my social media profiles? 
• Should you ever share any personal information in social media like your vacation plans, personal thoughts or supporting your favorite sports teams?  

A full recording of Digital Marketing for Law Firms can be found on LinkedIn’s SlideShare along with a MyCase recap of the webinar on their blog.

How to Come up with Blog Topics

By Gina Rubel

 

Blogging does not have to be a daunting task for lawyers. As most blogs address a single topic in a short and concise manner, it should be easy to come up with blog topics that serve your target audience with information about your  areas of practice to establish you as an authority.

·         Keep a notepad next to your phone or keep notes in your mobile device. Every time a colleague, client or prospect asks you a substantive question, write it down. The answers to those questions are almost always worth blogging about.

·         If you’re a transactional attorney, consider every transaction for a blog topic. For example, every contract has many clauses. Contract attorneys can write short blogs about the benefits and/or pitfalls of various contract clauses such as termination clauses, non-compete clauses, liability clauses, etc.

·         Review your memos of law and briefs for substantive (non-fact-specific) content that can be edited and sanitized of client-specific information and turned into blogs.

·         Utilize materials from CLE programs and seminars you have presented for blog topics. In fact, CLE presentations are a great source of imagery to support blog topics (such as screenshots of a single PowerPoint slide that supports the premise of the blog post).

·         Set up a free Google Alert on specific topics in your area of practice and review them daily. If something is breaking in the news, you’ll be on top of it. If you do set up a Google Alert, consider creating a rule in your email system that sends the alerts to a dedicated folder that you check once a day. That way, alerts will not clutter your inbox.

·         Subscribe to or regularly review any of the following syndicated news feeds to stay on top of the issues being discussed by other firms throughout the country: Lexology, Mondaq, JD Supra, National Law Review.


·         Have someone record presentations you are giving and then have them transcribed. Edit the transcription into several blog posts.

Furia Rubel Roundup: What We’re Reading This Month

By Gina F. Rubel

As professionals, we are constantly learning and growing – and reading. We read a lot, and we love to share with one another articles that have caught our eye.

Here is another roundup of interesting articles that we thought our readers might enjoy.

On leadership and management

A Harvard psychologist says people judge you based on two criteria when they first meet you. In her new book, “Presence,” Amy Cuddy says people quickly judge you based on whether they think they can trust you and whether they can respect you.

On social media and the internet

You may not be a fan of Snapchat, but a new generation of professionals is on it every day. Bloomberg reported that 10 billion videos now are viewed daily on the app that is in direct competition with Facebook which continues to enhance its video capabilities. 

LinkedIn membership is on the rise, says Venturebeat.com, as is its revenue. Up to 433 million users and $861 million in revenue, LinkedIn remains a strong social media tool for business professionals.

SEO is an industry term that, for millennial marketers, is something that has been engrained in them. But for many, every solicitous email that says they can get your company on the first page of Google, cause the older generation of business owners to wonder, “can they?” The short answer is that SEO no longer works that way without a major investment in advertising dollars. However, there are things companies can do to search engine optimize their online content to rank better organically. Search Engine Watch recently published an article, How to write meta descriptions for SEO (with good and bad examples). If you’re sharing content on websites and blogs, this is a must read.

On litigation, legal marketing and the law

New Jersey lawyers beware: Attorney advertising containing “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers” and similar designations must include the source of the declaration and an explanation of how the publication it arrived at that determination. When a title contains a superlative such as "super" or "best," the advertising can say the lawyer was included in that list but can't suggest that the attorney actually boasts that attribute.

On public relations, crisis communications and the media

In many respects, public relations and marketing are one and the same. There are granular differences, but at the end of the day, it’s all integrated. When a company issues a press release (PR), they first write it with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind (marketing), then they add it to their website (marketing) and share it via social media (PR and marketing), include it in their company newsletters (marketing), add the information to social media profiles (PR and marketing), and so on.

In addition to marketing and public relations, all companies must know how to handle a crisis. There are many ways to deal with a crisis but the best way is to have a plan in place before a crisis hits. Crisis planning requires a great deal of thought and investment, but like insurance, it’s well worth it. Forbes Communications Council interviewed six executives who share their tips for managing a crisis.

On marketing, branding and graphic design

Colors, colors and more colors. There are endless variations of colors. When considering a branding, rebranding, or brand refresh, color must play into the decisions just as much as font and imagery. Entrepreneur magazine talks about what the color of your logo says about your company. We caution you to take this article with a grain of salt, as reaction to color is dependent on many factors including age, gender, socioeconomic background, culture, life experience, etc.

What have you read lately that has helped you do business better? We’d love to hear about it. Share in the comments.

Furia Rubel Roundup What We’re Reading This Month

By Gina F. Rubel

As professionals, we are constantly learning and growing – and reading. We read a lot, and we love to share with one another articles that have caught our eye.

Here is a roundup of articles we’ve shared recently.

On leadership and management

Deloitte has great marketing and management systems in place to help its employees and customers be successful, including 10 Questions You Should Be Asking to embrace risk and lead confidently in a volatile world.

On social media and the internet

Social media is not all about the numbers of likes or followers. Once a social media influencer reaches a critical mass of followers, audience engagement actually begins to decrease. The rise of micro-influencers on Instagram.

Do you write comments on blogs and news websites? Do you read the comments? Some observers now believe that comments have failed on news media websites.

One analysis concluded that proper link placement in a tweet is about 15 to 25 percent of the way through the post. That way, it will generate more readership and engagement.

On litigation, legal marketing and the law

If you are aware that someone is driving, texting a distracted driver could now bring liability. Think before you text.

On public relations, crisis communications and the media

The marketing platform Hubspot recently was criticized by a former employee in a tell-all book, but the potential public relations nightmare may have been lessened by many of the company’s customers who spoke out on its behalf.

Social media sharing has changed the face of PR, especially the rise in visual communications. Clare Lane tells Ragan’s PR Daily why a picture is really worth a thousand words.

And an AP poll reinforces how important it is for the media to get the facts right in America. In fact, it is the key to gaining trust. 

How Can Lawyers Boost Their Avvo Ratings?

By Gina Rubel

As we discussed last week, Avvo is an attorney directory website that aims to “match consumers with the best possible fit for legal representation.” It also “rates” attorneys with a number from 1 (indicating “extreme caution” to 10 (Superb).

As we also discussed last week, that rating does not necessarily reflect an attorney’s actual prowess. Even Avvo admits as much, noting that, “The Avvo Rating is based only on the information we have collected and that the attorney has provided, so we don’t recommend the Avvo Rating as the only piece of information you use to evaluate whether an attorney is right for you.”

What is in the ‘Secret Sauce’?

Much like the formula for Coke or the 11 herbs and spices in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s seasoning, the precise factors that Avvo uses to calculate an attorney’s rating are kept secret. Avvo maintains that the information it uses is the same information displayed on an attorney’s profile.

“However, we do not disclose the weight we give to this information so that no one can game the system, boosting their rating through unfair advantage,” it says. “Much as Google doesn’t share its search engine secrets, we don’t share the inner-workings of the Avvo Rating so we can maintain the neutrality and integrity of the rating.”

Whether you agree with the fundamental premise behind Avvo’s ratings or not, the site still probably has a profile for you. Because it appears so high in search engine results, we advise our clients to take control of their Avvo profiles and to fill them out as completely as possible.

6 Tips to Boost Your Avvo Rating

After years of experience helping clients improve their Avvo ratings, here are six areas of the Avvo profile that we have seen correlate to a higher overall rating.

Attorney endorsements: We have found that endorsements from fellow attorneys significantly increase an attorney’s Avvo rating. However, there is a limit to how many endorsement points you can receive. To receive endorsements from your peers, you need to proactively request those testimonials. It’s the same as asking someone for a reference, and it is rare that other attorneys will endorse you without being formally asked first.

Work experience: The Avvo Rating factors in the type of work experience as well as the number of years you have practiced law. This can include leadership positions that you have held with legal associations (e.g., state bar). And be sure to include your current employer. If your current employer is already listed on your Avvo profile, check to make sure that information is correct such as your employer’s address and contact information.

Awards and honors: Awards from recognized groups such as Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, Martindale-Hubbell, etc. will positively impact your Avvo Rating. The weight from these awards will decrease over time, however, so be sure to update each year that you receive the award.

Associations: Avvo also is interested in your professional involvement in the legal community. This shows that you take your law practice seriously and that you are committed to improving yourself as an attorney. The boost to your rating will be even bigger if your peers have elevated you to an office or position within that group.

Publications: If you have not published any articles, now is the time to do so. We highly recommend submitting an article in your area of expertise to a legal journal or other media outlet. If it is published, you will have a publication credit to add to your Avvo profile. If you already have published law-related articles, then you are ahead of the game; just list them on your profile. This is also a great place to include media mentions if you or your cases have garnered positive media coverage.

Speaking engagements: Lastly, be sure to list prior speaking engagements. This can include events where you have given a talk, such as at the annual bar association conference, or if you have led any continuing legal education (CLE) programs. If you haven’t yet taught a CLE program, think about what expertise you have to offer. In addition to expanding your knowledge of your chosen practice area, it's a good way to increase your Avvo Rating.

Has your Avvo Rating affected your business? Share any thoughts and/or experiences in the comments below.

What Goes Into an Avvo Rating, and Why Should You Care?

By Gina Rubel

As legal marketers, we field questions from attorneys all the time about Avvo – what it is, what its lawyer “ratings” are based upon, and whether attorneys should pay it in any mind.

Founded in 2006 in Seattle by former Expedia general counsel Mark Britton, Avvo is an attorney rating and directory website that aims to “match consumers with the best possible fit for legal representation.” It enables potential clients to research lawyers by city, state and practice area and to submit requests for legal advice, among other things.

Lawyer referrals go high-tech

Britton and co-founder Paul Bloom raised millions in venture capital to launch Avvo, which they envisioned becoming a name brand nationwide resource.

“When you are looking for a book, there’s Amazon; when (you) travel, you have Expedia; for jobs, there’s Monster; and when it comes to search, there’s Google. But when it comes to legal, there’s nothing,” Britton told the Seattle Times in a 2007 interview.

In the years since then, Avvo has raised millions in funding, including $71.5 million in 2015 to expand its product offerings, boost its headcount, and increase its marketing efforts. According to Bloomberg Business, the site is valued at $650 million.

Attorney ‘ratings’

By far Avvo’s most contentious offering is its ratings system, which assigns a numerical value to attorneys in its vast directory. Shortly after the site’s launch in 2007, it found itself in the legal crosshairs of two Seattle attorneys who took umbrage at the site’s ratings, alleging it engaged in “unfair and deceptive practices by falsely claiming to be objective, reliable and factual.” The suit was dismissed by a federal judge who wrote, “Neither the nature of the information provided nor the language used on the Web site would lead a reasonable person to believe that the ratings are a statement of actual fact,” Lasnik wrote.

So what does all of this mean for attorneys? Should lawyers care about their Avvo rating?

In short, yes, but first, it is helpful to understand how those ratings come to be.

Avvo calculates a rating for a lawyer, with 10 being the highest, using a mathematical formula based upon the information provided to Avvo in a lawyer’s profile and from public records such as state bar associations and law firm websites. Therefore, an Avvo rating often has little to do with an individual attorney’s prowess, and instead is based upon how thoroughly an attorney has filled out his or her Avvo profile. That sometimes leads to situations where well-regarded attorneys who have practiced for decades will have lower Avvo ratings than less experienced attorneys who have claimed and updated their Avvo profile.

Avvo’s marketing investment can benefit your practice

Remember that $71.5 million in funding we mentioned? Avvo is pouring some of that money into advertising its site, which now claims 8 million unique visits each month. Attorneys can benefit from that traffic in various ways:

• Individual Avvo profiles appear very high in Internet search results. If you’re an attorney, Google your name and see if your Avvo profile appears on the first page of results; there’s a good chance it will.
• Avvo provides free online real estate of which attorneys should take ownership. If your name is on it, you want to be able to exercise as much control over it as possible.
• Avvo ratings are important to consumers (just like Super Lawyers).
• High Avvo ratings can be used for firm marketing efforts.
• Avvo profiles allow attorneys to link to their firm’s website, boosting the traffic to the website.

Although claiming your Avvo profile sometimes can be tedious, we advise clients to invest the time in doing so. But don’t stop there; a surprising number of lawyers claim their Avvo profile and then do nothing with it. It is important to fill in an Avvo profile completely in order to ensure it accurately reflects a lawyer’s credentials and experience. It’s also just as important to maintain that profile and keep it updated.

Adding relevant, current information to a lawyer’s profile can translate into “points” toward Avvo’s calculated rating. We advise attorneys to fill out as much of their Avvo profile as possible, to help achieve as high a rating as possible.

In a future blog post, we will share tips on ways attorneys can boost their rating, looking at the factors that influence an Avvo rating – and those that don’t.

Fostering Inclusion Through Internal Communications

By Laura Powers

As an agency that assists clients with internal and external communications, we believe in practicing what we preach. So when we recently discussed tactics and tools that we use within our own day-to-day operations, we knew that our readers could benefit from these valuable communications ideas, too.

At Furia Rubel, we employ many tactics and practices that enhance our internal office communications. They include:

• Email aliases that allow small groups to communicate quickly about client work.
• The cloud-based team collaboration messaging platform Slack, where we have set up separate channels for discussions regarding each client.
• Regular status meetings every four to six weeks.
• Lunch-and-learn meetings where we present brief educational presentations to our team.
• Daily stand-up meetings to discuss immediate projects and needs.

However, I think the most important thing about our internal communications approach is that it almost always involves all team members, from the most junior to the most senior. Even though most businesses benefit from an internal hierarchy, we have seen the benefits of including the whole team in daily communications:

• It fosters a sense of ownership with regard to the company and our clients.
• It allows every team member to contribute her own perspective and experience.
• It cultivates a work environment of support and trust.
• It provides all team members with the ability to speak intelligently about most of our services, processes and client work.

The regular sharing of information across all positions and responsibilities ensures that all Furia Rubel team members are able to learn from each other and also enables us to provide better service to our clients.

What internal communications processes do you use? Let us know in the comments.

National Law Journal 'Best of' 2016 Survey Voting Now Open

Friends, the 2016 Best of The National Law Journal reader ranking survey is live, and we are asking for your support.

Vote today at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2016BestNLJ 

Please vote for Furia Rubel in the following categories, and please share this with legal industry colleagues asking them to vote too. We greatly appreciate it.

#3 – Best national public relations firm

#4 – Best national crisis management firm

#6 – Best national integrated law firm marketing provider

#7 – Best national legal marketing and branding services

#8 – Best national law firm website design services

#10 – Best national social media consultancy

Please also vote for our client USClaims on Questions 53 and 54 for litigation and law firm funding.

Eligible voters must come from within the legal industry and may include attorneys, paralegals, staff and service providers. You may vote only once and your name and company affiliation will be required at the beginning of the survey. 

Voting will remain open through Feb. 5, 2016.

With your support, Furia Rubel has been named the among the best agencies in the country by The National Law Journal every year since 2012.

We have been recognized for our top-level services including Legal Marketing and Branding, Law Firm Marketing, Law Firm Website Design, Law Firm Public Relations, Crisis Management and Social Media Consulting. 

Thank you from the entire Furia Rubel team for your support over the years and again today.

6 Things Google Analytics Can Tell You About Your Marketing

By Kim Tarasiewicz

At Furia Rubel, we build many of our clients' websites and also provide hosting on a dedicated server. Part of our website services involve checking Google Analytics to see how those sites are performing. An analytics program can provide a bird's eye view of how many visitors are using your site each month, among other things. By defining your parameters in detail, you can even see how many visitors go to a certain page each day, month or quarter. When used properly, Google Analytics can provide crucial information on your customers/clients that can be used in the marketing process throughout the year.

Several of the key metrics we look for when compiling data to share with clients are outlined below. Depending on your marketing and advertising needs, different reports may be more or less important to your business. You will need access to your company's analytics account associated with your website to view your reports.

The traffic report shows the number of visitors to your site, this number should increase or at least remain consistent if your site is performing well. When using analytics properly, you should be able to increase the number of visitors to your site by reviewing behavior on your site and making edits to pages as needed. For example, by checking the "Organic Search Traffic page", you will see the number of visitors that used a search engine and which keywords they used to find the site. You can then incorporate additional related keywords into the site which should increase traffic.

The channel report image above provides a perfect overview to HOW visitors arrived at the site. This area can be used to develop or tweak your marketing plan. If your business determines that they want to increase their social media leads to the website, you can review the current social media number which in this case is very low (0.27%) and after running a social media campaign, check back to see if your percentages have increased, hopefully giving your campaign validation.

Referral traffic is important to evaluate as it shows which outside websites are sending online traffic to your company's website. This could be in the form of a news story that links to your website as part of the story, or it could be a partner company that has a link to your website on their site for referral traffic. It is important to follow-up on these resources, grow your network connections, and promote your company, in order to increase online visitors.


The device overview report will show you from what type of device your clients are accessing your website. On the report example above, 88.49% of these website users are using a desktop computer, perhaps visiting the site as they work. As the number of people accessing your site from a mobile device increase, you should consider building a mobile, responsive version of your website to provide those mobile visitors with content that is optimized to display on small screens.

Reviewing the pages report will show you which pages have the most traffic and have created the most interest. This will give you an idea of what your readers are looking for and allow you to add additional material such as blogs or media stories around that subject, with the goal of increasing traffic to your site.

If your marketing plan is to target certain geographic areas, you may want to review the location report to see what country or which state your viewers are coming from. This report can be narrowed down by clicking on the country, then the state which will eventually show the local towns visitors are in when viewing your site.

Google Analytics can be customized by day and date, locations, new and returning visitors etc. and can be an ideal tool to use in measuring your marketing tactics. Before your team sits down to create next year's goals and plan, do a little research in analytics and give your team cutting edge information to increase opportunities for a successful year.

Keeping It S.I.P.S.

By Megan Quinn

What do you do for a living?

If you answered by naming your company or your title or your general field, you just missed out on a golden business opportunity – to create interest in what you do and open the door for further interest.

That was the main takeaway from a recent conference, LMA Metro Philadelphia’s Half-Day Educational Conference, presented by the HUB City View. The July 16 conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about legal marketing from local and visiting marketing experts and it was interesting to switch over to the marketing side for a day and shift my mind out of the PR gear.

The breakout session 2 program, “Wildfire: Creating Interest in Your Practice With Everyone You Meet,” really struck a chord with me. It was presented by Steve Hughes, president of Missouri-based company Hit Your Stride, LLC. The main theme was, how can we brainstorm new ways to market our profession or help our clients to do the same when networking?

For example, when asked at a cocktail party or event, “What do you do for a living?” it’s easy to just state your profession or company name outright. “I’m a lawyer,” “I work in public relations,” or “I work at Furia Rubel Communications in Doylestown.”

That’s all well and good, but there’s no hint of mystery to it. If we aren’t proactive about coming up with new ways to explain our jobs in a fun, interesting way, does that make us sound disinterested in what we do?

For tax attorneys, Hughes recommends saying this: “I’m Uncle Sam’s biggest nightmare” or “I help add to the national debt.” For estate planning attorneys, try “I work with dead people” or real estate attorneys can say “I play with dirt all day and get paid for it.”

The point is to make our explanations S.I.P.S. (short, intriguing, pithy and simple). If we can succeed in doing this, we can engage our audience in a way that presents opportunities for follow-up questions. Don’t give it all away at once; leave them guessing!

I often have a hard time explaining my job to friends and family, as I wrote about in a previous blog post, so this is a way to explore how we view our clients and their impact on the world. So, what do I do? For my job, I came up with, “I help law firms and banks look human.”

How would you explain your profession to others?

10 Post-Event Tips to Get the Most Out of Conference Attendance

By Gina F. Rubel

What do you do to follow up with people you met and things you learned about at a meeting or conference? Do you just take the business cards that you received and stuff them in a drawer or do you do something with them? Do you take the conference materials and put them on a shelf?

This past week, I spent several days in San Diego at the Legal Marketing Association International Conference (#LMA15) where I had the opportunity to both teach and to learn. I co-presented a program with three other experienced legal marketers: Roy Sexton of Trott & Trott (Ann Arbor), Heather Morse Geller of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger (Los Angeles) and Megan McKeon of Katten Muchin Rosenman (Chicago). We discussed collaboration and coexistence among marketers and lawyers, touching on law firm culture, the generations in the workplace, how to communicate effectively with lawyers, and much more.

After a long, cross-country journey and time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, I took time upon my return (that I had set aside) to follow up and process information I had acquired. Here are some of the things that I do to get the most out of the conference after attending:

1) Connect with everyone that I met for the first time on LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.
2) Send hand-written notes to people with whom I want to follow up.
3) Add select individuals to my personal contact database and CRM system and update contact information for those who are with new companies.
4) Download all important materials and review them for a second time.
5) Share conference take-aways with my marketing and public relations teams.
6) Make notes on the restaurants we visited (and perhaps rate them on TripAdvisor) in the event we end up back in the same city for a future conference or meetings.
7) Capture the Twitter stream using TweetArchivist.com (assuming I remembered to set one up pre-conference) and review it for trends and nuggets of important information.
8) Send thank you notes to anyone who took the time to do something special such as invite me to dinner or pay for a taxi.
9) Download and begin using valuable apps that I learned about at the conference.
10) Follow up and schedule meetings with people who I said I would follow up with.

While these 10 post-event tips to get the most out of conference attendance seem simple, it takes hours to complete them and most people say they are simply “too busy” to do anything once they return to their offices. Take the time to capitalize on all of the great relationships you developed and information you learned. Otherwise, it all just falls on deaf ears.

Social Media Policies for Employers, Employees and their Counsel

By Laura Powers

In October, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 2014 Bench-Bar & Annual Conference held by the Philadelphia Bar Association. I was joined by Ryan Gatto, Global Director of Compliance at Sungard Availability Services, and Justin Moriconi, Senior Associate at Segal McCambridge.

During the conference, my fellow speakers and I discussed the importance of putting social media policies in place for businesses and the rationale behind having a designated social media expert (or even more than one).

Here’s what we learned:

There is Power in Social Media

Social media can be wielded as a powerful marketing and business development weapon if properly harnessed. It can be used effectively in regular communication with external audiences such as past, existing or potential clients, customers and employees, the media, government officials and referral sources as well as in crisis communications.

In crisis, for example, many companies used their social profiles, which had followings, to communicate during Hurricane Sandy because they didn't have email service and some did not have phone service, either. Social media has become a primary channel not only for regular outreach, but also for critical communication during a crisis.

For recruiting purposes, social media gives us a look inside the culture and environment of a company. A website can only take this so far; social media allows us to take it further. For example, office parties, office pets, event photos or sponsored 5K races are snapshots into the daily interactions of coworkers and that is so critical to recruiting, especially for younger generations that place a lot of value on a job’s flexibility and life balance.

How to Benefit – Educate Employees

Most employees don’t start their day with the intention to damage the company they work for. They most likely haven’t been properly informed enough to understand the effects of their online behavior because the guidelines and expectations about company-sanctioned behavior have not been correctly communicated. It should be up to the employer how it provides this education.

Clearly, companies shouldn't be taking the “head in the sand” approach to social media. To deal with possible crisis issues, employers need to take the time to develop a thoughtful policy. And since technology often outpaces the law, that policy needs to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Once social media policies are created, they should have a proper firm-wide roll-out to management and staff.

How to Manage Your Online Reputation

This is why having a team internally, or externally, like an agency, is critical. I can’t tell you all the things we've found that employees have posted, including a lawyer’s post one day from court that said “Justice is so slow. Wish this judge would hurry up,” and, “Bored to tears in this NJ CLE class.”

A branded platform that does not look like it is abandoned by the company but looks like it is cared for every day will emphasize an employee’s perception that they are being watched and promote conservative use. Consistent branding, messaging and positioning for a company on the platforms that are sanctioned for use also will make a difference.

Marketing & Communications – What’s Necessary and Obvious

In 2013, more than 92 percent of companies reportedly had one staff member for whom “social media” was a requirement according to a Forbes article by contributor Ken Makovsky entitled ‘A Snapshot Of Social Media 2013.’

Of those social media experts, 18 percent report directly to the CEO, indicating that social goals and strategies are gaining traction in the boardroom. There is still discrepancy between the dedication to social and the belief within a company’s leadership that it is actually effective, but measurement and effectiveness is another conversation.

Leadership cannot rely solely on the marketing staff to handle policy management and social media engagement. A social media committee can be set up to monitor and manage everything and hold each other accountable if there is no designated social media expert or if your company is too big for just one expert to handle.

The team setups we see vary based on the culture of the company and its attitude, which also depends on the generational demographics in the company. In open environments, social media is accepted as the norm and everyone can be a brand ambassador and share information online. However, that doesn't lessen the need at all for monitoring and management.

Does your company have a clear social media policy or designated social media expert(s)? Share your experiences or thoughts in the comments section below.

Who is in Your Tribe of Successful Women?

By Gina F. Rubel

I am very fortunate to have met some really amazing women along my life’s journey. Last week, a client sent me an email (in response to me saying thank you for a referral) which said, "Behind every successful woman should be a tribe of women who have her back! I'm in your tribe."

I am grateful!

This got me thinking about the women who are in my proverbial tribe and what makes up a successful women’s tribe. It’s like the old adage, “It takes a village.” Yes, it does. And I certainly would not be successful without the women (and men) who have had my back along the way.

Here is my attempt to say thank you, in a small way, to just some of the successful women who have helped the village that I live in to prosper and grow.

Family: First and foremost are family and roots. If it wasn't for my mother who is there to look out for me every day, there to help my husband and me to do everything that it takes to keep a household running smoothly, I would not be a successful woman. End of story. Thanks, Ma.

Friends: Then there are my friends, both near and far, who I can talk to about anything and everything. I can let my hair down, be the personal me, shed the suit for sweats, shut off the electronics, walk along the beach for hours on end, eat, drink and be merry, in our own special way. To my friends from Pennsylvania to the Jersey Shore, Annapolis to the Bahamas, and L.A. to Leicestershire (you know who you are), I say thank you!

Colleagues: It is true that you spend more time with your office mates than you do most anyone. And I am blessed to be surrounded by amazing and successful women, each in her own right! The ladies of Furia Rubel, Laura Powers, Sarah Larson, Kim Tarasiewicz, Rose Strong and Megan Quinn, and the consultants who support us, are the eyes, ears, backbones and brains that contribute greatly to our success. And to the other ladies who have passed through our doors, whether it was for a three-month internship or for a several-year stay, I am grateful to each of you.

Clients: Behind every successful woman are other women. Yes indeed. And the women that I have the opportunity to work with are absolutely amazing; the best in their respective fields. Thank you, ladies. I am in your tribe! A special shout out to a few of those ladies, clients both past and present, who have made a special difference in my life professionally and personally.

• Joan Block, Executive Director, Hepatitis B Foundation
• Jeane Coyle, CEO, First Federal of Bucks County
• Krista Harper, Esq., Founder, Harper Business Law
• Jessica R. Hilburn-Holmes, Esq., Executive Director, Philadelphia Bar Foundation
• Neen James, CEO, Neen James Communications
• Florence Kawoczka, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County
• Hillary Moonay, Partner, Williams Family Law (matrimonial law)
• Justice Sandra Newman, Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, Newman ADR
• Melissa Scartelli, Esq., Managing Partner, Scartelli Olszewski (personal injury law)
• Deborah Willig, Esq., Managing Partner, Willig, Williams & Davidson (labor, employment and workers’ compensation law)
• Sara Woods, Esq., Executive Director, Philadelphia VIP

Women’s Network: There are also those professional women you meet along the way, perhaps at a networking function, professional association or board meeting. You know instantly that you are attracted to their energy and enthusiasm for life and success (however they define it). You also know that you want to see them succeed because of their brilliance, attention to detail, expertise, and sheer love of life and love for what they do. There are just too many amazing women for me to name them individually, so here is a list of some of the organizations within which I have met women who have made a major difference in my life:

• Bucks County Women’s Fund (Now the United Way of Bucks County Women’s Initiative)
• Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce
• Legal Marketing Association 
• Network Now
• Philadelphia Bar Association
• Women’s Business Forum of Bucks County

Women Trailblazers: Sacrifice of self and service of others: these are two traits that I have consistently found in women trailblazers. One such gamechanger is Nikki Johnson Huston, Esq., a tax attorney and antipoverty advocate who was once homeless. Nikki speaks to and writes for communities all over the world, sharing her story of survival and her message of hope. Most recently, Nikki launched DONAFY, a location-based micro-philanthropy iPhone app that will allow people to easily locate, notify and donate to nearby nonprofit organizations that service those in need of housing, food, medical care, mental health or job assistance.

In celebration of Women’s History Month (March), reach out to and say thank you to all of the women in your tribe. Let’s make history by honoring one another and remembering that none of us can survive alone. Use the hashtags: #WomensHistoryMonth #Women #LeanIn #ChangeTheRatio

Discussing Inter-Generational Communication at the Legal Marketing Association

By Gina F. Rubel

During my presentation at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference in Orlando this week, I had the opportunity to speak alongside Kim Huggins, CEO of K HR Solutions, Inc. on Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and the Four Generations in the Workplace. We spoke about how legal marketers can harness their EQ and an understanding of generational similarities and differences to be more affective managing their marketing teams and getting the lawyers they serve to embrace marketing and new technologies.

One of my favorite parts of the program was when we broke out into groups to talk about how we, as marketers, could handle various scenarios.

Scenario 1: Lawyer Doesn't Know What a Podcast Is

You have landed an interview for one of your senior attorneys with a well-known online publication that also records and podcasts the interviews. This outlet reaches your firm’s target audience. How can you use emotional intelligence and generational understanding to successfully solicit buy-in from the attorney who doesn’t know what a podcast is?

Audience suggestions included:

• Have a reference point; provide examples to demonstrate the reach the podcast will have and the relevant demographics it will reach
• Explain how the attorney can repurpose the video and how it enhances the law firm brand 
• Demonstrate value and explain limited costs 
• Share the benefits - i.e. “what’s in it for me”
• Provide the attorney with case studies of other lawyers who have successfully leveraged podcasts in order to demonstrate peer validation 
• Play off of the attorney's competitive spirit by giving examples of competitors using podcasts 
• Make the attorney comfortable by providing coaching and media training so he or she is confident when using the medium

Scenario 2: Managing Partner Believes all Law Firm Business Comes From Referrals and Word-of-Mouth

You have been asked why the firm’s website “doesn’t show up” in search engine rankings. You have decided that one way to increase SEO is to have all of the attorneys create robust LinkedIn profiles, take ownership and complete their Avvo profiles and join JD Supra. How can you use emotional intelligence and generational understanding in your law firm to successfully solicit buy-in from the managing partner who believes that all of the business comes from word-of-mouth and referrals?

The attendees who worked on this scenario almost all decided that the managing partner was a Baby Boomer. Here's how they decided to tackle this opportunity:

• Have an agenda to meet with the managing partner to discuss SEO 
• Define what SEO is - many don't understand the term 
• Demonstrate the value of SEO and why it matters
• Educate the managing partner on how to accomplish SEO 
• Demonstrate the ROI of various platforms including LinkedIn, Avvo and JD Supra
• Feed into the competitive nature of lawyers by highlighting what other lawyer influencers are doing
• Share successes internally 
• Utilize engagement tools 
• Demonstrate competitive intelligence 
• Provide time management resources and tools 
• Give the managing partner an action plan 
• Follow up with the managing partner to secure buy-in

One of the things I enjoyed most about this program was hearing from the smart attendees, all of whom are in the trenches of legal marketing every day. We shared great ideas, we sometimes commiserated, and we always came up with ways to approach legal marketing more effectively.

If you want to follow our conversation, jump on Twitter and check out the hashtag #LMA14.

The 12 Days of Legal Social Media

By Sarah Larson

Social media can be a field of landmines for lawyers and their marketers. It's all too easy to tweet a statement or post a blog piece that ends up running afoul of ethics rules for legal marketing.

That's why so many legal marketing agencies, Furia Rubel included, spend so much time advising attorneys and their marketers on the ins and outs of social media. We field questions from clients and colleagues and write about both the opportunities and the things to be wary of when attorneys and law firms turn their attention toward social media.

In honor of the holidays, the Legal Marketing Association Social Media Special Interest Group has pulled together some amazing resources in their 12 Days of Social Media list. The 9th day's list is a handy compendium of legal marketing blogs that should be on everyone's daily reading list. Furia Rubel was honored to be listed among them, but there are plenty more to check out.

To see which legal bloggers are leading the way in thought leadership, check out LMA's website.

While you're at it, be sure to check out the previous days' offerings. From advice on using LinkedIn to funny videos of LMA leaders to 12 Tips for Twitter, you'll find plenty of great information to help you make some new year's social media resolutions.

New Jersey Bona Fide Office Rule Change Closes Doors - The Legal Intelligencer Blog

As you know, Gina F. Rubel is a regular blogger for The Legal Intelligencer. She often writes about legal marketing and ethics, social media and the law and much more. Last week, Gina shared a post about a recent state Supreme Court amendment to NJ Rule 1:21-1 (Bona Fide Office). Gina shared the following excerpt from the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct which highlights the specific revisions to the rule:

"The modifications, which take effect Feb. 1, drop a controversial mandate that required lawyers to maintain a fixed physical office location. However, the amended rule instructs lawyers who don't have a fixed office location to:

• maintain a system ensuring ‘prompt and reliable communication’ with clients, other attorneys and courts, such as a telephone service staffed during ordinary business hours, or a promptly returned voicemail or email service;
• be available for in-person consultations requested by clients at mutually convenient times and places;
• designate an actual location for inspection of files and records, hand deliveries and service of process; and
• fill out a form appointing the clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court as agent for service of process.”

Read the full blog post and learn more about the modifications to NJ Rule 1:21-1 by visiting The Legal Intelligencer blog.

Damages: Recap from TLI Litigation Summit, Part V - The Legal Intelligencer Blog

In September 2012, Gina F. Rubel attended The Legal Intelligencer's first annual Litigation Summit and captured highlights from various programs shared throughout the event. She recently authored a blog for The Legal titled, "Damages: Recap from TLI Litigation Summit, Part V," which recaps the damages program presented by Frank D. Tinari, the principal economist of the Tinari Economics Group, along with Kristin Kucsma from the same organization; Jane A. North, a partner with Deasey, Mahoney, Valentini & North; and Lawrence R. Cohan, a shareholder with Anapol Schwartz. Read the full blog post and take-aways from the program at Damages: Recap from TLI Litigation Summit, Part V.