August 30, 2008
Facebook Pages as Marketing for Attorneys?
Facebook has become dominant in the area of social networking, but does it have a role in marketing for attorneys? While Facebook profiles are generally limited (in theory) to individuals, Facebook "pages" are intended for businesses and can be used by law firms. In fact, some law firms have already set up pages on Facebook. One such law firm is New York City-based Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. As of today when I looked, Curtis Mallet had 90 "fans" on its Facebook page. Curtis Mallet's Facebook page appears to focus on recruiting of attorneys, showing the summer associate class, interview schedules at law schools, information on diversity, awards and rankings, and assessments from former summer associates.
Could a law firm use a Facebook page in its client development and marketing efforts? Absolutely. More and more people of all ages are flocking to Facebook. Having a presence on Facebook is one more way for law firms to be found by potential clients. In addition, Facebook pages are searchable on the Internet. Thus, if a law firm has a Facebook page and links back to its own law firm home page, there can be positive search engine optimization (SEO) consequences. As Facebook becomes the dominant Internet experience for more and more Internet users, it pays for law firms to have a presence on Facebook.
The world of marketing for attorneys and marketing for law firms should not overlook the cutting-edge potential of Facebook pages.
I welcome your comments on Facebook pages as a tool in marketing for attorneys.
Comments on Facebook Pages as Marketing for Attorneys? »
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost has Launched a Facebook Page to attract top law students. See the LawMarketing Blog at http://tinyurl.com/57q44g for more information. The Facebook page lists 31 fans, 9 universities as favorite pages, photos of firm events, and firm news highlights. According to the 2007 Summer Associates survey, published by American Lawyer magazine, the firm ranked 4.533 out of 5 (rank: 67 ). Curtis is an international law firm with $110,000,000 in annual revenue and 220 lawyers.
Larry Bodine, Esq.
LawMarketing Blog
691 Wingate Road
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
630.942.0977
Lbodine@LawMarketing.com
blog.larrybodine.com
I tend to agree…. Aside from the advertising aspects / marketing tool of appearing on Facebook, I think Facebook would help attorneys appear more approachable.
Janet,
That's a good point about Facebook helping attorneys appear more approachable. Attorneys generally need more of a human touch in their business and marketing, and social networking tools like Facebook are part of the solution.
Bentley Tolk
The advantage of FB is to create and maintain relationships which is essential to a successful marketing program. I think FB will evolve over time as more businesses and professionals continue to use this site. I can imagine "FB Personal" and "FB Business" at some point.
Chris, I agree that Facebook will take on more of a business component over time. While there are currently a lot of lawyers and other business people who insist that all of their business contacts be on LinkedIn and all of their personal contacts be on Facebook, I believe that such an artificial distinction will die out over time. Facebook pages and groups are some of the reasons why Facebook will come to encompass more and more business relationships and networking.
Bentley Tolk
Chris, I have over 600 fans on my Facebook Fan page at http://www.facebook.com/vetsteinlawgroup. It has definitely helped with business development and SEO for my blog.
The ABA Journal just featured it yesterday–
http://www.abajournal.com/news/how_a_solo_gained_more_than_600_facebook_fans_for_his_fledgling_law_firm
Richard D. Vetstein
Vetstein Law Group
http://www.vetsteinlawgroup.com