Law Firm Social Media: Measuring Impact

Attorneys have been among the last groups to board the social media bandwagon by engaging in law firm social media practices. Naturally, many ask about how to measure the effectiveness of their law firm social media outreach efforts… Of course, the often cited quote by retailer John Wanamaker on advertising may apply: “Half my advertising budget is wasted. The problem is I don’t which half…”

Like advertising and public relations, law firm social media programs should be looked upon as having a cumulative effect. In other words, your law firm social media efforts should be part of an arsenal of business-building techniques which include public relations – traditional media relations – and, where appropriate, advertising.

What yardsticks should you use in undertaking a law firm social media program? Let’s look at a few:

• Reach. How many people (prospects) am I reaching? If blogging is part of your law firm social media activities, you can easily see people posting comments to your blog and, perhaps, tweeting it out… A quick check to their followers should give you a rough idea as to reach (remember not everybody is going to read everything, which is why this is a “rough” estimate).

• Clicks. Most blog-hosting sites will have some form of analytics, albeit primitive in nature. Again, you’ll get a rough estimate as to how many people are clicking onto your blog, which might be indicative of the importance of the content aspect of your law firm social media program.

- Ask questions. Should you be contacted by a prospect ask where he or she learned about you. If the answer comes that it was through a blog or some other social media vehicle, then you might have some insights into how effective your law firm social media campaign has been. Of course, this isn’t exactly scientific, but would securing one client indicate the worthiness of your efforts?
Remember, even if you build it they won’t necessarily come. You have to actively promote your law firm social media endeavors. You can’t stop at a few blogs or stray tweets – law firm social media marketing programs require dedication to an ongoing effort. Post frequently. Comment on other blogs you find interesting. Tweet and retweet comments. This is a cumulative effort and one that will generate the kind of results you are looking for in time.