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SEC Issues Report on Social Media Disclosures

April 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

TrevorCrow

By Trevor A. Crow

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a report of its investigation relating to a Facebook post by Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, which stated Netflix’s monthly online viewing had exceeded 1 billion hours. The SEC’s investigation was to determine whether Hastings or the Company violated Regulation FD under the Securities Exchange Act through the posting of this information.

In general, Regulation FD prohibits public companies, or persons acting on their behalf, from selectively disclosing material, nonpublic information to certain securities professionals, or shareholders, where it is reasonably foreseeable that they will trade on that information, before it is made available to the general public. Here, the SEC decided not to initiate an enforcement action against Netflix or Hastings. However, the report also offers guidance to public companies on the application of Regulation FD to disclosures made through social media.

The report explains that, under certain circumstances, public companies may disseminate material, nonpublic information through social media without violating Regulation FD if investors previously have been notified that specific social media will be used to spread such information. The report states that the framework set forth in theSEC’s August 2008 Guidance on the Use of Company Websites should be used when analyzing communications made through social media. Specifically, “the central focus of this inquiry is whether the company has made investors, the market, and the media aware of the channels of distribution it expects to use, so these parties know where to look for disclosures of material information about the company or what they need to do to be in a position to receive this information.”

The report also explained that without prior notice to investors, it is unlikely that a corporate officer’s personal social media site used to disseminate corporate information would qualify as a method “reasonably designed to provide broad, non-exclusionary distribution of the information to the public” as required under Regulation FD. In the Netflix inquiry, Hastings’ Facebook page had never been previously used to announce company metrics, yet the SEC still chose not to initiate an enforcement action against Netflix or Hastings.

Bottom Line: Public companies should have social media policies in place for their directors and executive officers to educate them about Regulation FD. Before a representative of the company posts any material and nonpublic information on a social media platform, the company should take steps to ensure that investors, the market, and the media are aware of this channel of distribution.

Trevor A. Crow is an associate in Dufford & Brown’s corporate transactions group. He focuses on public company securities compliance, M&A, entity formation, and startup company financing. He has counseled clients on a variety of business issues including entity selection, formation, finance, acquisitions, and numerous operating transactions. Trevor’s LLM in taxation makes him uniquely qualified to handle complex issues regarding business transactions and tax planning.

Trevor received his J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.  He is a member of the American, Colorado, and Denver bar associations; an executive member of the Colorado Bar Association Tax Section; he belongs to the Denver Metro Chamber Impact Denver Class of 2012; and he is a member of the Colorado Association of Business Intermediaries (CABI). He writes for the CBA Business Law Section newsletter, where this article originally appeared.

The opinions and views expressed by Featured Bloggers on CBA-CLE Legal Connection do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, or CBA-CLE, and should not be construed as such.

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Social Media Policies: Permissible Employer Regulation

March 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Joel Jacobson_pictureBy Joel Jacobson

Social media use is rapidly increasing and has become central to the workforce. Employers recognize that public information posted online is useful for monitoring employee activity and the portrayal of the company. However, new technologies result in unintended, legal consequences. Recently, an Applebee’s waitress was terminated after posting a customer’s receipt on reddit and the SEC warned Netflix’s CEO that his Facebook post might trigger securities regulations. Colorado attorneys should pay attention to legal developments within the social media context because the appropriate level of employer regulation of employee social media use remains unsettled.

Many laws are potentially implicated when an employer improperly regulates or misuses information from social networking sites. Notably, Anti-Discrimination laws (ADA, Title VII, ADEA), Stored Communications Act, National Labor Relations Act (protecting concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection), Lawful Off-Duty Conduct, and common law privacy claims should be considered. Recent decisions have targeted social media policies that are wide sweeping and impinge on protected employee action. In fact, rulings by the NLRB led large, publicly traded companies including GM, Target, and Costco to rewrite their social media policies.

The chairman of the NLRB explains that social media is the “new water cooler” and that current government regulation results from “applying traditional rules to new technology.” Application of the traditional rules takes place on a case-by-case basis and the NLRB found it permissible to terminate a single employee whose internet posts harmed the company and had no relation to protected activity. Workers have the right to talk with each other for the goal of improving pay, benefits, and working conditions. As such, social media policies should be revisited to determine whether they are too restrictive. Courts will look to company policies, procedures, and conduct so it is essential that Colorado attorneys help draft guidelines tailored to accomplish a specific, lawful end.

Employers will continue to turn to lawyers for guidance in this developing area of law. To this end, Colorado lawyers should know that employers must not access employee, online information by deceitful means. Also, common law privacy claims can be addressed with a written policy that defeats an employee’s reasonable expectation of privacy. Finally, a savings clause in a social media policy can explicitly state that the policy is not meant to prevent employees from engaging in protected, concerted activity.

Joel Jacobson is a Contracts and Operations Associate with H.B. Stubbs Company, LCC – a national design and fabrication firm headquartered near Detroit, MI for exhibits displayed by technology and automotive companies. He focuses on contracts, employment law, and a variety of non-legal business issues. Joel serves on the Executive Council of the Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and has an interest in topics impacting start-up companies in the Denver entrepreneurial community. He can be reached by email at jmjacobson1@gmail.com or on Twitter @J_m_Jacobson.

The opinions and views expressed by Featured Bloggers on CBA-CLE Legal Connection do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, or CBA-CLE, and should not be construed as such.

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The Top Ten Mistakes Companies Make in Online Advertising: How to Comply with the FTC Act

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Have you ever done an internet search and clicked on what appeared to be a likely answer, only to find yourself staring at a fake news site advertising some product? Or conversely, have you ever thought that you might get more search hits if you made your firm’s web page look like a news website? Learn about the pitfalls to this approach on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, as Scott R. Bialecki and Claude C. Wild, III, discuss the FTC’s advertising laws at CLE’s lunchtime program, “The Top Ten Mistakes Companies Make in Online Advertising.”

In addition to fake news sites, Mr. Bialecki and Mr. Wild will address such topics as website testimonials, endorsements in social media, online disclaimers, use of competitors’ names on websites, and related enforcement considerations. They will also examine common advertising and trademark infringement missteps associated with online advertising.

This program is a must-see for all attorneys with an internet presence. Don’t miss it!

CLE Program: The Top Ten Mistakes Companies Make in Online Advertising

This CLE presentation will take place on Wednesday, May 16. Participants may attend live in our classroom or watch the live webcast.

If you can’t make the live program or webcast, the program will also be available as a homestudy in two formats: video on-demand and mp3 download.
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Tom Matte: A Twitter Chat Can Bring New Exposure to Your Law Firm

April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

By scheduling regular tweet chats on topics of interest to your followers, your firm will be viewed as a go-to resource for the latest information

So, you’ve been on Twitter for a while now. You are building a nice number of followers and are conversing with them on a regular basis. Your posts are informative and interesting, and you are even retweeted on a fairly regular basis.

So what’s next? Why not hold a Twitter Chat? For the uninitiated, a Twitter Chat is when a group of people participates in a real time, online conversation around a particular topic, identified by a hashtag. Think about it as a conference call with people all over the world, where each participant can share their thoughts by typing 140-character tweets rather than talking over each other. It’s an easy way to get people who are interested in your topic to discuss concerns and share new ideas.

Sounds fun, right? While it is easy, there are some things to consider first. When setting one up, make sure you:

  • Choose a topic, time and a hashtag that makes sense
  • Choose a format and share that with your followers. It may be on a single topic (typically best), a forum for followers to ask you questions, or any number of other formats, but define it up front and stick to it.
  • Promote it in advance. Otherwise, you’ll be chatting by yourself.

So those are the basics. Scheduling and conducting a Twitter Chat is one thing, but doing it in such a way that followers will participate and want to come back for future ones is another. Here are some suggestions for doing it well.

  • Choose a topic people are interested in. What are your clients consistently asking you about? What do you see trending on Twitter lately? Put a bit of thought into your topic to ensure it’s one that will draw participants.
  • Be real. One of the beauties of social media is that it tends to break down barriers between people and allows them to show a bit of personality along with their expertise. So be authentic in your approach and don’t be afraid to show a bit of your fun side too.
  • Be consistent. If you plan to hold regular Twitter Chats, find a time that works for most of your followers and stick to it. That way people will add it to their schedule and be more likely to attend future ones.
  • Invite others to host. Just like in-person events, it’s good to mix it up a bit. Bring in other thought leaders and have them “guest host” by leading the conversation or answering questions. It will keep it more interesting and bring in entirely new participants since the guest host will promote it for you as well.

For example, Colorado Supreme Court initiated the new Civil Access Pilot Project this year, which makes significant changes to the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure for certain types of business cases in specified judicial districts. The new procedures dramatically affect the way certain civil cases are litigated, and attorneys are beginning to wade through the new restrictions right now. Here’s a great opportunity for a Colorado firm to hold a Twitter Chat to hear what others are thinking, share their own views, and even discuss what their experiences have been with the rule changes so far. Who’s first?

Hosting a Tweet Chat can be a great way for you to add followers and increase exposure for your firm and practice area. Attend a few first to see how it’s done and take notes on what works well and what doesn’t. You can find them directly in Twitter, or TweetChat is designed to help with the process.

To read more, check out Mashable articles, 7 Tips for Better Twitter Chats and How to Start and Run a Successful Twitter Chat.

Tom Matte is CEO of Max Advertising, and focuses his endless enthusiasm on crafting creative and lasting marketing and advertising for law firms, helping them to ultimately grow their practices. Whether a 10-person firm or one of the Am Law 100, he works with firms of all sizes. Tom blogs at the The Matte Pad, where this post originally appeared on June 30, 2011.
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Employment Law and Social Media: Rights, Obligations, and Disputes in the Workplace

February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The intersection of social media and the workplace has become a given. Use of social media is rapidly expanding while societal norms regarding exposure of employment-related information continue to erode. The result is an increasingly complex social media environment for employees, employers, and attorneys.

Added to the complicated mix are various cases and National Labor Review Board opinions that attempt to define what recourse an employer has against an employee over social media content. When can an employer fire an employee over what the employee said on their personal social media accounts? When is the employee’s speech protected? The questions can sometimes be hard to answer, especially if the company has an underdeveloped, or no, social media policy.

Once an employment decision is made, a host of new issues arise regarding the discovery of social media. Different rules apply to the discovery process in the context of litigation and mediation, and the distinction of what may or may not be discovered in either situation could make all the difference in a case.

On February 22, 2012, join us at CBA-CLE to learn about employment law and social media trends and how they affect you, your clients, and your practice.

This interactive program, Employment Law and Social Media: Rights, Obligations, and Disputes in the Workplace, will use hypotheticals and audience inquiries to approach numerous issues important for practitioners, including:

  • Recent Court decisions and NLRB opinions and their impact on workplace social media policies;
  • Discovery and use of social media in litigation; and
  • Discovery and use of social media in mediation.

As a primer for the discussion, Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix, a faculty member for the program, has provided us with a number of Practice Tips that attorneys should be mindful of when engaging in discovery of social media in litigation:

  1. Seek discovery of social networking information from the opposing party before subpoenaing Facebook or other social networking websites.
  2. Perform a public search for information usually available on a social networking website.
  3. Be mindful of your ethical responsibilities. Hiring a private investigator to “friend” the opposing party may be “inherently deceitful and unethical, even if the investigator uses his own name.”(1) Contacting the opponent yourself would likely be impermissible direct contact, and may also violate the rule providing that a lawyer may not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.(2)
  4. In complex cases, explore the possibility of “unbundling,” or development of a litigation management team to handle electronic data.(3)
  5. This is not your father’s discovery. Successful discovery of social networking information may require significant efforts to educate the judiciary about the fallacy underlying electronic discovery (just because something is electronic, it can be searched and produced instantly) and the actual cost and burden of production.
  6. Advise your clients to be prudent and avoid spoliation sanctions. “The courts have a right to expect that litigants and counsel will take the necessary steps to ensure that relevant records are preserved when litigation is reasonably anticipated, and that such records are collected, reviewed and produced to the opposing party.”(4)
  • (1) Phil. Bar Ass’n Prof’l Guidance Comm. Op. 2009-02 (Mar. 2009), available at http://www.philadelphiabar.org/WebObjects/PBAReadOnly.woa/Contents/WebServerResources/CMSResources/Opinion_2009-2.pdf.
  • (2) See, e.g., Robert S. Kelner & Gail S. Kelner, Social Networks and Personal Injury Suits, N.Y.L.J., Sept. 24, 2009, available at www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleFriendlyNY.jsp?hubtype=&id=1202434026615.
  • (3) Howard B. Iwrey et al., A Multidimensional Solution to the Problems of Runaway Discovery, 29 No. 6 OF COUNSEL 12 (June 2010) pp. 2-3.
  • (4) Pension Comm. of the Univ. of Montreal Pension Plan v. Bank of Am. Sec. LLC, 685 F. Supp. 2d 456, 472 (S.D.N.Y. 2010).

CLE Program: Employment Law and Social Media – Rights, Obligations, and Disputes in the Workplace [RESCHEDULED]

This CLE presentation has been rescheduled. Check back soon for program information or call (303) 860-0608.
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Understanding Your Avvo Rating: How It’s Calculated and Why You Should Care

January 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Avvo is a free online directory of lawyers that the public can use to search by state and practice area. You may be asking yourself, isn’t that basically the business White Pages, or the bar association’s Find-A-Lawyer directory, or Martindale-Hubbell revisited? Pretty much. A lawyer’s Avvo profile is essentially an online résumé or portfolio that lists achievements, publications, biographical information, and, if the lawyer is so inclined, photographs and videos of his or her choosing.

Unlike those more, ahem, venerable (or stodgy, depending on your perspective), ways to find a lawyer, lawyers seem to absolutely hate Avvo. It raises the ire of lawyers, in part, because Avvo represents a visible credibility check. A lawyer’s Avvo profile frequently will show up in the top 10 Google results, and Avvo crawls state ethical records and posts any run-ins with the Office of Attorney Regulation. This has resulted in several lawsuits from lawyers with a rap sheet.

That’s not the greatest criticism though—most of our fellow professionals keep their noses clean. The greater complaint is that, along with your fluffy profile, Avvo posts a rating out of 10.

According to the site: The rating is calculated using a mathematical model that considers the information shown in a lawyer’s profile, including a lawyer’s years in practice, disciplinary history, professional achievements, and industry recognition.

The term “mathematical model” is something I tend to associate with being what I would be unable to calculate. Avvo also claims their model is proprietary, which leads me to believe that it is a formula for some amazingly strong, light, and beautiful polymer—or something. With those considerations in mind, I set about cracking their formula by adding and subtracting credentials from my profile.

Essentially, every lawyer starts at 5.6. The “formula” is this: for every credential added in a different category, an attorney gets three tenths of a point. Peer reviews are worth the same. Publications in the same periodical are discounted a bit. That’s basically it. Add three publications and a presentation, and, by their formula, you are now a 6.9-rated lawyer.

There is a caveat to the site: The Avvo rating is not intended to be the only thing you use in choosing a lawyer.

Yeah. Right. Just like how Ebert’s thumb or Pitchfork’s numerical rating is only a small consideration in figuring out what movies to watch or music to buy. It’s absurd to think that legal services can and should be rated this way, but the Avvo profile is there, whether or not you claim it.

The best solution is just to spend a few minutes filling out the profile. We already have LinkedIn, Facebook, Justia—what’s one more? It really is nothing more than a summary résumé. In the event that a lawyer doesn’t choose to claim and fill out the profile, his or her information still appears on the website, along with any ethical concerns. However, an ethically clean but otherwise unknown (at least, to Avvo) attorney is not assigned a rating and is tagged as “no concern.”

Although building your Avvo profile is the practical solution—and it is a bit silly to get worked up about some website—something still rankles about the idea that the quality of a lawyer’s services can be determined by adding and subtracting résumé lines. To the extent that consumers are buying what Avvo is selling, complaining about it isn’t going to help. It’s up to us to manage the public perception of our profession relationships and public service.

Chris Mommsen is a criminal defense attorney in Denver.

The Docket eFile brings features from your favorite Denver Bar Association publication to you digitally. When you see the logo, you’re reading an article from The Docket. You’ll also still be able to read the full issue online at denbar.org/docket.

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Tom Matte: 7 More Social Media Tips to Bring Leads to Your Law Firm

December 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

The main reason most law firms start using social media is to generate leads. Make sure you are getting the most from your efforts and creating the awareness that will pay off.

I recently read an article on Social Media Today entitled, “7 Reasons You’re Not Generating Leads From Social Media.” Now here’s a topic that looks interesting, since I get asked about the connection between social media and leads quite frequently. As it turns out, lead generation is the top reason most B2B marketers say they are using social media in the first place, so if leads aren’t coming in, it’s probably difficult to justify the time and cost of social media, right?

So using this article as a base, I thought I would talk about 7 ways you can start generating leads from your social media activities.

Go where your prospects are. This may seem obvious, and it is. While I think it’s a good idea to be on all the major platforms, spend most of your time where your next client is hanging out most of the time. This may mean more focus on LinkedIn than Twitter. Or vice versa. Or if your law firm is targeting a specific industry, look for industry-specific social media platforms and start building awareness there.

Provide valuable content. I’ve written quite a few blog posts on the importance of providing good content, so I won’t rehash that here. But if all you are putting out on  your social media pages is information about you, your practice or your law firm, people will quickly grow bored and you will sound completely self-centered. Mix it up with some interesting articles about a topic of interest to your prospects, comment on other people’s posts and retweet valuable information too. Remember, it’s social, so one-way push messages can’t be all you do.

Create strong calls to action and consider creating targeted landing pages. If someone really likes what you have to say, make it easy for them to reach out to you by creating a call to action. It can be something as easy as making your phone number and email address easily accessible. Or better yet, send readers to a landing page where they can find further details, a white paper or some other item of value. In return, ask for their contact information. Targeted landing pages are a great way to expand your database and find out who is really interested in hearing more of what you have to say.

Get the most from your social media real estate. I’m amazed at how many times I go to a law firm’s Twitter page and see no information in the bio space or a Facebook page with nothing on the info page. Whatever you do, provide readers the information they need about your firm, a way to get to your Website easily and other ways to reach out to you as well. Make sure your messaging is consistent throughout all platforms too, so no matter how someone finds you, they see and hear the same thing and walk away with a good idea of what your law firm does.

Integrate email and social media. How many emails do you send a day? I’d be willing to bet it’s at least scores and probably more than 100 on many days. So why not include links to your social media pages in your email signature? If you have an offer on a landing page, include that information there as well. It will generate awareness for your social media work, and it’s easy for someone to forward to a colleague or friend to broaden your reach even more.

Display highly visible social share and follow buttons. While you are adding your social media buttons to your email, make sure they are on your Website too. Not just your home page, but your blog pages, your bio page and possibly your practice area and industry pages. Make it easy for people to share and follow you and your firm, and they will.

Measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts. All this is well and good, but in the end, you need to measure how well you are doing and make adjustments as needed. Set up a time to regularly review your social media traffic, activity and audience. Has any business come to your firm that can be directly tied to social media activities? Are you in the right place or should you branch out and try some new platforms?

What do you suggest? Are your social media efforts paying off in leads?

Tom Matte is CEO of Max Advertising, and focuses his endless enthusiasm on crafting creative and lasting marketing and advertising for law firms, helping them to ultimately grow their practices. Whether a 10-person firm or one of the Am Law 100, he works with firms of all sizes. Tom blogs at the The Matte Pad, where this post originally appeared on December 7, 2011.
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Tom Matte: The Importance of a Company Facebook Page for Small Firms

December 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A great, easy and free way to get your small firm engaged with your client or potential client is to create a Facebook company page.

A Facebook page connects your firm to the outside world without too much effort. This is a great way to market your firm in just a few short minutes. I know you are busy, but I promise it won’t take much time and the benefits definitely outweigh the effort of putting it together. Think about what you want to post and do your research up front before getting started though. Remember: Content is king!

Take these tips and get started on your Facebook page today.

  • Choose who will administer your Facebook page. This person will post regular Facebook updates and control what is put on the page. You can have as many administrators as you like, but a word of advice, choose a select group to make sure updates are relevant to your practice area and audience.
  • Post legal news and industry-related content on your Facebook page. This could include an article on a newly passed law or a pertinent court case. Always keep your audience in mind, and post things that would be interesting to them.
  • Post pictures of your firm at conferences, meetings and gatherings. It’s important to show your audience what you are participating in and how you are involved in the legal community. It’s also nice to post photos of any volunteer events or firm celebrations. People like to see that you have fun too.
  • Get professional head-shots taken of employees at your firm and post them to the page. Create an album for these pictures on Facebook titled, “(Your Firm Name) employees.” This allows your audience to feel like they know your firm without actually meeting all of the individuals.
  • Ask for feedback and engage your audience. Post questions on your Facebook page and encourage responses. People love to be engaged on Facebook. Create content that attracts your audience and keeps them coming back for more!
  • Don’t post any private information, obviously, such as court cases. Many people that have gotten fired, or worse, because of the personal information they posted, and for good reason. Remember, anything you put on Facebook is in the public domain – forever. Be smart about what you post.
  • Add tabs to your page that allow followers to see information about your firm in other places, like Twitter and YouTube. With a YouTube tab, for example,  you can post your firm’s webinars, commercials and any other videos so visitors can find them easily. Look into all the tabs that could benefit your Facebook page.

Facebook is a great way to reach more clients. This easy, free tool will engage your audience and eventually convert some of them into clients. Being actively involved with a Facebook page (along with a Twitter page, blogging and a LinkedIn page), can set your firm apart as a thought-leader in the legal industry.

Tom Matte is CEO of Max Advertising, and focuses his endless enthusiasm on crafting creative and lasting marketing and advertising for law firms, helping them to ultimately grow their practices. Whether a 10-person firm or one of the Am Law 100, he works with firms of all sizes. Tom blogs at the The Matte Pad, where this post originally appeared on May 9, 2011.
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[UPDATED] Corporate Practice Update: Patent Reform, Social Media Policy, and Tax Topics for Privately-Held Businesses

November 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The America Invents Act, which was signed into law this fall, is the first major overhaul of our nation’s patent law in almost 50 years. Among its many significant provisions, the Act will change the United States patent system from “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file,” aligning the United States with the international standard. New procedures will be also established for third-party challenges to patent and applications, and changes will be made regarding who can file, when they can file, and what prior art can be used against them.

The Corporate Practice Update Series has been postponed.

The effects of the changes will be of particular importance for corporate counsel and privately held businesses, and will be discussed at a CLE program on December 7, 2011 as part of the Corporate Practice Update Series. Along with these developments, the Privately Held Businesses program will cover other issues, including legal issues in social media, social media policy for a privately-held company, and tax topics for small businesses.

The program is being presented by some of Colorado’s leading business entity experts:

  • Fern O’Brien, Esq.
  • Henry Smith, Jr., Esq.
  • Liane Heggy, Esq.

And, don’t miss the other great sections of the Corporate Practice Update Series, covering the Civil Access Pilot Project, Business Entity Update, Securities, Franchises, M&A, and Ethics.

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Janet Raasch: The Yin and Yang of Any Successful Law Firm Marketing Campaign (Part 2)

November 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Editor’s Note: This is the second section of a two-part article. Click here to read part one.

Good content has always been one of the best ways for a lawyer to establish and maintain a professional reputation.  In the hands of potential clients, good content demonstrates your understanding of the law and your ability to do what you claim to do.

Today, thanks to the Internet, the options for distributing a well-written and informative article (and all kinds of content) to a wide range of interested parties are vastly expanded.  So, too, are the options for finding out if the article was opened, was read and prompted further action on the part of the reader.

Web analytics for law firms

“Not only does the Internet facilitate the wide distribution of content,” said Casey, “it also allows lawyers and law firms to closely track distribution – to know how many visitors click on the content; how much time they spend reading, listening or viewing the content; and where (your website, search or some other site) they found the content.”

Web analytics is a process for collecting visitor or consumer data, analyzing those data and generating reports on the overall performance of these different channels.  It extends well beyond your website into virtually every online channel your law firm might be using.

“In the early days, web analytics programs focused on the simple measurement of activity on a law firm’s web site,” said Casey.  “Today, a good law firm website still contains useful information about the firm and its services, but the site functions more like an interactive hub to which all of the firm’s online content distribution efforts are tied.”

In addition, most social media sites have their own built-in analytics programs that can be accessed for more details about activity on your accounts on those sites.

The popular Google Analytics program is free and yields information about site visitors, including number of visitors (unique, new and repeat), page views, repeat rate, visit length, page view length, page view per visit, bounce rate (those who leave quickly from a given page), entry pages (where visitors enter you site), exit pages (where visitors leave your site) and referral sources (direct traffic, search engines and other referral sites).

Among other things, Google Analytics can chart data over time, compare data month-by-month or year-by-year, and internally compare different sets of results.

“Other commercial web analytics programs allow the site administrator to ‘dig deeper’ into the data,” said Casey.  “Most analytics programs will record detailed information at the user level, allowing administrators to track the number of times a given user came to the site, which pages he or she viewed and, in some cases, the location from which that user is connecting.”

“At Tenrec, we combine basic Google Analytics with a program called Urchin (essentially, Google’s commercial analytics product) to obtain different levels of results for our clients,” said Casey.  “There are many programs out there.  The one you select should be determined by how you plan to use the results.”

It is important to remember that no performance metric is inherently bad or good.  A limited number of the right kind of people visiting your content and reaching out to your firm is a better result than hundreds of visitors who take no action.

Strategic content marketing and web analytics for law firms

“Web analytics programs are capable of generating a vast amount of information,” said Casey.  “There are far too many metrics for users to process and interpret.  Measurement tools are only useful when there is something specific to measure.

“The challenge is not to get more data, which can needlessly complicate your decision-making,” said Casey, “but to get better data.  Be strategic.  What is the purpose of this online content campaign (within the context of our business goals), and which select measurements will indicate progress towards achieving this goal?”

Let’s go back to that article on patent reform.  You post it on your website.  You reference it in your blog.  You e-mail it to clients, potential clients, referral sources and media sources.  You post it (with links back to your site) on a variety of social media sites and content syndication sites.

On your website, analytics will let you know who visited the page and how they got there.  In addition, you will discover if they stayed a while, read the article and downloaded a copy.

“If no one comes or if visitors take a quick look and ‘bounce,’ you know that there is something wrong with the content,” said Casey.  “The subject is not newsworthy.  The headline or keywords need work.  The article is too long or too short.  It is too dense and needs shorter lines and subheads, to encourage skimming.  It is too casual or too filled with legal jargon.  In other words, it needs work.”

An e-mail analytics program will let you know who opens the e-mail and clicks on the link.  Other analytics programs will indicate how your article fares in the blogosphere or is shared or re-tweeted on social media and content syndication sites.

The information generated by web analytics is a valuable tool to help lawyers and law firms plan — and continuously improve — their content and their online content distribution campaigns.

Janet Ellen Raasch is a writer, ghostwriter, and blogger (www.constantcontentblog.com) who works closely with professional services providers – especially lawyers, law firms, legal consultants and legal organizations – to help them achieve name recognition and new business through publication of keyword-rich content for the web and social media sites as well as articles and books for print. She can be reached at (303) 399-5041 or jeraasch@msn.com.
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Janet Raasch: The Yin and Yang of Any Successful Law Firm Marketing Campaign (Part 1)

November 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Editor’s Note: This is the first section of a two-part article. Click here to read part two.

Good content has always been one of the best ways for a lawyer to establish and maintain a professional reputation.  In the hands of potential clients, good content demonstrates your understanding of the law and your ability to do what you claim to do.

Let’s say you write an excellent article on the recently signed patent reform act.

Prior to the Internet, your options for distribution of that article would be limited.  You could submit it to print publishers who could decide whether or not to publish it and how to edit it.  By the time it appeared on a client’s desk, it might be three months out of date.

In addition, you could snail mail a copy of your article with a cover letter directly to your list of clients, potential clients and referral sources.  You could include it in the firm’s print newsletter. You could mail it to reporters covering the patent law beat and hope that they give you a call next time they are writing a story on that topic.

And that was about it.  You really had no way of knowing what happened to that hard copy – if the publication was read or if the envelope or newsletter was even opened.

Today, thanks to the Internet, the options for distributing a well-written and informative article (and all kinds of content) to a wide range of interested parties are vastly expanded.  So, too, are the options for finding out if the article was opened, was read and prompted further action on the part of the reader.

“In the Internet age, online content marketing is the best way for lawyers and law firms to establish their reputations and attract new business,” said Per Casey.  “And web traffic analysis is the best way for lawyers and law firms to measure the success of a content marketing campaign and move forward based on that information.  Content marketing and web analytics are inseparable parts of the same strategic process.”

Casey discussed strategic content marketing and web analytics at the monthly educational program of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association (www.legalmarketing.org/rockymountain), held Oct. 11 at Fogo de Chao Restaurant in Lower Downtown Denver.

Casey is founder of Tenrec (www.tenrec.com), a web technology consulting firm that focuses on the legal industry.  Over the years, he has collaborated with dozens of well-known law firms on successful web technology projects.  Casey also serves as member-at-large on the LMA International Board of Directors and as co-chair of the LMA Technology Committee.

Online content marketing for law firms

Online content marketing involves publishing content (like the article on patent law) on your law firm’s website (including mobile website version), client extranet sites or blogs.  It involves the e-mailing of your article (or newsletter) to clients, potential clients, referral sources and media sources.

“An integrated online marketing program is an essential part of a law firm’s marketing program,” said Casey.  “Content marketing involves distribution of your content using popular social media sites (like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) as well as successful content syndication sites (like JD Supra, LegalOnRamp and Scribd).”

Each time your keyword-rich patent law article is published on one of these sites, it is indexed by Google and other search engines – enhancing results for searches on terms like your name, your law firm’s name, your geographic area and the relevant subject area.

“The term ‘content’ applies to almost any kind of material your firm is publishing,” said Casey.  “It applies to documents like press releases, experience descriptions, attorney biographies (profiles), client alerts, blog post, white papers, email campaigns and e-books on legal subjects.

“Content also includes non-written files, like an online ad campaign, courtroom graphics, a PowerPoint deck, or photos of an open house or employee charity event,” said Casey.  “It includes online surveys along with survey results.  And it definitely includes audio or video recordings of a presentation, a seminar or a webinar.”

All types of reputation-demonstrating content can be posted not only on your own website, but also to a wide range of (mostly free) social media and content syndication sites.  Once posted, this informative content is available 24/7 and around the world.

Janet Ellen Raasch is a writer, ghostwriter, and blogger (www.constantcontentblog.com) who works closely with professional services providers – especially lawyers, law firms, legal consultants and legal organizations – to help them achieve name recognition and new business through publication of keyword-rich content for the web and social media sites as well as articles and books for print. She can be reached at (303) 399-5041 or jeraasch@msn.com.
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Tom Matte: Manage the Reputation of Your Law Firm

October 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

With tons of information all over the Internet, it’s easy for a competing company or an unhappy person to ruin your firm’s pristine image, so do everything you can to protect and manage your reputation.

Putting your firm on social media isn’t something you can just do then ignore. It’s an interactive process that requires time and effort to manage. Monitoring and responding to comments, especially negative ones, is vitally important. According to an article by Bob Tripathi, called “4 Powerful Strategies for Managing your Online Reputation,” the four most important pieces to reputation management are to monitor, listen, respond and amplify.

Monitor. The first piece, of course, is to monitor your firm’s brand. Find out what your competitors and clients are saying about you. Use tools such as Google Alerts and Analytics, SocialMention and SEOMoz to track conversations and keywords relating to your firm. If you don’t monitor you won’t know what’s being said and how to improve and respond.

Listen. Listen to what is being said about your firm across all mediums. Categorize and prioritize conversations about your firm so you can manage them appropriately. Most companies break down conversations into two sections, those that need “immediate attention” and those that require “active listening.” Immediate attention is just that, something that needs to be addressed now. These are the past clients and competition that are talking poorly of your firm. You must decide how to address the situation or conversation before it blows up into something worse. The active listening bracket is full of clients and others that are casually talking about your firm. You want track these too, and respond as needed, to be actively involved in the conversation.

Respond. Respond and act on most negative conversations about your firm – The reason I say “most” is that trolls should be ignored. Normally all these people want is a fight, but you don’t have to be the person or firm that gives them one. This is a perfect example of good public relations. I recommend you create a policy and system for how to respond to nay-sayers. Few have one, so this will put your firm ahead of the competition and allow you to respond much quicker. Analyze what went wrong in these negative situations and make adjustments so it doesn’t happen again. Don’t give in to the temptation to respond harshly to these people, but offer a sympathetic response and offer to correct anything that you possibly can. In most cases, these carefully worded answers will show others following you that you are responsive and care about your customers. That’s a strong message.

Amplify. Once you have responded to the unhappy client, make sure you tell the world. Make sure you turn the negative situation into a positive, rewarding one. People like to see how you treat your clients and customers, and often decide on which firms to use through reviews and referrals. Do all you can to keep everyone happy, and they will reward you with good reviews in the end.

Interesting side note: In a recent study I read, customers who had encountered a negative experience with a company, but had a positive recovery experience were more loyal – by far – than those that had always had positive experiences within the same company. This doesn’t mean you should go out and start failing clients, but it does demonstrate the power of responding to a negative experience in a positive way. It’s well worth the effort from a reputation point of view, as well as a client loyalty perspective.

Tom Matte is CEO of Max Advertising, and focuses his endless enthusiasm on crafting creative and lasting marketing and advertising for law firms, helping them to ultimately grow their practices. Whether a 10-person firm or one of the Am Law 100, he works with firms of all sizes. Tom blogs at the The Matte Pad, where this post originally appeared on May 17, 2011.
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