Next week Chicago will welcome Clio’s Cloud Conference to their lovely city. As part of our pre-conference coverage we’re featuring quick interviews with speakers on the docket.
Like Samantha Collier, a lawyer social media specialist and legal marketing consultant from Vancouver. Experienced in all aspects of the digital marketing world and with a keen understanding of social media content management as it applies to law firms, she works with lawyers across North America on how to use social media to improve your firm’s bottom line and authors the award-winning blog Social Media for Law Firms.
How did you first get into social media consulting and strategy?
This is a great question. Mr. Kevin O’Keefe is the reason I got into social media consulting and strategy. I heard a webinar by Kevin O’Keefe in 2010 (I’m estimating here, it could have been 2010 or 2011) while working at a Canadian IP firm where I worked in business development. Something he said in particular, “become the CNN of your practice area” stuck with me. I grew up using social media myself, and I had a very strong background in sales. Most importantly, I loved helping lawyers figure out how to get new clients. Working at the IP firm for seven years was very helpful as I was already using LinkedIn to help lawyers research their target clients, general counsel at multinational corporations. All in all, Kevin was the spark. He inspired me to combine my love for social media and my seven years of legal marketing experience.
I should mention that Kevin inspired me to start blogging. I created a blog the day I heard the webinar and that blog is the reason I am where I am today.
What are you so passionate about it?
What are you so passionate about it? As I mentioned above, I have a weird obsession with legal marketing. I absolutely love teaching lawyers how to use social media to find their clients. I love working with the lawyer, getting to know them and figuring out how to broadcast that personality online. I love seeing the moment “they get it”, the moment the lawyer realizes he or she can do this, they can get work through social media. Sort of like when Kevin inspired me. Also, I love it when my clients get work, I love it almost more than them. I screenshot whatever I have to show they got work and save it in a “win” file. The folder is huge and I look through it often for strategy, inspiration and “just to look at”. I am passionate about this business because it works, it takes a lot of work, but it works.
What’s the greatest challenge in your work today?
The greatest challenge I have today is convincing lawyers that social media will get work for them. I understand why they don’t believe it sometimes, but it almost “physically hurts” me when I can’t get it across – but 99% of the time, I can get it across. I have a knack for simplifying social media in a way lawyers get it. I know why they don’t want to get started – perceived lack of time, ethics and compliance rules, thinking it won’t get them work and/or it might their ruin their reputation. Luckily I can go over each of these perceived conflicts with lawyers and most of the time they’ll get inspired!
I should also add that blogging is essential for social media. Lawyers need to be sharing content to be successful online: articles relating to their practice, rule changes etc., and this should be from their blog. It helps build their reputation and SEO etc. Some lawyers think it will take too much time but it won’t, the time is front loaded so it will take a bit at first, and there are tools to help them too, like LexBlog
What’s the one single message you’ll want to leave with the Clio Con audience members?
They can be successful using social media. Lawyers can get new clients through social media. Social media is traditional media done online. It may seem complicated, but it’s not.