Lawyers who blog; leverage the power of social networks including Avvo, Facebook, LawLink, Legal OnRamp, LinkedIn, Martindale-Hubbell Connected and Plaxo; and are active on Twitter and other microblogs report that they are gaining and retaining new clients as a result of their online presence, according to the 2012 Legal Technology Survey Report, recently published by the ABA Legal Technology Research Center.  For attorneys considering whether social media pays, the verdict is in:

• 11 percent of respondents got clients through microblogging in 2012.
• 16.5 percent of respondents got clients through social networks in 2012.
• 39 percent of respondents got clients through blogging in 2012.

The latest statistics support what online marketing companies have known for a while.  A 2010 study by Hubspot found that companies that blog get 97% more inbound links, 55% more website visitors and 88% more inbound leads than those who do not blog.

50 percent of respondents who blog reported spending less than one hour a week maintaining their legal blogs, while 44.3 percent said they spent 1-5 hours and 5.7 percent spent 6-10 hours a week.  Many law firms are turning to online public relations companies to manage and monitor their firms’ online reputation and improve social media engagement to help grow their practice.

Reputation Rhino and other leading online marketing companies work with attorneys and law firms on innovative inbound marketing strategies that demonstrate thought leadership and online credibility on current issues like new legislative and regulatory developments, important cases and settlements and other topics of interest to potential or existing clients or referral sources.