Facebook has delivered a major blow to not only to Foursquare and other location-based social networks, but also to Google and Yelp. The social network has announced the launch of a major new feature: Facebook Places. The marketing implications of location-based social networks is very large.  With the proliferation of mobile data technology allowing users to get deals or find business based on their geographic location business have a whole new marketing opportunity. With this Facebook implementation this trend just got a lot more interesting for marketers.

Facebook Places allows users to check in to offline locations similar to other location-bastion social networks. The Places feature is available in Facebook’s iPhone application (Must have version 3.2.2 or higher) as well as their HTML5 mobile site. One change in Facebook Places is that instead of showing people who have checked in nearby, the application will display people near you that Facebook has determined to have relevancy to you.

Although the feature is now available in the newest version of the Facebook iPhone app, the company says it is still rolling out the feature and is not yet available to all users. Another interesting note is that Facebook, via an API, is going to provide developers access to some of the data from Facebook Places to integrate this new feature with outside applications. Additionally, it doesn’t seem like Facebook is out to “kill” other location-based networks. It will allow Foursquare and other major location-based social networks to push location information into Places so that a user can use Foursquare to check in on both Foursquare and Facebook Places.

Marketing Takeaway

If you are an Arizona based business, this announcement demonstrates that location-based social networks are transforming from a trend into a mainstream feature of social networking. Some of the initial developers using Facebook Places are social game developers like Booyah, who plan to create new social games based on location.

Facebook, similar to Yelp and other location-focused sites, is also allowing businesses to claim their location in Facebook Places. Once Facebook Places is available to you, add the location to your business. Once that location page is created, you will then have the option to “claim” it as the page for your business. It is likely that Facebook will launch many other marketing opportunities for Businesses on Facebook places in the future, so it is important to go ahead and claim your location now.

Facebook Places isn’t an attack on Foursquare, it is a direct attack on Google and Yelp. Facebook realizes that as retail business shift marketing dollars online, a huge opportunity exists.

Do you plan to use Facebook Places? If so give us a call and we can help you get setup (602) 283-3550.

I recently read an article in the Phoenix Business journal related to the use of Social Media by valley law firms.  Like most business we can assume that law firms are looking to leverage the increase usage of social media to attract new customers.  However, it is important to understand that Social media is not a one size fits all type of marketing plan.  Each law Firm must carefully plan and implement their social media plan.  If your law firm handles corporate mergers you need a much different plan than a firm that specializes in divorcee law.

When most of us think of social media our first thoughts are to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.  While each of these channels can provide a great outreach for business, law firms must be careful which social channels they use.  In most cases we would advise our law clients to avoid any social media channels that allow individuals to post unsolicited or unapproved comments on their social media.

In the Business Journal article there is reference made to Snell & Wilmer, LLP and their use of social media technologies to acquire and interact with clients.  The marketing consultant sites Snell's use of Facebook  to build trust with current and potential clients.  However, on further investigation you notice that their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Snell-Wilmer/104054512963404) is limited in many ways and does not fester interaction.  While limiting user interaction on a law firm Facebook page is the right choice; the execution is poor and likely does not have ties to a comprehensive plan. 

Let's take a look at what a social media plan might look like for a law firm.

Law Firm Social Media Plan

A well though out social media plan for a law firm like Snell & Wilmer, LLP might look something like the following:

Client Outreach Marketing

Blogs: Blogs should be the primary social outreach of all law firms.  It should be located on the corporate website and be a promeniate feature of all law firm sites.  Blogs should speak to firm topics and allow approved comments to promote interaction.  Every blog post should be distributed via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Twitter: Twitter is a great social outreach for law firms because the posting is one way.  You control the tone and what is said on Twitter.  Twitter allows law firms to control the conversation and the tone.  It is a great place to talk about current laws, community outreach, opinions, victories and replicate important content.

Facebook: Facebook should be used as a marketing and branding tool similiar to your website.  Instead of just limiting Facebook interaction through permissions, law firms should create unique and dynamic facebook landing pages for potential clients.   Other examples of great Facebook landing pages are http://www.facebook.com/toyota, http://www.facebook.com/vitaminwater, and http://www.facebook.com/cocacola.  This type of landing page system allows the law firm create a consistent marketing message.

YouTube: Creating videos of your lawyers discussing how they practice law and building a repor with your potential clients is a great way to market your firm.  Video's must be professionally produced and under 2 minutes in length.  These videos can be used on your website and social media channels.  Video is a very valuable marketing asset.  You can view some examples at http://www.youtube.com/user/wsilogix

**Important:  all social media postings should be controlled by a central source at the law firm.**

Employee Outreach Marketing

LinkedIn:  LinkedIn is a great way to help attract future talent and build a community of employees and business clients.  It is a professional network that allows individuals in your law firm to connect with other professionals in the industry.  It is a great way to share business related information and keep connected to important individuals in your industry.

As you can see social media for law firms is a complex matter.  It requires the guidance a professional marketing firm.  If you are interested in a consultation please give us a call today at (602) 283-3550 or visit us at http://www.wsilogix.com.