Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Lawyers

Steve MatthewsStem Legal Web Enterprises

Susan Van DykeVan Dyke Marketing &

Communications

Social networking: friend or foe?

Why you should care Why you should participate Most common choices Tips, tricks and the golden rules Getting started

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

- Charles Darwin

Web & world are changing? How so?

Traditional Media in trouble “We are all publishers” Technology barriers for web-

communication lowered or gone!

Vast majority of lawyers have no online profile

Decline of Print Media

“US newspaper ad revenues predicted to drop 42.5% in seven years”

“One big problem newspapers have in this age of instant information is the lag time between story creation and distribution. Compare that with online content, which is timelier and mostly free. News organizations also compete with blogs and user-generated content sites.”

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006876

• “In the 2008 survey, search engines (e.g., Google) pulled ahead of print yellow pages for local business information”

Source: http://searchengineland.com/relying-on-print-yellow-pages-most-local-customers-turn-to-the-web-15082

Yellow Pages

“81% of Internet users worldwide used search engines in 2008.”

Tip: Think about consumer research, and how Lawyers can back up referral endorsements? Google your own name!

Source:http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006885

Who’s Searching?

Who’s creating content?

“More than 82 million people in the US created content online during 2008...”

Source: http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/user-generated-content-growth/

Growth of Social Networks

By 2013, an estimated 93% of adults over 18 will be regular social network visitors.

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000566

Business Development Value

Benefits of online participation? Increased media exposure A dominant presence in the search engines  Frequent exchanges with other experts Establishing/Improving Relationships Competitive Intelligence on clients

“90% of life is showing up.”

- Woody Allen

Be strategic and focused

Your time is precious.Before you hit the gas, understand WHY

you’re participating and WHO you’re communicating to.

What is your message?

Your personal brand

What’s on your t-shirt? Living your brand The art of storytelling Repeat

Three golden rules

Be relevant Be timely Be helpful

Be relevant: respect your audience

Your impatient audience Lurking competitors Messaging and thought leadership Content is king! Think: Keywords

Be time sensitive

Consider expectations of the mediumTwitter is NOWBlogs are more thoughtful, opinionated LinkedIN and Facebook are for connectivity,

not thought-leadership

Be helpful in unexpected ways

More than good karma = good business Create a memorable experience Build referral sources Make connections Encourages 1:1 interaction

Arg! Too many choices

Most sites are unique, if only subtly Understand where your clients, prospects

and referral sources are gathering Find and read leaders in your field as a

starting point

•More than 175 million active users •The fastest growing demographic is those 30 years old and older

•No official stats, but company say 19 million by year's end •80% of Twitter users have a bio specified on their profile•Twitter receives more daily traffic than 5 of the 6 largest news websites in the UK.

•LinkedIn has over 36 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world. •A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of our members are outside the U.S. •Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.

Source: facebook.com; linkedin.com; hubspot.com; pewinternet.org

“The median age of a Twitter user is 31. In comparison, the median age of a … Facebook user is 26 and LinkedIn user is 40”

Social Networks

Lawyers on LinkedIn

• Apr ‘08: 118,000• Jun ‘08: 216,000• Dec ‘08: 406,000• Mar ‘09: 563,000• Jun ’09: 840,000

*encompasses others who work in the industry (marketing, IT, library, etc.)

LinkedIn

Lawyers on Twitter

Legal Birds (Justia) – 1372 members as of Sep /09

LexTweet (LexBlog)– 5088 members as of Sep /09

Legal Tweets (Nicole Black, a.k.a. @nikiblack

– A blog that groups related, topical tweets

Lawyers on Facebook

• Facebook pages can now be public facing for lawyers/law firms

• Company pages are set for a big growth in 2009 - 2010.

Lawyers-to-lawyer Networks

Not just for kids

“Kids” in their 20s are W-I-R-E-DNot to be dismissed or ignored Future clientsBegin a dialogue with them

Median ages higher and gaining ground

Building and expanding your circle of contactsSocial networking helps you maintain

current relationships and create new onesYou have more contacts that you thinkTake initiative and make contact Invite clients and contacts to participate

with you

How Clients Benefit

Benefits of web-based networking:

Based on Permission Marketing: Social media connections have given permission to communicate about your business; this is meant to be less aggressive, so don’t violate the rules.

Provides public-facing knowledge about a lawyer and their practice - knowledge & experience

Intangibles like temperament (black & white -vs- shades of grey)

Social Media vs Main Stream Media

Reports and editors constantly troll the net for sources, thought leaders and newsworthy topics Write with key words in mind Make it easy to be found  Conduct regular searches on your firm name and your own name Competitive intelligence on existing clients

Social Network Blocking

What are Firms Blocking?

More than Social Networks…

• Webinars

• eNewsletters

• Self-publishing:

• Blogs

• Article Publishing

• Video/YouTube

Stop thinking, start doing

Action Jackson! Get in the game Read & comment on blogs Accept there’s no control Stand behind your statements, but accept

mistakes Let your personality shine Have fun and experiment!

Start here Understand your firm’s position on social

media Choose one application and get familiar Start following and commenting Look for colleagues from the real world Test the waters with your message

Participate Strategically

• Know who you are, who your clients are, have goals:

• Niche Expertise, Geographic, Industry, Referral Demographics

• Have a Plan: • Document off-line networks, use the tools, identify groups that send you work, create targets.

• Content Syndication & Routing:• Automate your content, work smart.

•Repurpose content, online & offline:• Blogs = paper newsletter content; Published in a Magazine? Blog about it.

Questions & Comments?