Social Networking For Lawyers Webinar

Social Networking for LawyersLaw Firm Internet Marketing in the Era of Web 2.0

How Social Networking applies Legal Professionals

How to use social media tools to maximize professional benefits

Best practice knowledge and planning guide for using social media in the legal profession

Any questions – we’re using #sm4law on Twitter

Why should you care?

• Conversation will happen if you are there or not

• It’s not about your Law Firm website anymore. Doug Jasinski*: “Your web presence has to Your web presence has to move beyondmove beyond the the firm website. “firm website. “

• Direct channel to your current/future customers

• Virtual networks are today’s digital business environments

• Doug Jasinski in Social Media for Lawyers presentation http://www.skunkworks.ca/pdfs/SocialMediaForLaw.ppt

N (CC) = 449 N (PP) =224

– More than 65% of lawyers who are between 25-35 years of age belong to a social network

Networks for Counsel Study April 2008

Lawyers Are Using Online Networking Too

N (CC) = 449 This question was asked only of Corporate Counsel

Lawyers Clearly See the Benefits of Online Networking

Networks for Counsel Study April 2008

Key Professional Networking Activities for Lawyers

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• Expand your network• Build your Reputation/Brand• Comment on legal issues and trends• Listen (to the customer, to competitors)• Learn (from industry leaders, your customers,

competitors)• Channel (opinions, image, perceptions)• Promote, Communicate (to your audience)

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How do you merge safely into social media traffic?

3 Golden Rules for success in social media world

• Pick and choose what’s right for you – you don’t have to read, write and participate in EVERYTHING

• Nothing happens overnight

• The more you give, the more you receive

Your Profile

At the core of social networking is your profile

= How people

perceive you

online

Basics first…

“Write your profile for the future” (Chris Brogan):

– First impression counts– Summary: “write from the mindset of the

prospective employer or client“– Ratings/Recommendations very important– Photo – who is behind the profile?– Showcase expertise – YOUR expertise– People do business with people they like, know

and trust

• Not just the resume

• Expertise – link to blog

• Keywords

• Status/what you are working on..

• Drive traffic to your blog and presentations

• Articles you’ve written

• Organizations and committees

• Pro bono

Professional Profiles

• Be reachable and accessible• Effective photo and contact

information• Expertise and area of practice

is clear and well defined• Credible authority established • Link to all community posts –

showcase expertise• Links to others = well

connected• Interests give personal feeling• Activity and frequency of use

establishes commitment

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Lawyer Profiles

Profile Best Practices

• Be Honest and transparent• Personal and Professional – know your boundaries• Spread your profile – in the right places• Be responsive & trustworthy• Finish what you start • Value and create thought leadership• Remember: All other media and company policies

apply

Online Networking

• Listen, collaborate, participate - build a strong network

• just like you don’t do business following a 2 min introductory meeting, you need to invest in online connections to make it happen

Factors for Choosing a Professional Network

Brand: Seek sites with a strong industry footprints to ensure longevity

Safety and security:– Participate in networks that you trust, and which provide sufficient

security and authentication to make professional users feel safe– This is a key benefit to private, members-only and legal-focused

networks

Global membership: One of the great benefits of online networking is its global reach. Seek out international communities for business

Diversity of features: Your Law 2.0 needs will change over time. Find a network that offers many different ways to participate

Richness of conversation: As knowledge sharing is key to the success of a professional network, look for active discussions and comments that offer idea exchange.

Size: Look for a critical mass of members in your specialty to achieve your networking goals

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Use Suggested Connections

Suggested connections help lawyers find lawyers with shared backgrounds.

The Network Effect: Source Trusted Referrals

Find a trusted colleague who knows the lawyer you’re researching.

Connecting Online - Best practices

“the Virtual Handshake”

• Asking permission• Individually decide if it is appropriate to initiate

a connection• Write a personal email • Do not chase• Thank people• it’s OK to decline or ignore

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Maintain relationship – What are your connections up to?

Automated news feeds on your connections and communities can reveal actionable information

Using Groups to Segment Your Audience

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• Find “Relevant” Colleagues– Common interests– Narrow peer groups into

smaller, more focused clusters

– Enables “deep dives” into subject matter with trusted colleagues

• Groups are Focused & Intimate– Introduce yourself to the

group and offer brief background

– Participate frequently and offer ideas, questions and insights

– Be helpful and pro-active

Blog

• Showcase expertise

• Write about something you enjoy, that you find interesting

• Write frequently

• Engage your audience

“How Do I Use Social Media to IncreaseProfessional Credibility & Raise

Visibility?”• Be a Thought Leader and share your POV

• Through social media the opportunity is there for the taking!

• Professional networks offer MANY opportunities to showcase your knowledge

• Participation is key to using social media successfully

IT is yours for the taking• Discuss IT, blog IT, answer IT, poll IT, comment on IT, podcast IT

– Use the tools of social media to take charge of IT

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So how do you control and follow all of this info?

How to use RSS

• Click on the orange button• Copy the link at top of the page• Page it into an RSS reader:

– Google Reader– Netvibes/Pageflakes

Top 10 Uses for law firms*

• Current awarenessCurrent awareness• Firm marketingFirm marketing• RSS republishing RSS republishing • Feed mixing & filtering for subject collectionsFeed mixing & filtering for subject collections• Client pressClient press• Vanity feedsVanity feeds• Internal research collectionsInternal research collections• Feeding on marketing content for KMFeeding on marketing content for KM• Case law & legislative changesCase law & legislative changes• Aggregated taggingAggregated tagging

*Source: Vancouver Law Librarian Blog *Source: Vancouver Law Librarian Blog http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/2006/09/top-10-uses-for-rss-in-law-firms.html

Reputation Management

• Listen - What are people saying about you, your service, your industry, you competitors?

• Respond - If you find yourself quoted, mentioned or commented about on a blog or article, use comments area to respond – right away

http://www.google.com/alerts

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More can be found on: http://twitter.com/downloads

• Tweet: Link to interesting news/articles• Contribute Value to the Community• ReTweet: recognize other’s Tweets

From Chris Brogan’s 50 ideas of using Twitter for Business:

• When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.

• Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions. • Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting

what others have posted is a great way to build community.

• Confidentiality and Ethics rules apply• Be honest • Don’t tweet anything that could make you feel

awkward later on• Don’t spam

• Twellow.com – optimise your Bio area for the right categorization in Twitter Yellow Pages

• Wefollow.com – register yourself in a ‘Tags-based’ Directory

• Seach key words in people’s bios http://www.tweepsearch.com

• Follow one or two people that interest you and follow those they follow

• Tap into TweetScoop and #hashtags

• Each has around 500 followers • Plus my followers• Webinar info was sent to….. 6000

people in 10 seconds with zero cost

• Credit to Doug Jasinski for this helpful use case structure!

Other Useful Guidelines and Tips

• ‘Tags’ and ‘keywords’ analysis guide http://www.briansolis.com/2008/03/discovering-and-listening-to.html

• Chris Brogan: How to Do Business on Twitter: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

• How do other brands do Twitter: • http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/

• “Twitter Tips in 140 characters and more” • http://www.twitip.com/

• @atsakala offer a great Social Media Guidelines document – tweet him to ask for a copy

• Read Blogs of Lawyers on Twitter – all have posts with great advice on Twitter for Lawyers

8 Minute Social Media Game Plan

For an effective Social Media-savvy lawyer...

• Spends 5 minutes a day scanning RSS feeds, blogs and emails• 1 second to check reputation alert, topic or company key word alert

– 5 minutes to respond-- if need be -- to a blog post or social media entry

– Send email to author of great article – invites to connect if she responds

• Logs into professional network every few days for about 8-10 minutes– Connects to 1-3 people every few visits– Writes a personalized email to 1-2 connections– Scans forums or blogs

• Comments briefly or posts a message• Once or twice a month (at least) – writes or co-writes a blog entry

– Twitters new blog post– Posts blog on network profile– RSS sends blog entry automatically to all subscribers– Responds to comments

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Thanks!

• Twitter: @alinwagnerlahmy

• Linkedin.com/alinwagnerlahmy

Additional Information followed by Q&A session

• Information on BabyBoomers and online: http://www.martindale.com/blog/BlogComments.aspx?bid=35228&tid=213&ct=15 and warmly recommend following @carloshernandez

• Personal and professional, great post by Doug Cornelius http://www.compliancebuilding.com/2009/04/13/the-4-ps-of-the-social-internet/

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