AIG. Lehman. Freddie Mac. Citigroup. GM. When giant institutions are falling like bowling pins, begging for bailouts and shedding staff in numbers higher than an eight-year-old can count, it’s not surprising that insecurity is spreading rapidly amongst small businesses as well. Law firms are no exception. If it can happen to them, it can happen right here, right?
But take heed, there is a way to survive today and position your firm for the future. In today’s volatile economic environment there is a need for experts of all stripes to help explain, predict, navigate and connect people to one another to help them solve their problems. Thought leaders can come from anywhere, from a lawyer in solo practice just hanging out her shingle, to a practice head at a mid-sized firm, to an associate in a major law firm.
If approached in the right way, the current recession provides an opportunity to stake a claim as a thought leader that will serve you well today and for years to come. And, while budgets may be tight, smart lawyers and other professionals are finding that it doesn’t take a lot of money to get attention on the Web as an expert. Web 2.0 marketing tools, such as blogs, podcasts, tweets, social networks and interactive websites are cost-efficient and, when used properly, can help do the marketing work for you. This is called social media and it’s going to change the way people make buying decisions for everything from their new car to their legal services. And make no mistake, the change is already well underway.
You may have been reading a lot about lawyers who are blogging. The truth is, for all the attention they’ve been getting, lawyers who blog are few and far between. An ABA Legal Technology Survey Report, released in September 2008, found that only two percent of all lawyers in this country maintain professional blogs and only eight percent of law firms maintain firm blogs. Similarly, only fifteen percent of lawyers have joined social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, while only four percent of firms are using social networks to their best advantage.
The dearth of penetration in social media by members of the legal profession indicates that there is a huge opportunity for lawyers today, at almost no additional investment in technology.
The Web is particularly useful for small firms and individual lawyers because, for the first time ever, anyone can be an authority and garner influence because of their expertise rather than because of where they work or who they know. The web allows you to become as big as you want to “look” and be.
Consider the case of Jaffe Associates operating in this new 2.0 environment. Recently, we wrote guidelines for social media policies that can be used within law firms. We were using a very similar document here at our firm already. One of our associates saw a query on the Legal Marketing Association’s listserv regarding social media policies. We quickly posted a notice on the listserv that our policy was available to anyone who wanted it and, within three hours, we had thirty requests for the document from members of our targeted audience. When you have something to offer, the Web is a very efficient means to get it to those who can benefit immediately from that information.
Blogging is a great way to demonstrate your singular point of view. But it can come later. A smart first step to engaging online is to pinpoint your goal by focusing on what you want to talk about, and understanding why this will help your business grow and enhance your reputation.
Then, go to the Web and identify more precisely to whom you want to talk, be they your peers, potential clients or colleagues, and engage with them where they are congregating online. The best way to get comfortable doing this is to head to places where lawyers gather on the web to see what they’re talking about and to add to the discussion.
The goal is to reach out to everyone online who does what you do or, better yet, is looking for someone who does what you do. Once you find communities that match your communications objective, join the conversation by adding to it, being useful, offering insights. Share your expertise broadly. The 2.0 Internet is about interaction and connection. Provide a link back to your website, or to a recent brief or article you wrote. Ask for comments and feedback and respond to that. If you’re commenting in all the right places, chances are you’re already reaching your target audience, making an impression and sparking their interest in learning more about you, the expert. And, at the same time, search engines are finding your work and your presence on the Internet, expanding your network in a viral way.
Once you start building your profile, then it’s time to start that blog and extend the community onto your territory, giving them an opportunity to provide direct feedback to bigger thought leadership pieces from you. The best thing about sharing in the Web 2.0 world is the feedback. You’re not just trumpeting. You’re conversing, and feedback can be of lasting value. It can open up new areas of opportunity and enable you to forge new connections and start new conversations.
Today, even though marketing dollars are tight, it’s more important than ever to stay in the conversation. The Web is there for the taking. Now, it’s time for lawyers from firms of all sizes to do the listening, the sharing and the talking.
Jaffe's Web 2.0 tips for lawyers, to see and to be seen:
- Many law firms and lawyers with various specialties host interest groups on Facebook. To find them, search "groups" in Facebook.
- Legal OnRamp and Martindale Hubbell Connected offer social networking features. LinkedIn, for example, has a few groups for lawyers: Legal Marketing, with 2700 members; and Legal Blogging, with close to 2000.
- Listen to what's happening on the Web. Use iGoogle to deliver a personalized, topical "Google Alert" to your inbox every day, providing a list of news sites, blog posts and websites that mention your special topic.
- Build your local business presence using Web 2.0 marketing techniques. Provide relevant content and keywords in your online material that clearly indicate the state(s), province(s), city(ies) where you work, to ensure potential clients see your listings when they search for lawyers in your area.
- Take advantage of mapping tools that go hand-in-hand with your website listing. Visit the Google Local Business Center, where you can have your business listing alongside a Google map.
By Jay M. Jaffe, President & CEO, Jaffe Associates Inc. Jay can be reached at jaffej@jaffeassociates.com or at 301-881-6991. Jay can also be contacted at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjaffe or at Twitter @jaffej.