Is social media distracting lawyers from the real work of developing new clients?

A healthy little discussion on the Martindale.com Connected social network this week asked the question, “Has Social Media Gotten Lawyers Out of Focus?”

Particular emphasis was placed upon evidence that while it may be more “natural” for the young professional to use social networking and social media, it’s not helping them engage face-to-face in business development settings. [Paraphrased].

Should we blame social online forums for the lack of offline people skills or inability to do the real work of developing clients? I don’t think we should rush to that conclusion, do you?

It is true that many young professionals know how to navigate the social Web quite well; they may even spend a good bit of time there to the chagrin of an outsider who perceives it to be wasted time. But, the fact is their peers are present there—those who could or would one day hire the services of a lawyer—and communication channels are changing.

Communication Channels Change

As a law firm marketing professional for over 15 years, one who continually seeks out beneficial communication channels, I have seen first hand the evolution of various technologies used for marketing communications between lawyer and client—carbon paper, teletype, fax, photo copier, answering machine, mass mail, email, color photo copiers, floppy disc brochures, cd-rom seminar materials, e-holiday cards, websites, intranet, Extranets and more.

Each of these new tools was ushered into the management and marketing of law firms with varying degrees of skepticism so it is only natural that blogs, wikis, social networks, sharing, collaboration, search engine marketing, video, postcast, webcast, and mobileApps are receiving the same sort of attention. They all require degrees of change; and it’s not over yet. (Stay tuned for the semantic web – yikes! It’s really revolutionary)

That being said, what I have not seen change is:

• the need for human voice;
• effective language skills;
• an attractive personality;
• sincerity;
• confidence;
• the need to understand the buying and selling process; and
• the ability to build trust.

These fundamentals do not change, regardless of the chosen communication channel. As I write in my soon to be released book, social.lawyers: Transforming Business Development (West Publishing):

We’re not doing any thing different, we’re just doing things differently.

While some may think that the art of human engagement that leads to business relationships is being lost in the social media shuffle, I’d argue that not a single one of us skips down the road to becoming a rainmaker. It evolves over time with trial and error, coaching, mentorship, and of course simple maturity, both professional and personal, no matter what the forum. And that’s why it’s important to include some basic business training into every lawyer’s schedule.

Tools are NOT a substitute for fundamentals

Maybe it’s time to rethink a few things. Growing up on the social Web is not inherently a bad thing, but having a macro-training scheme can help. For marketing professionals, coaches, and mentors, the key is to make sure young professionals know the tools are not a substitute for the hard work of studying the psychology of sales and honing face-to-face people skills—provide fundamental business development training.

Business basics and client development fundamentals plus tactics that include the nuances of social web placement and best practices can be a winning combination; because this new media of marketing and business communication is not going to go away.

If social media is making you lose your focus, or if you never had focus in the first place, then perhaps its time to re-boot.

Just as I started to breath easier—Facebook rolled back the ridiculously complicated privacy settings that were causing chaos for those who care—alien generated community pages started showing up. In the tunnel vision of FaceBook…

“Community Pages are a new type of Page that enable you to see what people are saying about the things that matter to you, and discover the friends and people who share these connections with you. They are similar to any other Page to which you can connect, although they won’t generate stories in your News Feed, and won’t be maintained by a single author. Where available for the relevant topic, they also show content that Facebook has licensed from Wikipedia. We think your experience on Facebook will improve as your profile is turned into a living map of all the connections that matter to you, instead of a static list of your interests”

Wow…Facebook knows what matters to me? Facebook thinks my experience will improve by turning my profile information over to a “living map” that I don’t agree to or want? After baiting us with connectivity to people we choose to friend, they switch us to fit into their deal with Wikipedia?

Hey, I’m all for new ideas, but this one is a bit of stretch considering that most people on Facebook have REAL jobs. They just might care that Facebook is associating their lighthearted comments to a page dedicated to their employer—like they might want to have a say in that?

If I chose, “Only Friends” it’s supposed to be only friends, right? A Facebook robot sent to glean my keywords and create a fan page for my employer is NOT MY FRIEND? In fact, it may be an enemy and make me lose my job….. 

As a law firm leader, what’s your take? Like?

Clearly this feature that creates pages based on what your employees are saying on their Facebook profile is creating a real problem for law firms who have employees, lawyers and partners with “zippy” profiles on FB. Here’s how it works: where a law firm is identified as the place of employment on a user’s profile, Facebook grabs a topic or experience that is “owned collectively” by others with the same employer in their profile and automatically generates a fan page using those key words. As playful as Facebook may be for some unsuspecting users, it now plays out rather awkward for some of their employers, including law firms.  As reported in yesterday’s The National Law Journal...

Bimbos at Baker & McKenzie. Slaves at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Whipping boys at McDermott Will & Emery.

These groups — and dozens of others for virtually every major law firm — now have their own Facebook pages.

They’re not the product of disaffected employees — at least not directly. Instead, they’ve been automatically generated by the social networking site itself via a new feature called community pages.

For brand-conscious law firms, Facebook’s latest “innovation” is a bit mortifying. After all, does Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe want to be known for its porno stars? Shearman & Sterling as paper-pushers extraordinaire? Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman as ticklemasters? DLA Piper — well, we won’t even print the one about DLA Piper.

Amusement value aside, the newest Facebook pages illustrate the perils that law firms — not the most avant garde marketers to begin with — face as they navigate the world of social media.

I have to agree with Rob Kahn, director of business development at Mountain View, Calif.-based Fenwick, who according to the NLJ…

“dismissed the page as “a nonissue” but said that the community pages could be “confusing for businesses and consumers and clients.

“It’s not likely anyone would take Fenwick’s sex page seriously, just as most people probably won’t believe Perkins Coie has a jester or O’Melveny & Myers has indentured servants. The pages may not reflect well on the firms, and certainly don’t bolster images of dignity or seriousness, but they’re unlikely to cause genuine confusion. However, the pages centered on the firms themselves just might.

“At Fenwick, for example, Kahn maintains a well-developed Facebook page for his firm, filled with news updates as well as fun asides (Jan. 15 — “OMG. Snoop Dogg is in the Fenwick West conference room right now for USTREAM.tv event.”).

“But now, there’s also a Fenwick & West community page created by Facebook, complete with Fenwick’s blue logo. The page features the firm’s Wikipedia entry and links to other Web pages and posts in which Fenwick is mentioned.”

I’m a bit more dramatic in my outrage….. how can “they” circumvent the privacy settings they now have taken the pains to simplify only to expose our deepest sentiments we thought we were sharing with our friends, not our employers? And even straining our employer’s good will and brand? What’s UP FACEBOOK? Have aliens infested Mark Zuckerberg‘s brain in his attempt to show a profit? This may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for some of us….So what is this new “community page” feature supposed to do for users except get them into trouble? Turn us into a map of living connections? Not my idea of a good time. Your reaction?

The bright side.

Calming down now, I’m thinking how good it is that Rob is taking the high road, I’d expect that from him as he has great professionalism and years in the technology trenches. His example is one all law firms would do well to model….maintain strategic presence on all social media sites. Better to be proactive than reactive. For example, in the 2009/2010 recall of Toyota vehicles, Toyota used social media when the public relations crisis hit. Shiv Singh, vice president and global social media leader for Razorfish.com claims that “their use of social media helped them” and there appears to be little significant damage to the company’s rep in the short run on the social websites. Of course there is more to it than just having a Facebook page. Law firm leaders, marketers and their representatives need to stay current on trending social media spaces AND know their audience. According to Lauren DeLisa Coleman writing for the Huffington Post, you want to do your homework to make sure you’re reaching the right audiences, know who is using what and where. I would add AND educate and train employees in best practices.

What should law firms do?

As Rob points out, most clients of his law firm would not be phased by some silly Facebook play that created these automated communities. That’s probably true, however, I believe law firms should include in their strategy an education based policy. The best approach is to educate employees in the best practices of participation on the social Web.

Most law firms now recognize that guidelines or policy are necessary. I suggest they not stop there. Circulating a policy or guidelines to employees and attorneys and partners is not enough. You need to add education. Face it, policies are skimmed and filed away. There is no direct association between the guidelines and the users’ behavior until the law firm says….”we’re serious about this.” Serious enough to invest the time and resources to add an educational component to the mix. When they do this they communicate that they understand the impulses associated with the freedom of voice and the balance necessary to maintain the firm’s well being. It’s not about taking away the individual’s voice. Employees and partners need to understand that everything they do on the social Web has a direct or indirect effect on their paycheck! When a law firm adds the educational component they say “we care about your professional development and here are some tips to help you stay on track.” If people want to add funky stuff to their profiles or associate with non-professional themes or persons then they should not add their employer to their profile. It’s that simple.

For more ideas on Social Media Policy check out my earlier post. Meanwhile, if your firm needs some training, that’s what we do at LawGravity. We’re in the trenches and know the law firm environment. We’re ready to help you.

As a marketer I rarely, if ever, try to “convince” a law firm or lawyer that social media and networking is something they MUST do. When I speak to groups of lawyers [or marketers] on the topic, I am careful to craft my speeches in a way that presents details, offers illustrations of what others are doing, and I like to share stories about what is or is not working. In other words, I try to give others enough information, pertinent information, which empowers them in making their own decision. But, it’s really more than that…without a need a tool has no meaning.

If you only know how to use a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Whenever I hear a social media guru preach about the miracles of the social Web and how everyone should be doing this or that, I cringe. It’s like the construction worker who only knows how to use a hammer and so everything starts looking like a nail.

You see, digital communications and the social Web are fantastic tools, but without a need they have no meaning. How could I get in front of a group of strangers—in most cases—and urge them to use tools that they don’t need? If you’re working on your bike and you need an Allen wrench and someone hands you a screwdriver, it just won’t work. The screwdriver has no purpose, no meaning—it’s no use. I guess you could try to force the issue and try to use the wrong tool, but you probably won’t get the results you’re looking for, you’ll be unhappy, and you could waste a lot of time.

Likewise, if you’re not already developing business off-line, or you don’t know how to work a room, write about something people want to read, or understand the buyer and seller process, then you’re probably not going to find the social Web very helpful; it may be the wrong tool for you.

What makes a Rainmaker?

The impulses, skills, and personality types that make great rainmakers aren’t overtly impacted by the tools they use. Their success is the result of their behaviors, such as their ability to listen, see a need and respond.

Sure they need opportunities for exposure, conversation, and relationship and they use a variety of tools and tactics to inform, educate, relate or influence, but the focus is always on people and relationships – people, not tools, buy and use legal services.

For a rainmaker, whatever needs to happen…. well, there is a tool for that. Whether it is buying a table of ten, attending a golf tournament, sponsoring a little league team or getting some PR…whether it is writing a blog post, starting a discussion in an online social networking group, or Tweeting or forwarding articles via email, the best results will come from the operator using the RIGHT tool at the RIGHT time.

Sometimes proof or case studies can help us to identify with and understand our audiences; where they are and what tools might be effective in reaching them. One method is to look at survey data.

What does this data mean to you?

A recently released survey by GreenTarget, zeughauser Group and ALM Legal Intelligence documents attitudes and adoption (Consumption, Familiarity and Use) of New Media by in-house counsel lawyers. You may also find Heather Milligan’s recap of it at the Legal Watercooler Blog helpful, or the original research can be found on the GreenTarget Web site.*

I’m betting there are tons of marketing directors downloading the report right now and walking it down the hall to the managing partner’s office, and I’m really happy for them that they may have something that might help them make the case. You may also want to look at a recently release compilation of AmLaw 100 firms and their use of particular digital tools from MyCorporateResource.com.

*—One note on the GreenTarget research sample. It interviewed only 164 in-house counsel attorneys—there are 25,000 members of Association of Corporate Counsel. I’m not a researcher and  I don’t know the answer to this, maybe one of my readers can help me out… Does this type of research work like a “representative sample thing” suggesting that we can conclude from this small sample that it reflects the attitudes of the whole in-house counsel bar? What does this data mean to you?

What this data means to me.

Overall the data is hardly shocking—in the plus or minus column–because I’ve been following how general Internet usage has trended over the years. Pew Internet & American Life project found that in 2009 74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) among a sample of 2,258 adults, (English speaking 2,197) (Spanish speaking 61) were using the Internet. This represents an increase of 25% since 2000-2001. The report that 71% of those use the Internet (search) to find information.

Though any comparison would be apples to oranges, taking into account the educational difference between in-house counsel and the U.S. adult population, it’s interesting to me that:

Pew reports social networking among U.S. adults by age looks like this:

18-32 [67%], 33-44 [36%], 45-54 [20%], 55-63 [9%], 64-72 [11%].

GreenTarget reports social networking among in-house counsel on LinkedIn looks like this:

30-39 [47%], 40-49 [39%], 50-59 [29%] and 60+ [13%]

(Surprisingly, this shows that the only highly skewed number is in the 50-60 range and that may be because the break outs of age range are different.)

Pew reports adult Internet users reading blogs looks like this:

18-31 [43%], 33-44 [34%], 45-54 [27%], 55-63 [25%], 64-72 [23%]

While GreenTarget reports that:

“Blog use, in comparison [to social networking], is more consistent across age groups and company size, demonstrating broad acceptance of the channel as a viable source of news and information.”

“Blogs are the most frequently used tool among in-house lawyers at the largest companies (revenue of $1.5 billion to $9.9 billion) with 35 percent having visited a blog in the past 24 hours, and 54 percent in the past week.”

Inside/Outside counsel.

Another interesting tid-bit from the GreenTarget survey reports how in-house counsel ranked the following activities “most important” for helping them to vet and research outside counsel for potential hire:

1. Recommendations from sources you trust 73 percent
2. Articles and speeches the lawyer has authored 38 percent
3. Bios on the firm’s Web site 30 percent
4. Blogs published by lawyers 27 percent
5. Rankings and directories 25 percent
6. Twitter feeds from lawyers 22 percent
7. Endorsements and connections on LinkedIn 18 percent
8. Quotes by lawyers in relevant media outlets 15 percent

[The study notes that that 37 % of counsel aged 30-39 rated “blogs published by lawyers” as the second most important activity for helping them to research outside lawyers for potential hire, following “recommendations from sources they trust and many regarded LinkedIn as the most powerful new media platform.]

I’m not surprised to see “recommendations from sources you trust at the top” of the main list…and, would point out that in the right hands social media and networking tools can play a role in becoming known, liked and trusted!

I suppose this research is getting closer to defining a need that all lawyers may want to understand, i.e. if in-house counsel are (or will be shortly) looking to the Web as a primary source for information then you should be feeding the hungry beast and “hanging out” in the same places.

If you want to be present and accounted for and you’re not already there, you may want to start cutting your teeth now…

By that I mean, get out on the Web more often, watch, listen and learn. In the beginning, business development should be the LAST thing on your mind. Get a feel for the tools and learn to enjoy being there before you put pressure on yourself to see specific business results.

Use the social Web as:

• an intellectual exercise
• a creative outlet
• a way to stay connected to a community
• a resource for your practice
• a resource to learn more about your clients

I recently interviewed six attorneys for my forthcoming book social.lawyer: Transforming business development (Thomson West mid-summer). ALL but one of them has been “working on the Web” for many, many years—some their entire adult lives. It takes time to learn how to use the entire tool box…online (or offline!).

So, if the solution to a recognized need points you toward the social Web, relax and enjoy. Take it slow, get help, and ask questions. Remember, it’s your behavior and the way in which you use the tools that matters most, not the tools. When you’re engaged in something you enjoy others often see it as a sign of confidence and self-understanding –all good traits I’d want to see in my lawyer if I were an in-house counsel. If it’s a chore or you don’t see a need and resent doing it, others will see that too….

**One caveat: use social with discretion and be sure to add value! Those in-house counsel often used words like Time, Information, and Credibility–reflecting a collective voice that engaging in social media platforms is extremely time-consuming, that credibility is a serious barrier, and that the sheer abundance of information poses the difficult challenge of discerning between credible and non-credible content.

Baker McKenzie beat Skadden in gross revenues in the 2010 AmLaw 200 list taking over the top spot for the first time since 1994. That’s a big deal, I guess.

Ben Hallman writes in “Behind the Numbers: A Change at the Top”, (The American Lawyer, April 19,2010) that Baker McKenzie, the largest U.S. based law firm with nearly 4,000 lawyers in 39 countries, although #1 in gross revenues took a hit in profits per partner—now falling just below the 1 mil mark. Probably a bigger deal, I guess, because the firm has cut staff and lawyers significantly in order to get that number back where it belongs. (Author acknowledges this is a big deal to those people and sincerely feels their pain.)

But, most interesting to me, in writing this post about branding, are the brief comments in Hallman’s article where Baker McKenzie Chairman, John Conroy, Jr. attributes some of their success to a “rigorous branding analysis.”

Hallman writes:

“Still, surpassing Skadden to lead The Am Law 200 is a notable accomplishment. Conroy credits his firm’s success to a “rigorous branding analysis” that led to an office-by-office and practice-by-practice review.”

Says Conroy of their numbers:

“The result reflects the client response to our efforts. We’ve made a real effort to implement our strategy [emphasis added] as relentlessly as possible. It always helps when financial results vindicate our work.”

Corporate Actualization.

Baker McKenzie recently took home the prestigious top prize in the Identity Category at The Legal Marketing Association’s 2010 Your Honor Awards. Indeed their new brand was a visually well executed entry, however, if I’m reading Conroy’s comment correctly it wasn’t the visual results that made the re-branding most valuable to the firm and its clients, it was the process—the rigorous branding analysis—and the outcome of that exercise that enabled them to re-connect with clients and ultimately drive their revenues. A lesson for anyone in the throes of re-branding…your comments welcome.

The re-branding helped the firm to focus on their potential– we can assume –and to assess and draw up a strategy to meet what their clients’ value most in the delivery and execution of their services. We may also assume that “an office-by-office and practice-by-practice review” was essential for all professionals in the firm to get on the same page.

In this author’s opinion, therein lies the essential value of branding. Only after that hard work of self-analysis—who we are and what our clients’ value—is done can a firm focus on brand communications such as websites, social media interaction, and content offerings. This is not a task for the weak of mind or self-centered, egoist entity.

Communicating your brand.

Once the brand is actualized, the words and visuals should combine to tell your true story, connect with the audience and evoke a response. It takes all that to be successful. If your brand—who you are—resonates with the client, it won’t be hard.

Heather Milligan writes over on the Legal Watercooler:

“Any attorney who has ever worked with me knows my first command is: make certain that the client sees him/herself and their problems (along with your solutions) in your marketing materials (practice descriptions, attorney bios, client alerts, PowerPoint presentations, etc).”

Heather’s comments reminded me of an email I received recently that illustrates the first command concept, albeit in a whimsical way:

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign that said:  “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But, the first sign simply said the boy was blind, putting the focus on features; i.e. I am blind, I am a litigator, I am a Super Lawyer, I try “bet the company” cases.

The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. The focus shifted to client, i.e., my world, my options, my values, my opportunities.

Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Although this is a simplistic illustration, and some may argue manipulative, it is what a client saw in the boy’s brand that was valuable to him—a reminder that the day was beautiful and he could see it—the client wrote the message for him. It expressed the client perspective and resonated meaning to others as was evidenced in this non-scientific study which resulted in an increase of gross revenues (tee hee).

Despite the flaws in the illustration, are you asking your clients’ what they value in your services and expertise—specifically?

Bottom line: branding wears two hats; corporate-actualization seeking to understand the full potential of what you have to offer a client and, artfully communicating those benefits in a way the client can see him or herself and their problems in the context of the law firm’s brand.

Nothing new, nothing shocking here; but serves as a reminder that…

“Yes, Mr. Vice-President, This is a big “f—ing” deal.”

Now you can pick up your iPhone or Kindle and place that order…

The highly regarded  Consumer Advertising Law Blog created by Arnold & Porter’s multi-disciplinary Consumer Protection & Advertising Practice Group is now available as an application for your iPhone or a download for your Kindle.

When I spoke with Neil Rosenbaum, New Business Opportunities Manager at the law firm, about their entry into mobile apps for law firm communications he agreed to share with VMO readers some the process and thinking behind their multi-channel communications program that provides clients and interested readers many ways to access their reporting and analysis.

According to Neil there were three primary reasons why Arnold & Porter LLP developed its first iPhone application for the firm’s Consumer Advertising Law Blog:

(1) “We constantly think about how we can reach out to our clients and readers in ways that are convenient for them. It seemed important that our blog content be easily accessible on a platform being used extensively by our business clients and blog readers.

(2) ”As a law firm with a significant consumer protection and advertising practice, and the publisher of the popular blog, we felt that it was important to mirror what many of our clients are already doing –creating their own iPhone Apps.

(3) “With the growth of smart phones, Arnold & Porter took this modest step to begin understanding mobile phones as a platform to reach out to and interact with our clients or others.”

JN: Can you tell us a little bit more about your multi-platform publishing strategy?

→  Neil: We were looking for new ways to distribute our blog content to reach our client and readers where they read. We already distribute versions of our blog postings via RSS feed, Twitter, and Kindle (another recent development).

In addition, our firm publishes a Consumer Products Marketing e-Newsletter, a publication that pre-dates our blog. The newsletter has blog content and other features. It works well for those clients and readers who prefer something they can read off-line.

JN: How was the idea born and what was the response of decision makers? Was the consensus in favor of this delivery channel overwhelming, lukewarm, or even adverse?

→  Neil: As an iPod Touch user myself, I came across a number of applications which focused on presenting content to readers, as opposed to playing a game, or performing a social network function. It occurred to me that we could do the same with our blog. I presented that idea to the editors of the blog, Randy Shaheen, Amy Mudge, and Robert Pitofsky. They were very supportive to the idea of creating this new channel for accessing their blog content. While we did not yet  hear a strong demand for an iPhone App, we could see that this is a direction that many of the industries we serve are headed. We believe it is important to get the experience early on so that we can take what we learn and apply it to future efforts.

JN: Can you briefly describe the process?

→  Neil: The key aspect of creating the mobile application was that we knew we had quality content from our blog. That was the foundation of the application. There was no point in doing an application unless there was something useful in it for our clients.

In terms of producing the App, we worked with a software developer who was very responsive and good to work with. A key element in working with him was to have open communication and a specific plan about what we wanted to see in the final product. The Arnold & Porter in-house graphic design team created the graphic items for the App. They follow the look and feel of the blog and our corporate website.

JN: How are you promoting the App?

→  Neil: Once the App was tested and launched, we thought it was necessary to use different approaches to get the word out. We posted an announcement on the blog, on Twitter and on the home page of our law firm’s website. We reached out to the legal press and to other bloggers and sent e-mails to friends. We posted status updates on LinkedIn. We also did extensive internal promotion, a very important step, to encourage our attorneys to spread the news to those who might be interested in downloading it.

JN: How can our readers get the App and how much does it cost?

→  Neil: The Application is free. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can download the application by clicking here (opens iTunes link). Or  you can access the App store from your iPhone, search for  Consumer Advertising Law, and download it directly.

A Kindle version of the content is available for $.99 a month at Amazon.

JN: How successful has the App been so far?

→  Neil: While still early in our launch period, initial comments about the app have been favorable. As far as we know, Arnold & Porter is the only AmLaw 100 law firm to offer a Kindle or iPhone application for distributing their content. We’re excited about being on the forefront, and we’re looking forward to our next step now that we have this experience under our belts.

Thanks, Neil. I’m sure VMO readers will be watching for your next steps!

I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more activity from law firms in the mobile space. Personally, I often access the ABA Journal, Wall Street Journal, and JDSupra apps on my iPhone. It’s so much easier than opening the web browser to read content.

What do you think? Will more law firm clients demand cross format access to your content this year? Are you asking your clients how they want to receive your content? What about Blackberry? Anyone planning a Blackberry App? Or Android users? Not there yet?

If you have any developer resources to recommend to our readers, feel free to do so – please, no advertisements.

“What blogs do you read?”

That’s what CMO Melanie Green of Baker Daniels in Indianapolis, Indiana (Go Colts!) asks an attorney before approving their request to blog. Melanie was  a panelist on the break out session, “Success on the Social Web,” at the 17^th Annual Marketing Partner Forum, Hildebrandt Institute and West EdCenter.

“If you are not reading blogs how do you know if you’ll like the environment? Find some blogs you like to read and come back to us.” Melanie Green

Not a criticism, just an observation, other than that clever, tactical idea; the Success on the Social Web  breakout panel was surprisingly “101;” a lot of focus on blogs and push delivery. Lacking was any discussion about using enterprise social web tools or Google Wave for client team collaboration. No one was talking about integrating mobile applications, yet. …Though this year I predict everyone will be.  The panelists didn’t report that social web interactivity was taking hold.  And, there were no examples of firms implementing cross-platform strategies—except to promote blog content on Twitter or LinkedIn. (Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how Arnold Porter is using social tools satisfy their client’s appetites for multiple access points.)

The VMO often covers the social web from a more forward-looking perspective, but there were a few bits of information, graciously shared by the in-house marketing panelists, which readers may find beneficial.

• Law firms are using Facebook fan pages and Twitter to push out news releases, announcements and seminars.
• Involvement in LinkedIn is lawyer driven. Participation varies across the board. Most firms do have a firm profile. (Whether it differs from their website “About” page, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check that out. Missed opportunity if it’s the same.)
• Hubbard One shared numbers from a recent survey that showed 35 percent of the top 20 U.S. law firms are blogging.  And……
• The panelists confirmed the popularity of blogging. They all claimed to have a blog, sometimes several, in their marketing mix.
• In one example, a panelist described their blog as an extension of their PR campaign and replaced the firm newsletter. (Hmm…they didn’t take audience questions, but I was curious to know if the bloggers interacted with their readers or if it was truly just another method of pushing out newsletter content. Again, not a criticism, just wondering when corporate law firm bloggers are going to start leveraging the power of social to full extent. Why are they hands off? Share your thoughts….)
• That panelist also claimed to have tracked “client generation” from their blog.(Great!) Her firm now has six practice specific blogs and adds six new posts everyday. They now claim 1000 subscribers in total. (That’s cool. Statistics are always useful.)
• Another said that promoting seminars on the social web via twitter or blogging was delivering an entirely new audience. (Very nice.)
• Using hash tags on subject and keywords in Twitter posts significantly increased their exposure and brought in over “400 subscribers.”
• All agreed that when it came to interaction on the social web, the skill sets, or interest, was not yet in place.  (Perhaps they’re all still too risk averse?)
• The panelists like the social web’s inexpensive cost of entry. Most are do-it-yourselfers, committing some of their time or their staff-time to learn the tools.
• Significant challenge lies in training lawyers to integrate the social web into their daily activities. (Sounds familiar. We’re all time challenged. That’s why marketing success comes from “do what pleases you.”)

Overall, it seemed that, at least, “we” all now agree that the social web is not a fad and it’s here to stay. (That’s a relief!)

The Bottom Line

Bottom line for marketers: the social web offers new tools at a low-cost of entry and offers measures of progress via statistics to share with management. Further, social web activity places more of the burden on the individual lawyer-participant, freeing up time for marketers to work on strategy and look to the future for new opportunities.

DIY vs. Hired Help

Of interest to note, there was a healthy discussion among a few attendees after the session on the issue of DIY vs. outsourcing social web strategy. (Thanks Adrian Dayton for your insight!)  There are definitely legitimate arguments on both sides.

Having an outside agency or independent marketing consultant focused on social web tools, strategies and synergies, who lives and works in the trenches, who knows the legal industry, and knows how lawyers go to market, can take some of the details off the in-house marketer’s desk. In that regard, it is often worth having them around; especially if in-house marketers don’t have excess manpower.

I know how challenging it is to keep up with the evolving social tools. Sometimes it takes a while to connect the dots.  And, sometimes new tools can really make a difference.  Finding them among all the noise, taking time to test them and apply them to strategy can be a full-time occupation. I know. I read hundreds of pieces of content and look at new tools each week.  Of those hundred or so ideas, I am lucky to find a few usable pieces of information.  That’s a huge chunk of time for small return. But it’s my job. My clients benefit from my legal industry marketing expertise and my focus on what’s new and what’s on the horizon. Putting it all together is a task that often benefits from outside perspective.

Either way, in-house marketers must be familiar with the social web and conversant on its value to the overall marketing strategy of the firm or business development efforts of individual attorneys. The panel participants were certainly in that group. Thanks for your insights!

Law firms may need to play catch up if they don’t start integrating social technologies into their marketing, client service and business development mix in 2010.

In the late 90’s, the word “touch-point” was frequently heard in legal marketing conversations. There was even a session on it at the LMA annual conference. No longer a trendy buzzword, touch-points are the essence of how lawyers develop relationships and new business. A lawyer should count on needing seven to nine touch points in order to win a relationship. To win business, it may take many more.

Traditional series of touch points.

1. Meet at a social event- exchanging business cards
2. Follow up with a personal phone call or email
3. Extend an invitation to a business lunch or breakfast
4. Pass along an article or send a relevant firm newsletter
5. Follow up, again, with a personal phone call or email
6. Place an advert or a press release in a mainstream publication that your contact is likely to see and raise your visibility.
7. Send an invitation to a charity event, sporting event, or other party – whether or not they accept, the invitation is a touch point.
8. Add the person to the firm mailing list for the annual report or new partner announcements. Send a holiday card.
9. Learn something new about the person’s business interests and call them with a helpful tidbit of information.

Social Buzz

Today’s buzz word is “social.” Social technologies are replacing some of the ways lawyers make contact in building relationships and business. Social technology is changing our touch points. I think you’ll agree, chief marketers need to be on top of this shift.

Jeremiah Owyang in a recent post on Web-strategist.com says it best:

Social Technologies are a Horizontal –Not A Vertical Approach
It continues to amaze the market that such simple social technologies can impact the entire organization.  In fact, social technologies, at the core, allow people to connect to each other without a middle person in the way.  As a result, expect social technologies to impact every employee and customer touchpoint.   CMOs must prepare in their 2010 planning how to leverage social, not as a skunkworks but as a strategic shift in all communications.

What this means for law firms and their chief marketers.

I find Owyang’s Web Strategy Matrix (found on the post referenced above) to be an extremely valuable illustration of what’s happening now. [Thanks, Jeremiah, for sharing and allowing me to share via a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License]

I’ve taken the liberty to add a 5^th column, for the purpose of this blog post, to expand the implications for law firms and lawyers.

(This matrix, created by Jeremiah Owyang, first published on web-strategist.com is being shared here under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.)

What have I missed here? Are you willing to share any of your social initiatives for 2010? What challenges or obstacles are you facing that we might be able to help you think through here in the comments section?

How realistic is it for a law firm managing partner to publish a blog? Maybe a better question to ask is “How would a managing partner’s blog better serve the law firm’s clients, or not?” Too dangerous? Too time consuming? What for?

I recently sent out a Tweet and queried my networks seeking examples of law firm managing partners who blog and was disappointed by the response. Zero.  Maybe it’s my network or maybe there aren’t any. I know a number of small firm and solo lawyers rely heavily on blogging as a tool for broad exposure. Ironically, I often hear that fact used as a reason for larger firm leaders not to be blogging. “It’s fine for boutique and solo practices but it doesn’t fit in the corporate law firm model.”

Do you agree? Is it possible there is a place for a managing partner to blog? How would that tip the scales in a positive direction?

If you were (or are) a managing partner, how do you think blogging might fit in your role managing your law firm? What sort of blog would it be? Topical, special interest stuff?  Would you write for your management colleagues, clients, corporate counsel, prospects or whom? Would you be afraid of transparency? Why would you want to share your thoughts and insights? What would you fear most; the competition or your clients learning more about you and your firm?

Here’s a list from the NewPRWiki.com of corporate leaders in the U.S. that are blogging. There are many more on the list from around the world, but by far the U.S. takes the lead. I haven’t had time to check each one. But of those I browsed, it made me think…there is a place for law firm leaders in the public blogsphere, outside of walled-garden peer-to-peer networking blogs. Do you? What are your ideas? Should a managing partner stick out their neck and buck the status quo?

United States of America

• Joe Agliozzo, CEO, BetterPPC – blogging since May 10, 2004
• Paul Allen, Founding Partner, Infobase Ventures – blogging since May 2004
• Robert Amberg, Cushman/Amberg Communications, Vice President – blogging since April 17, 2006
• Scott Anderson, Director of shared content, Tribune Publishing and Interactive – blogging since April 28, 2004
• David Armano, Creative VP, Digitas
• Marc Babej, President, Reason Inc. – blogging since July 28, 2005
• John Bailey, President, John Bailey & Associates, Inc.
• Jeff Barson, CEO, Surface Medical Spas – http://www.medicalspasonline.com/
• Randy Baseler, VP of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes – blogging since January 17, 2005
• Tiger Beaudoin, Vice President, Coalition Marketing, The Business Improvement Company – blogging since [[May 15, 2005]]
• Tom Berquist, CFO, Ingres
• Brock J. Blake, CEO, FundingUniverse.com
• Philip Blumberg, founder and CEO, American Ventures
• Matt Blumberg, CEO, Return Path – blogging since May 10, 2004
• Carole Brown, Chair, Chicago Transit Board – blogging since [[April 15, 2005]]
• Buzz Bruggeman, Founder, ActiveWords – blogging since January 10, 2002
• Harold Burson, Founding Chairman, Burson-Marsteller – blogging since February 15, 2006
• Jason McCabe Calacanis, Co-Founder & Chairman, Weblogs, Inc.
• Mark Carlson, CEO, SimpleFeed – blogging since September 24, 2004
• Brian Carroll, CEO, InTouch – blogging since Oct 31, 2003
• Jonathan Carson, CEO, BuzzMetrics – blogging since May 13, 2005
• Beth N. Carvin, Founder and CEO of Nobscot, blogging since August 23, 2002
• Karen Christensen, CEO, Berkshire Publishing Group – blogging since December 15, 2004
• David Churbuck, VP, Global Web Marketing, Lenovo – blogging since October 12, 2004
• Jeff Clavier, Managing Partner, SoftTech VC – blogging since July 22, 2004
• George F. Colony, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Forrester Research
• Henry Copeland, Founder, BlogAds – blogging since September 05, 2001
• Bob Cramer, President & CEO, LiveVault – blogging since June 3, 2005
• Colin Crawford, VP/Online, International Data Group – blogging since March 1, 2005
• Mike Critelli, Executive Chairman, Pitney Bowes, Inc. – blogging since June 12, 2007
• Michael M. Crow, Arizona State University President: The President’s Post – blogging since December 1, 2005
• Steve Cody, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Peppercom – blogging since July 11, 2005
• Marc Cuban, HDNET & Dallas Mavericks – blogging since March 12, 2004
• Dave Dargo, CTO, SVP, Ingres Corporation – blogging since March 31, 2006
• Ross Dawson, CEO, Advanced Human Technologies – blogging since October 5, 2002
• Brian Dear, Founder & CEO, EVDB, Inc. – blogging since February 1, 2002
• Joseph DePalma, CEO, Vertora, Inc. – blogging since February 17, 2005
• Chad Dickerson, CTO, InfoWorld – blogging since January 25, 2003
• Ed Dodds, Founder & CEO, <e-dodds.communications/> – blogging { in a manner of speaking } since December 23, 1996
• Scott Dow, founder, The Empower Network, blogging since September 14, 2004
• John Dragoon, Chief Marketing Officer, Novell
• Michael Dunn, VP, Hearst Interactive Media – blogging since January 19, 2002
• Tim Dyson, CEO, Next Fifteen, blogging since November 11, 2004
• Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman – blogging since September 29, 2004
• Demian Entrekin, CEO, Project Arena – blogging since july 20, 2005
• John Estafanous, President, Estco Medical – blogging since December 16, 2004
• Brad Feld, Mobius Venture Capital – blogging since May 4, 2004
• Bill Flitter, CEO of Pheedo – blogging since February 29, 2004
• John S Flowers, Founder, nCircle Network Security & kozoru, Inc. – blogging since Feb 1, 2003
• Gil Friend, CEO, Natural Logic – blogging since June 11, 2002
• Leslie Gaines-Ross, Chief Reputation Strategist, Weber Shandwick
  • reputationXchange – blogging since May 20, 2006
  • reputation*watch (November 18, 2005–May 20, 2006)
• Scott Gatz, Senior Director of Personalization Products, Yahoo! – blogging since October 1, 2005
• Bahar Gidwani, CEO, Index Stock Imagery – blogging since June 24, 2004
• Frank Gilbane, President and CEO, Bluebill Advisors, Inc. – blogging since January 8, 2005
• Kathleen Gilroy, CEO, The Otter Group – blogging since February 20, 2004
• David Geller, CEO, WhatCounts, blogging since February 15, 2005
• Frank Gens, Senior Vice President – Research, IDC
• Terry Gold, CEO, Gold Systems – blogging since November 12, 2004
• Steve Goldstein, CEO, Alacra – blogging since March 23, 2004
• Dave Gray, Founder & CEO, XPLANE – blogging since August 21, 2005
• Diane Greene, President, VMware, Inc. – blogging since April 2, 2006
• Rex Hammock, President of Hammock Publishing, Inc. – blogging since August 28, 2000
• Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs – MarketingProfs Daily Fix
• Christopher Hannegan, SVP, U.S. Director of Employee Engagement, Edelman – blogging since May 18, 2005
• Dick Hardt, Founder & CEO, Sxip Networks – blogging since May 1, 2004
• Peter Himler, President, Publicity Club of New York, Principal, Flatiron Communications, LLC – blogging since June 2004
• Gene Hoffman, Co-founder and CEO, Vindicia – blogging since September 5, 2001
• Bradley Horowitz, Director, Technology Development Group of Yahoo! Search & Marketplace – blogging, since February 16, 2006
• JB Holston, CEO of NewsGator – blogging since June 4, 2003
• John Honovich, CEO/President, MaxPPS (maximum level physical protection systems) – blogging since April 7, 2005
• Michael Hyatt, Thomas Nelson Publishers
  • Working Smart – blogging since April 28, 2004
  • From Where I Sit – since March 29, 2005
• Kingsley Idehen, Founder and CEO, OpenLink Software – blogging since May 5, 2003
• Salim Ismail, Chairman and Co-founder, PubSub – blogging since December 13, 2005
• F. Nicholas Jacobs, President & CEO, Windber Research Institute and Windber Medical Center – http://windberblog.typepad.com/
• Jeff Jaffe, CTO, Novell – blogging since April 3, 2006
• Jeff Jarvis, President & Creative Director of Advance.nett – blogging since September 23, 2001
• Leslie Jump, CEO, Jump Walker International Group – http://www.marketerblog.net/
• Adam Kalsey, VP, thinkSMALL Advertising Network – blogging since March 11, 2000
• Sab Kanaujia, VP, NBC Digital Media group – blogging since December 2, 2006
• Dave Kellogg, President and CEO, Mark Logic Corporation – blogging since August 22, 2005
• Michael Kempner, President/CEO, MWW Group
• Denise Klarquist, VP of Operations, Cheskin – blogging since March 4, 2003
• Eric Kintz, Vice President, Global Marketing Strategy & Excellence, Hewlett-Packard Company – blogging since April 5, 2006
• Joe Kraus, co-founder and CEO, JotSpot, blogging since September 14, 2004
• Pran Kurup, President & CEO, Vitalect Technologies, blogging since July 8, 2004
• Jim Lejeal, CEO, Oxlo Systems – blogging since Sept 1, 2004
• Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman, America Online, blogging since January 4, 2006
• [1]Paul Levy, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA
• Jamie Lewis, CEO and Research Chair, Burton Group
• Phil Libin, CEO, Corestreet – blogging since February 2, 2004
• Bob Liodice, President and CEO, Association of National Advertisers – blogging since March 18, 2004
• Randy Littleson, VP, Marketing, Kinaxis – blogging since august 2005
• Steven Lubetkin, Managing Partner, Lubetkin & Co. Communications LLC, blogging since February 24, 2005.
• Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman, General Motors Corporation – blogging since January 5, 2005
• Kevin Lynch, Chief Software Architect, Macromedia – blogging since February 2, 2003
• Don MacAskill, CEO and Founder, smugmug – blogging since November, 1994 (entry lost to bitrot )
• Kenneth D. Makovsky, President, Makovsky + Company – blogging since January 9, 2006
• John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods Market – http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jm/
• David Manaster, CEO, ERE Media, Inc – blogging since June 8, 2005
• Pat Matthews, CEO and Co-founder, Excedent Technologies & Webmail.us – blogging since October 7, 2004
• Tom Markiewicz, President & CEO, EvolvePoint, Inc. – http://www.tmarkiewicz.com/
• J. Willard Marriott Jr., CEO, Marriott International – http://www.blogs.marriott.com/
• Ross Mayfield, CEO, Socialtext – blogging since October 14, 2002
• Alan Meckler, CEO, Jupiter Media – blogging since December 6, 2003
• Robert Mendez, CEO, NetHawk Interactive – blogging since April 5, 2004
• Christopher Mengel, Razorwest: http://razorwest.typepad.com/marketing/
• Chris Mercer, CEO, Mercer Capital – blogging since April 2, 2005
• Lisa Meyers Brown, VP for Marketing, American Cancer Society’s Eastern Division, blogging since March 9, 2005
• Greg Milliken, CEO, Alibre, Inc.
• Ryan Money, CEO & Founder, HireVue, blogging since February 11, 2006
• Marty Morrow, CEO and founder, Quovix.com – blogging since 2002
• Vassil Mladjov, founder and CEO, Blogtronix – blogging since May 11, 2004
• Craig Newmark, customer service rep and founder, craigslist.org – blogging since September 11, 2003
• Ray Ozzie, former Founder, Chairman & CEO, Groove Networks – blogging since August 1, 2002; currently Chief Technical Officer of Microsoft, blogging at http://spaces.msn.com/members/rayozzie/Blog/
• Justin Rattner, CTO, Intel
• Tom O’Neill, CEO, Exodus Capital Advisors – blogging since April 25, 2005
• Kirsten Osolind, CEO, re:invention, inc. – blogging since July 11, 2003
• Katie Delahaye Paine, CEO, KDPaine& Partners, LLC – blogging since March 8, 2005
• Greg Papadopoulos, CTO, Sun Microsystems, blogging since February 7, 2005
• Bob Parsons, President, godaddy.com – blogging since December 16, 2004
• John R. Patrick, former Vice president of Internet Technology at IBM, on the boards of many organizations, including Opera Software, Jupiter Media and the Global Internet Project – blogging since August 17, 1997
• Michael Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – blogging since July 7, 2004
  • … but is it a blog? Om Malik says it’s not. What do YOU think?
• Bob Pritchett, President, Logos Bible Software – blogging since August 14, 2003
• Jeff Pulver, CEO, Pulver.com – blogging since July 6, 2003
• Paul Purdue, President, iFulfill.com – blogging since May 2, 2005
• Kate Purmal, CEO, U3 – blogging since July 7, 2006
• Michael Pusateri, VP of Engineering, Disney ABC Cable Networks Group, blogging since January 21, 2000
• Peter Quintas, CTO, Silkware – blogging since April 21, 2004
• Darrel Rhea, Principal and CEO of Cheskin, blogging since April 9, 2003
• Glen Reid, CEO, Five Across – blogging since July 3, 2004
• Ed Roberto, CEO, Newmerix – blogging since Sept 30, 2004
• Will Ruch, Versant CEO and Managing Partner, blogging since March 1, 2005
• Eric Rudder, SVP Servers and Tools, Microsoft Corporation (the most senior Microsoft blogger?) – blogging since May 20, 2003
• Scott Ryan, CEO, architel – http://pd.architel.com/
• Andy Sack, CEO, Judy’s Book – blogging since Sept 17, 2004
• John Scherer, CEO & Founder, Video Professor, blogging since February 25, 2005
• Jonathan Schwartz, COO, Sun Microsystems – blogging since June 28, 2004
• Mark E. Seremet, CEO, Spreadshirt US – http://www.spreadshirtmedia.com/weblog/
• Steve Shu, COO, 21Publish – blogging since February 23, 2005
• Mark Sieczkarek, CEO, Conceptus Inc. – http://blog.conceptus.com/subtext/
• David Sifry, Founder and CEO of Technorati – blogging since January 8, 2002
• Steven Silvers, Principal and Director, GBSM – blogging since June 14, 2005
• Michael Smith, CEO, EntertainCom – blogging since March 10. 2005
• Anne Stanton, President and CEO, The Norwich Group – blogging since May 3, 2004
• Roger T. Staubach, chairman of the board and CEO, The Staubach Company – http://roger.staubach.com/
• Joshua Steimle, CEO, MWI – blogging since June 5, 2003
• Steven Streight, President, Streight Site Systems – blogging since May 31, 2004
• David Teten, CEO, Nitron Advisors – blogging since February 27, 2004
• Michael Tiemann, CTO, Red Hat
• Mena Trott, Co-founder and President, Six Apart – blogging since April 3, 2001
• Greg Verdino, VP/Emerging Channels, DIGITAS LLC
• Jeff Weiner, Senior VP of Search and Marketplace, Yahoo! – blogging since March 27, 2005
• Will Weider, CIO, Affinity Health Systems – blogging since June 7, 2003
• Alan L. Weinkrantz, President, Alan Weinkrantz And Company – blogging since December 1, 2004
• Joe Wikert, Vice President and Publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Professional/Trade division, blogging since February 19, 2005
• Steve Wilson, Senior Director of Global Web Communications, McDonald’s – blogging since September 18, 2005
• Charlie Wood, VP of Enterprise Solutions, NewsGator Technologies
• Bob Wyman, CTO and co-founder, PubSub, blogging since September 2, 2003
• Lester Wunderman, Chairman Emeritus and Founder, Wunderman – blogging since September 20, 2006
• Hu Yoshida, VP and CTO, Hitachi Data Systems – blogging since October 20, 2005
• Scott Young, President and CEO, UserLand Software – blogging since November 17, 2003

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Growing in popularity, blogging is attracting lawyers and law firms in droves. I often wonder how much thought goes into what the lawyer blogger really expects to achieve. I mean, a blog is a serious time commitment, requiring thoughtful planning, posting, and promotion. Setting up a blog because someone told you that it’s a great marketing tool, is not enough of a reason.

I’ve been watching the legal blogsphere and talking to lawyer bloggers for years. When I ask them why they blog, these are four popular responses.

The blog is:

1. An article database
2. A marketing tool
3. The contents of the book I always wanted to write
4. A business development tool

It can be 1 and 2,  2 and 3, or 2 and 4, but it cannot be 1 and 4. I’ll explain why.

When you hand someone a business card, do they sign an engagement letter before having a conversation with you? No. You engage in a dialogue. That dialogue has both talking and listening. No business deal has ever been done without a conversation.

Are attorneys successfully using their blogs to start conversations that lead to new business? (If you’re one of them, tell us what you’re doing right or if you disagree with my ideas.)

A blog post that doesn’t engage the reader in a conversation is the equivalent of a newsletter or article on the firm’s web site. In fact, many blogs written by lawyers on legal topics are just that…and their blog becomes an updated version of an article database. No problem with that, it’s just that you will be disappointed if you were expecting your blog to turn up new clients.

A blog for business development purposes is going to be a blog that opens up opportunity for a conversation. For example:

1. A post that contains a detailed outline of legal developments in acquiring stimulus money is probably better off being an article in a static newsletter.
2. A post that creates a fictional scenario of a company trying to acquire stimulus dollars and leads up to a call to action such as “write the ending to this story in the comments”, or includes a mini survey for readers to fill out –are they pro or con, or an offer to “sign up for my newsletter on developments” has a better chance of becoming a conversation starter.

Blogging is a good tool to promote your practice and expertise, but don’t stop there if you want your blog to contribute to the development of new business. Promotions may help you get found, but you need a conversation to build rapport that can lead to new business. For that reason, many marketers and law firm leaders are still on the ledge about the usefulness of blogging in business development.

What do you think?

Law firm markerters, this one’s for you!

Part of the VirtualMarketingOfficer’s mission is to pass along ideas to make your job easier. So, if you’ve been tasked with setting up or directing a social Web program in your firm, here are your first 4 steps.

1. Establish the rules of the game; e.g. policy, guidelines and training.
2. Survey attorneys and staff. Who is participating, where they are participating, what they are conversing about? Are there any influential voices in the bunch? Do they know of each others participation and do they collaborate, cross post, backlink, etc.?
3. Manage your RSS feeds, blogs, news services, and social networks using a tool like iGoogle (there are others, this just happens to be my favorite). Then, train your attorneys to do the same.
4. Mine for content and synergies that already exist within your firm.

For the purpose of this post, let’s focus in on #4.

Within every law firm there are people already doing interesting things and producing useful information. Often the stuff they know or have already produced is hidden, but it’s there, and it’s your job to aggregate it and help them to re-purpose it on the social Web to easily build reputation, establish expertise, and forge new connections that can lead to business relationships.

1. Start with the annual report, practice group newsletters and press releases (even the ones that weren’t printed in full). Look for content patterns that can be organized in categories. Cross reference all firm attorneys by categories.

2. Reduce the categories to areas of focus (not practice groups). For example, your law firm’s strategic and marketing focus could be “practice innovation” or “bet the company casework,”  “legal risk management counsel,” “controlling costs in litigation.”  These are all potential themes for blogs, or for publishing articles on peer to peer networks.

Keep in mind that key words and themes associated with a lawyer’s name are one way to help them rise to the top of search results within networks or the Web search engines. Help them gather up 50 keywords or kw strings that serve as a reference to stay focused –across all networks and services.

Next, add categories for  “fellows” programs,  rankings, or honors. Associate attorneys with these categories. These attorneys obviously have made a name for themselves and have something interesting to give back to the community. Consider creating a jointly authored blog, with a theme of course, and an editorial calendar.

Is your firm involved with an alliance with other law firms or professional services firms? Bring individuals from those alliances in to the mix. They all have a vested interest making a referral network work, so why not consider creating a group, forum, or discussion board within one of the existing online networks, or again, a jointly authored blog. A simple monthly email sent to alliance members with jointly authored and themed blog post excerpts will surely increase activity and keep your contributors top of mind.

These are just a few off the top of my head ideas. I know there are other ways to leverage existing content, so in the spirit of inspriation and sharing, leave yours in the comments.