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.

A few posts ago I asked you to imagine…… Today I learned about the following campaign which I am summarizing for my readers in anticipation that great ideas will start flowing.

Procter & Gamble Co. paired 40 digital media and agency executives with 100 of its North American marketing directors in a contest to sell Tide T-shirts for charity, “Digital Hack Night.” The notion that this would be a sort of baptism by immersion into how social media works would not be lost on the participants. It was a crash course. The participants themselves added “Hack” to the event title.

140 media and marketing people leaned heavily on their social-media friends and followers, used big-name incentives and spent a total of about $4,000 on digital media to sell more than 2,000 T-shirts at $20 a pop for charity.

The contest, a four-hour event, was Web-cast in reality show style. Their buzz online hit the top 10 trending topics on Twitter in the process.

I love the idea. The team experience probably did more to expose P&G marketing directors to  digital media than had they learned by stumbling through on their own. It really takes a team.

Among the social media used was a YouTube video of the Global Marketing Officer offering an hour of his services advising a non-profit on cause-related marketing in exchange for a 100 shirt purchase. They blogged it, and spread the word via Twitter.  They used a few conventional tools such as digital coupons and blast emails to a lesser effect.

The effort raised about $50,000 directly for the charity Feeding America and another $50,000 in a match from the Tide brand.

If you are a lawyer in the favorable position of moving laterally, this one’s for you. Go for it!

Thinking outside the box…. for lawyers who are anticipating a move, or are being forced into a move, it might help you to have some of this in the playbook –so to speak –and be ahead of the game.

The Lateral Publicity Checklist:

1. Save critical files to flash drives. Be mindful of proprietary work product.
2. Update your Web profile. Make it match as closely as possible to the format of the new firm. Craft it to speak to benefits and value proposition, not just features.
3. Upload your contact list to Plaxo. Your moves and your contacts’ moves update automatically in your address book (with a few clicks). Realizing that not everyone in your contact list is on Plaxo, it’s still a really great (and overlooked) tool.
4. Secure digital copy of attorney photo. Don’t waste any time getting an updated photo done to match the new firm’s web site. Alternately, shell out the $250 to get a really good one. Show your firm you are willing to invest in your own success. (Entitlement is a thing of the past.)
5. Write a short, to the point, press-worthy profile to be used with media releases. (This is different than web profile.) Don’t wait for the law firm marketing staff to have to pull it out of you. Help yourself by helping them. They ARE your advocates. They want you to succeed. They are on your team…right?
6. Then, relinquish authorship. They are the pros.
7. Respond immediately to all requests from new firm’s marketing department.
8. Have marketing department prepare and print new business cards before start date.
9. Search online for all iterations of your name. (Marital and pre-marital name too. While your at it, make sure your relatives and your mate have respectable foot prints. Oddly enough, it matters.)
10. Search your name AND your old firm(s) + your name on MSN, Google, Yahoo, Twitter. Print off results and file.
11. Set up a Google and/or Yahoo alert with your name and new firm/old firm.
12. Do a search of your name every 2 weeks just to make sure things are moving forward with name association with new firm. Don’t forget #yourname or #yourlawfirm on Twitter.com.
13. Begin building new content to push down any mentions of you with previous firm. (Sign up for new sites – see below)
14. Update ALL social profiles as soon as possible. This will also send out update alerts to those in your networks.
15. Mention your new firm name in any status updates on FB, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc. several times in the first 3 months. Don’t forget to Tweet some content.
16. Add a line to the beginning of your email signature: Please note new address. Keep it there for several months.
    
17. Join JD Supra. Open profile with new firm information. Upload articles…quickly. They will likely return high on search result indexes.
18. Join ABA social network Legally Minded, Legal OnRamp.
19. Flesh out articles that you can re-purpose for publishing on new firm Web site, guest bloggging, Legal OnRamp, JDSupra, Legally Minded, etc.. They don’t have to be long. They need to have keywords and make sure that your by line reflects your new position. Get exposure. Get noticed.
20. Press release should go to as many digital and print outlets as possible including law school, undergrad, and military alumni publications, as well as standard regional, national or international print media outlets. Don’t forget your hometown newspaper. Mom will love it. You never know where new work will originate. It’s all about connections.
21. Notify directories. E.g. Findlaw, Martindale Hubbell, Chambers, Best Lawyers. New versions typically come out in the spring and early summer….hurry!
22. Notify all organizations for which you might be listed as a board member or even on a membership list. (This may turn up in your Web search.)
23. Create eNewsletter announcement for new firm’s general mailing list. Include your photo.
24. Send hard copy letter to all clients letting them know of your new move. (I have a sample) Welcome them to inquire about your new firm –if this is not disallowed by any agreement with old firm.
25. Send out personal email to your contact list (which you exported from Outlook to a CSV or Excel file to a flash drive…. see #1). Make it memorable. Include a photo and something unique about your new firm and how you make it stronger. Your new marketing department may have a branded template for your use.  ALWAYS coordinate with your marketing professionals.
26. Make a list of 15 people you should call or take to lunch in the next 90 days.

Advanced efforts include:

1. Notify local, regional, national reporters that YOU know. Feed them background information on special topics or areas of interest. Or, provide your marketing PR folks with that information so they can help you. ALWAYS listen to your marketing people. My bets are that they know what they’re doing.
2. Follow niche topics on Law.com and add comments to blog posts. Particpate in the social Web generally. Join the conversation. Pick your spots. There are dozens of special interest blogs – e.g. www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com
3. Send internal email to your new partners (and associates) with a personal introduction. (not a mass email)
4. Walk the halls and say hello. Not just once, but a lot. Have coffee, (If you’re in Minnesota this is not a problem. There are more coffee joints per square foot in the Skyway than any other place on earth. ), do lunch, make time to establish key relationships. Talk to your marketing department for direction. They KNOW. Those key relationships aren’t always obvious.

Enjoy the adventure and congratulations!

Disclaimer: This post is cross posted at http://legalwatercooler.blogspot.com

To recap, in my earlier post I challenged you to “Imagine for a minute….”

A law firm sponsors a non-lawyer blogger who writes about commerce and trade, the banking bust, the housing debacle, the bail out bill. And, they openly state that they draw some of their material and perspectives from the professionals and resources provided by ABC Law Firm.  OR….

A law firm sponsors  lawyer bloggers and real people, moms and dads, to blog side by side on the topic of childhood diabetes, lawyers and musicians to blog side by side about music and the local symphony, or scientists and the environment?

Economical and a terrific value, sponsored conversations, at least those that are authentic and transparent, are the new answer to your law firm’s recessionary budget. (Just remember you heard it first here! I have plenty more ideas where that came from….)

I think that the first one out there will cause great groaning among the masses of law firms looking to differentiate themselves –and having to play catch up in a changing market.

If I were considering sponsoring an established blog, here is a sample conversation I’d be having with the blogger(s) I’d want to sponsor.

There are a number of pieces of due diligence to complete before taking the plunge, but these should give you a start.

• Why are your readers here?
• What is the mindset of your readers?
• What do they want?
• Are you committed to this topic?
• Is there consistency in posting?
• Is this who we both want to be seen with?
• Does it make sense as to how you [we] want to be seen in the social Web community?

And then ask yourselves:

• Do you trust the blogger (s)?
• Do they have a trustworthy track record? (did you Google them?)
• Do they write effectively?
• Do they trust you?
• Will their readers trust you?
• How will we staff the effort?
• How can we leverage our involvement? (traditional PR?)

Are there any lawyers or law firms doing this now? Let us know.

If you were considering sponsoring a blog, what questions would be top of mind? What would keep you from doing it? What opportunities do you see?

Drop a comment. What do you think of the idea? Look like an advertorial?

If you’re looking for more ideas on how you can do this the right way, I’d be happy to take the conversation off-line to protect your coup!

Companies are increasingly tapping into the blogger community for content as paid advertising.

Commonly referred to as sponsored conversations, influential voices are paid in cash, products or perks to lead online conversations on their blogs (and micro-blogging platforms such as Twitter).

In great contrast to the original blogger-as-independent-citizen-journalist, these sponsored conversations are appear more often and are being considered by some as less tainted and controversial than in the past. At least those that abide by best practices of disclosure and authenticity.

And, if you’re not looking for a short cut, some believe there is genuine opportunity.

Sponsored conversations aren’t without their risks though. Unlike the advertorial, a more traditional form of paid content advertising where the company can control the message, sponsored conversations are expected to be authentic thoughts and opinions about a product, service or brand.

Jeremiah Oywang of Forrester Research predicts that the use of sponsored conversations as a legitimate way to create buzz around a brand will likely increase during the recession. In his March 2, 2009 post Jeremiah lists some influential bloggers currently conversing about brands in a sponsored environment.

• Read Write Web
• Mashable
• Techcrunch
• Blogher
• Chris Pririllo
• Ad Rants

We’re talking some serious brand participation, folks. Here is just a sample of  some corporations with pay to blog programs.

• Ford  -giving bloggers a Flex to drive for a year
• Disney -working with influencers sponsoring conversations around movies
• WalMart -working with Mom and dad bloggers
• Kmart -shopping spree to bloggers. Gift cards to readers of blogs
• Sears – giving $500 gift cards to bloggers who start conversations
• Microsoft -putting high end products in bloggers hands
• Hewlett Packard –giving printers to the blogher community
• GM –sponsoring five moms to drive a Tahoe Hybrid
• Seagate -sponsoring a blogger’s conference in exchange for give-aways

Commercial and economical? Can it be the new formula for marketing?

With so much noise out there in mass communications, we, as a Net population, are turning toward our trusted bloggers to filter for us. We trust those bloggers, the ones in our daily RSS feed or iGoogle dashboard, to create real interactions and recommendations for us. And it’s really cheap for corporations –as long as they’re stuff is really good.

No more marketing speak.

Overall the Net pop is not interested in advertorials or advertisements. They want to choose their messages. That’s why they flock to the Net. They TiVo out commercials, Pandora their radio and buy stuff based on reviews from people on the Web. People they never met! But still trust? Odd.

Has the trust factor shifted from the corporation to the community?

The emerging consumer – yes, even consumers of high-involvement purchases such as legal services –are looking for commercial free environments to find information, inspiration, and conversation to help them make better purchases, stay informed and tap into an improved experience.

They [we] want to choose where, when, how and from whom we get those conversations.

Sponsored conversations for a law firm? I think it is definitely on the horizon.

Would it be too hard to imagine a law firm brand built on credible community feedback instead of one built around what a law firm thinks of itself?  Is that too scary?

Imagine for a minute. A law firm sponsors a non-lawyer blogger who writes about commerce and trade, the banking bust, the housing debacle, the bail out bill. And, they openly state that they draw some of their material and perspectives from the professionals and resources provided by ABC Law Firm.

What about that charitable contribution money? Could it be put to better use sponsoring a blog about a real life cause or cultural interest? What if the law firm provided guest [lawyer] bloggers and real people, moms and dads, to blog side by side on the topic of childhood diabetes or the environment? (Just remember you heard it first here! I have plenty more ideas where that came from….)

With transparency and authenticity I think sponsored conversations are an economical and more effective mass communication for law firms.  Do you think we’re ready for it?