2. Distinguish yourself from your competition.
The fact is, although for certain industries social networks are saturated, lawyers by and large have a very small presence. For example, as of February 19, 2009, only
2,300 lawyers were registered on LexTweet, a site dedicated to law professionals and lawyers using Twitter, according to Kevin O'Keefe (operator of the LexTweet site).
Even on LinkedIn, (which could arguably be the most comfortable place for lawyers due to its heavy business orientation) David Barrett (the man who boasts the
"World's Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Referral Network") has, as of this writing, just over 7200 persons registered of which about 3400 are attorneys.
I don't need to tell any of you that this is a drop in the bucket as far as the number of attorneys practicing law in the United States. Why is this important? Unlike in most industries, lawyers still have a
unique opportunity to get in and be one of the frontrunners in online marketing for attorneys using social networks.
3. Social Media Isn't Just For Kids-Your Adult Clients are On Social Networks, Too
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey, although the percentage majority of online social media users are in their teens,
the actual total number of adult users is greater because adults make up a larger portion of the US population than teens, and the share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now.
Even more interesting, according to a report by Forrester Research:
In 2007, the percentage of Boomers consuming social media was 46% for younger Boomers (ages 43 to 52) and 39% for older Boomers (ages 53 to 63). By 2008, those number increased to 67% and 62%, respectively....
[t]oday, almost one in four younger Boomers are active in social networks, up from 15% in 2007.
Social networking, therefore, is becoming more and more mainstream, and potential clients are using it more and more, as is illustrated in the graph below. Furthermore, the amount of time
spent on social networks, is exponentially greater than the total average time spent online.
For attorneys, this means that an increasing percentage of clientele is spending time on social networks. If you don't have a presence there, you're missing out on
opportunities.
4. Low Cost, Potentially Large Results
When done right, social marketing for attorneys can be an easy and cheap way to position your practice in the marketplace.
Social Media provides a much further reach for a lot less cost than traditional media. Think about it: in a traditional marketing medium, such
as a newspaper, magazine, the yellow pages or a circular, the target market is finite, whereas in the online world, the target market is only limited to the
number of people with access to a computer and an internet connection. Similarly, although a website itself is generally not free, social networks for the large part are.
According to research by Findlaw on How US Consumers Meet Their Legal Needs Online, an attorney's expertise in the particular
legal field was the single most important factor in choosing an attorney-more than recommendations from others or the cost of the attorney.
Establishing expertise with an ad is almost impossible: with a consistent online marketing campaign, it's easy.
(Now, I know this doesn't address "doing it right", but that is a major topic that deserves its own article.)
5.Influence Public Opinion on Legal Issues that Matter to You
Social networking provides an unprecedented opportunity for attorneys to listen to and engage with the general public about legal issues that impact them.
For many attorneys, the initial reason they wanted to go into the field of law was to make a difference. Unfortunately, the day-to-day
practice of law frustrates that goal for too many.
That being said, you are still in a unique position to advocate for positions and issues that you find are important to you.
Your client base, and your social networking fan base, presumably follows you because they find you interesting and because you provide valuable content and insight into issues that matter to them.
Your thoughts on an upcoming judicial election, for example, will be instructive to many readers that really have no idea who they should be voting for, or why.
Click Here to read what Law.com had to say in a recent article about the law profession's use of social media to influence public opinion.
