November 15, 2009 by Kevin O'Keefe

Who looks more strange? Geeks using social media or lawyers avoiding social media?

The majority of lawyers, including the management of large law firms, find people regularly using the Internet for social media and social networking to be an odd bunch. This group of 'younger people' are quickly dismissed as geeks and techies.

There's almost a sense of comfort for lawyers in finding these folks out of step with traditional business. 'Certainly these techies have no place in leading positions in law firm management and client development.'

On the other hand, there's a growing population who sees lawyers not in tune with social media as out of step. Perhaps not labeled odd, these lawyers are viewed as traditionalists and falling behind the times.

Look at these numbers from Erik Qualman's new book, Socialnomics.

  • Generation Y (birth dates from late '70's to late 80's) outnumbers Baby Boomers (birth dates from 1946 to 1964) by 2010.
  • 96% of Generation Y use social media.
  • If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest.
  • Boston College quit sending email to students. Students were more apt to receive messages via social media and social networking.
  • Over 100,000,000 videos on YouTube.
  • Over 200,000,000 blogs in existence.
  • Over 100,000 blogs post daily.
  • 25% of search results for top 20 brands are user generated.
  • 78% of consumers trust peer reviews.

If I am lawyer charged with client development for myself or my law firm, I'd be looking at these numbers very closely. The day is soon coming where the majority of people hiring lawyers will be heavy users of social media and social networking.

Lawyers not using social media will seem pretty strange then. Law firms shunning social media will be looked at as behind the times by people looking for innovative firms to engage.

If being looked at as odd or behind the times isn't enough to get you using social media, ineffective client development ought to do it. Positive mentions of you or what you're saying in user generated content and positive peer reviews generated by participation in social media are the stuff these 'geek's will be looking for.

Tags: , ,
Don't get left behind, get your own blog

Lexblog

Become a part of the conversation

LexBlog creates and maintains professional, turn-key blogs for law firms and businesses. For more information fill out and send this form or call 1-800-913-0988.

all information is required please
November 13, 2009 by Kevin O'Keefe

Will law firm websites continue to work in generating business?

Only 14% of people trust advertisers yet 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations. This from Erik Qualman's new book, Socialnomics.

Per Qualman, consumers want to be listened to and engaged in a dialog and not just hyped at. It no longer matters what you say about yourself. What matters is what others say about you.

Little question law firm websites are advertising. Doesn't matter if we're talking a five page website with biographical and contact information for a solo lawyer or a 2,500 page website chock full of articles and alerts for a huge firm. Websites are all about hyping the firm.

Long before we had law firm websites, we got work as lawyers by word of mouth. And after a decade of law firm websites, you'll still find the better lawyers telling you they get their best work by word of mouth.

One managing partner at a large law firm told me he wasn't sure his firm, despite a spending a huge sum on its website, ever really generated any business from the website. He told me it was all about relationships with people and word of mouth.

Relationships and word of mouth are exactly what Qualman is talking about. Get those things going for you and are going to have clients coming to you on the recommendation of their peers. Whether it be a consumer, corporate executive, or in-house counsel hiring you, one of the big reasons you get hired is a recommendation from one of their peers.

I am not saying throw out your law firm's website, but as we move into day and age where the Internet, via social networking and social media, allows lawyers to engage, network, and develop a reputation as a trusted and reliable authority, it seems websites viewed by the public will be increasingly less effective. Agree? Share your comments?

Tags: , , , ,