Real Lawyers Have Blogs : Law Blogs, Blawgs, Law Firm Marketing

A new study from the Pew Research Center confirms what lawyers should already know. People are doing lawyer background checks with search engines.

Not a study solely about lawyers, but one that finds nearly one-in-five adult internet users (19%) say they have searched for information about co-workers, professional colleagues or business competitors with an online search engine. Searches are also being done on people users are meeting for the first time as well as those who we're considering hiring.

You've got to believe the number of people doing such background checks increases when you have two additional factors in play, as is the case with lawyers. The need to place great trust in the person being searched. The higher the amount being charged by the person being searched.

Ask yourself what people are finding when they search you. If it's only your website and directory listing or two, you're in trouble.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

News of social media challenging traditional media comes from JD Lasica citing a 82 page whitepaper released by Universal McCann. (Click on 'Wave 3' on home page for copy)

The report finds Social media, and blogs in particular, are becoming a more important part of global media consumption for Internet users than some traditional media channels.

Key findings include:

• 78% of Internet users read blogs, up from 66% in the last study
• 57% of Internet users are now members of a social network
• RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15% to 39%
• Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48%

It's like I told law firm PR professionals last week in Chicago. Ask your attorneys under age 35 if they they subscribe to the major local newspaper. Ask them if they're considering do so. You're likely to get a question in response. 'Why would I?'

For a growing portion of our population news from social media whether it be from blogs or links to news stories shared by 'friends' on social networking sites is their preferable source of news.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

From ReadWriteWeb comes word of a new report from Universal McCann, a top 10 global media company, that social media, in particular blogs, are "becoming a more important part of global media consumption for internet users than some traditional media channels."

Key findings from the survey of 17,000 Internet users worldwide:

• 83% watch video clips, up from 62% in the last study in June 2007
• 78% read blogs, up from 66%
• 57% of internet users are now members of a social network
• RSS consumption is growing rapidly up from 15% to 39%
• Podcasts are now mainstream digital content, listened to by 48%

Sounds amazing that the more people could rely on blogs as a media source than newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV. But maybe not with the Internet being the top source of news for 50% of Americans.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Lawyers who start blogs continue to post to those blogs. Unlike other bloggers, lawyers don't start blogs, lose interest, and let their blogs die.

LexBlog's recent research indicates that 85% of blogs started in our legal profession are maintained. Only 15% of blogs go months without a post.

How'd we arrive at that? As part of a new service LexBlog expects to launch next month, we're compiling a list of active blogs being published by those in the legal industry - practicing lawyers, law professors, students, law librarians, legal marketing & knowledge management professionals, vendors, etc.

Going in, we thought we'd find over 2,000 law blogs. That was based on information from the ABA Journal that they had about 2,000 law blogs in their blog directory and were adding about 4 per day. However, our editors found only 1,700 to 1,800 active law blogs. Blogs that hadn't posted in months were not included in our census.

When I first heard the numbers I thought that's a lot of law blogs not being maintained. But looking at it percentage wise, that's 85% of law blogs going strong (admittedly some are much more active than others). From what I understand that's a much higher percentage of blogs being maintained as compared with blogs in general.

Tom Mighell, lawyer and blog pioneer, should be glad to hear that his numbers from 3 years ago remain as accurate today. He posted 3 years ago next month, of the '...blawgs I have been tracking, almost 85% are still going strong.'

The premise of Tom's post was whether we lawyers will be blogging in 5 years. Looks like it's going to happen.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

2008 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey.

Picked up from JD Lassica that per a Zogby Poll, 67% of Americans view traditional journalism as out of touch. The Internet is now the top source of news for nearly half of Americans.

No wonder lawyers are finding legal blogging so effective in reach clients, potential clients, and others in their target audience. These folks are turning to the Internet for information. And lawyers blogging on niche areas of the law are kicking out exactly what Americans are looking for when it comes to the law.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The legal industry notoriously lags other industries when it comes to innovative use of technology. Not with blogs. Blogs may just be the first innovative technology that law firms have adopted at the same pace as other American businesses.

5% of businesses with fewer than 100 employees have blogs (American Express survey). With about 40,000 small law firms and 2,000 lawyer blogs, our profession is right on pace.

Don't look at the 5% figure as evidence of slow uptake for blogs as some in the media have done. Blogs have only been used by businesses since 2004. One in twenty businesses already blogging is tremendous growth.

Websites were first used in 1991. When I launched a law firm website in 1996, I don't think there were 500 law firm websites. Other law firms thought I was nuts and couldn't imagine their firm ever having use for a website. By 2000, 98% of firms had websites.

Blogs are here to stay. Lawyers who fail to join the conversation among thought leaders in their niche will be conspicuous by their absence.

Expect steady growth in law firm blogging in the coming years. Not meteoric rise in the short term but it give it a decade like websites.

As Bill Gates says 'People always overestimate how much will change in the next three years, and underestimate how much will change over the next 10 years.'

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In 2005, there were 9 million blogs, with about 40 thousand new ones each day. Technorati now indexes 112 million blogs, with 120 thousand new ones appearing each day.

Lawyers blogging to spread word of their expertise often presume the goal is to reach key influencers. The idea being to have A-list bloggers and the traditional media cite you or your blog, the implication being that such key influencers are tacitly endorsing you as an authority to their many followers.

But Guy Kawasaki discovered an article in the December issue of the Journal of Advertising Research (online summary) finding 'common word-of-mouth advertising by regular folks is more powerful than 'key influencers.'

The study was co-authored by James Coyle, assistant professor of marketing at Miami University's Farmer School of Business, Elizabeth Lightfoot of CNET Networks, and Ted Smith and Amy Scott of MedTrackAler. They surveyed website visitors, conducted in-depth reviews, and analyzed website usage patterns. Coyle's conclusion:

'We find that trying to track down key influencers, people who have extremely large social networks, is typically unnecessary and, more importantly, can actually limit a campaign or advertisement's viral potential. Instead, marketers need to realize that the majority of their audience, not just the well-connected few, is eager and willing to pass along well-designed and relevant messages.'

Guy was a little more blunt:

I think that most key influencers are pompous, insecure jerks who take themselves way too seriously. And I say this knowing that you can rightfully accuse me of being one of them. The marketing lesson is this: Create something great, sow fields (not window boxes), 'let a hundred flowers blossom,' and pray that 'regular folks' will spread the word.

I agree. Sowing my message that effective law blogging enhances your image and grows your business has blossomed more as a result of average folks like me spreading the word than via reaching the key influencers. We've all grown up with the desire to make the cover of the 'Rolling Stone,' but it may not be necessary.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link