Texas Lawyer : Time for lawyers to get in social media game

Jeff Jubelirer, a media relations consultant and an adjunct professor in communications at Temple University, writing for the Texas Lawyer, says the number one question he gets from clients is whether they or their organization should “be on” or “use” social media.

The answer is pretty obvious per Jubelirer:

The fastest growing communications tool is social media. According to the Pew Foundation, 65 percent of all U.S. adults use social media and 13 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.

And the benefits are many.

First, social media allows you to deliver an unfiltered message to your target audiences. In the past, you counted on the “mainstream media” — e.g., broadcast news, daily newspapers, radio shows — to filter your message and deliver it to their audiences. You hoped that they would report positively on your story or news, or at least that they would report bad news fairly or with balance.

Today, while working with the media remains an incredibly important strategy for delivering a credible third-party message, you have the ability to bypass them and deliver a message directly to your audiences through social media….

Second, social media stimulates relationships. In the past, you were hard-pressed to know how people seeing, hearing or reading your story felt about it. Today, you can get instant feedback when you post your news on your Facebook or Twitter page, or upload onto YouTube or your website….

Third, social media is democratic. Everybody with an Internet-based cellphone or website connection on their iPad — let alone the “archaic” desktop computer — can participate….

I’m with Jubelirer. The sentiment towards social media and the desire to understand how to use social media is skyrocketing.

It used to be small audiences I’d be speaking to re blogging and social media. Today rooms of lawyers and legal professionals listening to my talks are packed. And the audience is highly engaged with lots of questions – they want to know about social media and how other lawyers are experiencing success using social media.

Breakout sessions on Twitter, Linkedin, and Bloggiing were swamped at my University of Michigan Bar presentations earlier this month. The same for a law firm retreat I presented to and did breakout sessions at last weekend.

More interesting it’s not the kids. It’s not the younger lawyers. Most foolishly believe they know how to use social media for business development when they have not have not a clue.

It’s the law firm’s senior lawyers and the firm’s management with the greatest interest in social media and who are most excited to get me to their firms and associations to speak.

As rainmakers who have gotten their best work by word of mouth and relationships, these leaders are learning social media is about the same thing – networking, relationships, and word of mouth.

These leaders have the most to gain via social media with their years of legal experience, they’re looking to keep up with competitor law firms, and they’re looking to leave a law firm legacy via their younger lawyers learning how to compete in the Internet age.

It is time for lawyers to get in the social media game. For many lawyers, they don’t have a choice.