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As national borders disappear, the ability for global exchange of goods, services and information is creating boundless opportunities and challenges for the legal industry in the U.S. Law firms, regardless of size continue to expand across borders, collaborate with foreign counsel and form global mergers. New technologies such as websites, blogs, social networking sites, listservs and email have made it easier to develop a global client base.

While the opportunities to do business abroad may be increasing the traditional view held by many law firms is that only large law firms have foreign clients. An online survey conducted by Walker Clark, LLC, demonstrated otherwise. The results from the survey indicated that firms with less than 20 attorneys have foreign clients.

At a two-day conference on International Corporate Social Responsibility, held in New York City, Elizabeth Wall, an attorney and GC who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic stated that in today's  24/7 fast-paced global community, all attorneys need to develop global characteristics.

Here is a condensed version of those characteristics:

1. Take charge in a crisis.
2. Have another language in your marketing arsenal, or at a very basic learn a few practical expressions in the client's mother tongue.
3. Show an interest in current affairs domestic and international.
4. Network consistently, not just online networking, but breaking bread with important alliances of clients.
5. Political adroitness and diplomacy.
6. Cultural awareness. Take a course in foreign customs and behavior.
7. Communication, communication, communication at all levels.
8. Be knowledgeable of issues that may impact the client, for example corporate social responsibility.
9. Know the client's strategic vision.
10. Be unfailingly polite to everyone when in your client's office.

On review, many of these traits apply equally to attorneys who conduct business domestically. What really stuck out in Elizabeth's presentation was her point that a combination of soft and hard skill set was no longer a luxury but a necessity to survive in a global marketplace.

About SCG Legal PR Network

SCG Legal PR Network is a global network that connects lawyers as expert sources with reporters and features a 24/7-accessible database of legal experts from a variety of areas. Its team is comprised of former award-winning journalists whose experience spans over three continents and 30-plus years of experience in the field of journalism and public relations. The network was started by a former journalist, Paramjit Mahli, who has worked within news outlets like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Financial Post, CNN, CNNfn and The Journal of Commerce. For more information about the SCG Legal PR Network, please call 212-661-9137 or visit SCG Legal PR Network’s Web site at http://www.scglegalprnetwork.com.

With experts recently citing the official conclusion of the Great Recession as June 2009, companies are slowly beginning to stabilize after an 18-month downturn that left 55 percent of Americans recovering from a mix of hardships.

Even after the gloom and doom has officially ended, law firms are still recovering from that difficult period. Now the question is how should companies spend their resources as they get back on their feet?  Should they invest in advertising, blogging, attending trade shows etc.? Or should they review current marketing plans and update them as necessary?

To be candid, all of these lead-generation methods have their advantages, but, there are other actions attorneys can take, in their legal practices, that are more likely to produce more bang for your buck when things are slow.
Here are some areas to review in your legal practice:

1. How frequently do you reach out to your professional networks? How well do you maintain your extended networks?
2. Harvard Business School research found that a 5-percent increase in customer loyalty can lead to 40 percent to 90 percent increases in the lifetime value of that customer relationship. You need to earn your customers’ loyalty. What are you doing to improve your client systems?
3. Are you perceived as the expert in your niche? If not, what concrete actions steps are you taking? Do you know where to begin to start building your expert status?
4. Review your strategic plans. Slow times are a great time to review your plans and see if you are still on track.
5. Are you taking opportunities of collaborating with strategic partners and authoring articles for local papers and trade journals. If so, how are you leveraging them?
6. Are the systems in your legal practice operating efficiently like a well-oiled machine? If not, what area needs improvement? Your marketing? Public relations? Managing clients? Are you still searching for a system that works for you?
7. Is the press calling to quote you? When was the last time a reporter called you?
8. Do prospects get to see and hear you up close and personal? How often and where are you speaking?
9. Reviewing all these different areas of your law practice and discovering where weaknesses lie are far more likely to be  productive and dollar cost effective instead of trying new marketing strategies and hoping they will work.

About SCG Legal PR Network

SCG Legal PR Network is a global network that connects lawyers as expert sources with reporters and features a 24/7-accessible database of legal experts from a variety of areas. Its team is comprised of former award-winning journalists whose experience spans over three continents and 30-plus years of experience in the field of journalism and public relations. The network was started by a former journalist, Paramjit Mahli, who has worked within news outlets like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Financial Post, CNN, CNNfn and The Journal of Commerce. For more information about the SCG Legal PR Network, please call 212-661-9137 or visit SCG Legal PR Network’s Web site at http://www.scglegalprnetwork.com.
 

There are a couple of conversations taking place on different listservs that are all discussing the same issue: common marketing mistakes in the legal industry. Of course, there is nothing new here, but it is surprising the disconnect that exists between knowing what one should be doing in one's legal practice and actually doing it.
Here are a few of the most common marketing mistakes I've come across when talking to attorneys: 

• Failing to plan. You don’t have to draw out a huge, elaborate plan, but outlining what you need to accomplish and the steps to getting there are basic elements of good legal marketing.
• Failure to execute the plan. Even when attorneys prepare marketing plans, they sometimes fall off the map when trying to execute the objectives. Who is responsible for implementing? What sort of benchmarks are in place to monitor progress? Who’s in charge of measuring progress?
• Failure to get professional help for the firm. Whether it be in a consultant for marketing, public relations or sales training, or an organizer to get those files and systems in order.
• Not enough face time with clients. Client testimonials are your most effective form of marketing, so the more positive face time you have with clients, the better reputation you will build.
• Focusing in the business rather than on the business. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day business, but stay invested in the grand scheme of the business and if it’s progressing.
• Failing to understand that lawyers are in the business of people, NOT law. The legal industry is a business that survives on quality customer service, so do not forget the importance of client relationships and satisfaction.

Action Item: Do any of these mistakes sound familiar? If so, what action steps will you take? What is your deadline for taking the step? What will you do after taking that step?

Finally, remember that Rome was not created in a day, but after a culmination of lots of planning, organizing and implementation. So don't get overwhelmed. Start with something small and build on that gradually.

About SCG Legal PR Network
SCG Legal PR Network is a global network that connects lawyers as expert sources with reporters and features a 24/7-accessible database of legal experts from a variety of areas. Its team is comprised of former award-winning journalists whose experience spans over three continents and 30-plus years of experience in the field of journalism and public relations. The network was started by a former journalist, Paramjit Mahli, who has worked within news outlets like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Financial Post, CNN, CNNfn and The Journal of Commerce. For more information about the SCG Legal PR Network, please call 212-661-9137 or visit SCG Legal PR Network’s Web site at http://www.scglegalprnetwork.com.

We've all experienced it at one time or another; particularly when you are debating whether to incorporate public relations into your firm's business-development efforts.

How many times have you read an article about a topic that fits in with your area of interest and legal expertise and felt disheartened and disappointed that you were not the person who was quoted in the piece?

Does this sound familiar?

But how could you be quoted if the reporter doesn't know who you are and what you do?

Well, the good news is that even though your firm may not incorporate a public relations plan, there is still a way to get your message and your name published in that publication. Follow the below steps to get your side of the story featured in the Op Ed section of publications.

Write a letter to the editor of the publication referencing the article and the date it was published. In the body of the letter, you have several options to choose from:

A. Present a different viewpoint from the original writer’s stance.

B. Agree with the original writer's viewpoint and expand on the issue. Just remember to keep this at a maximum of a few paragraphs.

C. Showcase your expertise by introducing a little-known fact or issue related to the subject of interest to the public. Bring something fresh to the conversation.

It is important to note that letters to the editor are published in the editorial section – a respected section of the newspaper. Simply put, by being included in the Op Ed pages, your letter will be accorded a great measure of credibility.

Finally, don't forget it is critical to write these letters concisely and succinctly. You have only a couple of short paragraphs to convey your opinions and thoughts.
 

In today’s 24/7 news environment, coupled with the increasing influence of blogs on media, attorneys are expected to provide counsel to clients when facing or anticipating a media firestorm. Though attorneys and journalists have often been at loggerheads, attorneys must have a basic skill set to work effectively with the media and be cognizant of their role in crisis communication plans. At their very basic form, these plans show the flow of information to constituents both internally and externally: media, clients, staff and other key groups involved.

Large-scale crises from recent years, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, Katrina, and the fires in Southern California, demonstrate how well-prepared the organizations involved were. No organization, business, government or high-profile individual is exempt from a crisis played out in the public arena. The Institute for Crisis Management’s 2009 annual report lists the industries that are most prone to crisis, with banking, security brokers, and the aircraft industry topping the list.


A crisis is essentially any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of an organization. Crisis can range from a class action lawsuit, a high-profile client involved in some criminal activity or a product recall to a manmade disaster.

They can be short or long-term. This could be an issue that internal staff are aware of but have not yet broken out in the public arena. What is certain, though, is that the lines of communication must be open during a crisis. Keeping the lines of communication open involve several strategies including legal and media strategies.

Having a one-sided strategy, such as winning in a court of law, will be minimized if the firm or the client’s reputation has been destroyed in the public opinion court.

To put it another way, if marketing and public relations builds brands and reputations, then crisis communication is all about prevention and/or minimizing the loss of reputation in the court of public opinion.

In the final outcome, an ounce of prevention is far better than reaction devaluing credibility, so therefore being prepared is critical. With that in mind, you need to have a couple of things in place: a crisis communication plan and crisis communication team. Crisis communication plans are templates; they provide an organization with the framework of who will be responsible for what when and if a crisis should occur. Without crisis communication plans—whether you are a solo attorney, a law firm representing a high-profile client, or a law firm representing a large corporation—you will be viewed as inept.

It’s also important to note that these templates must be fluid, because each crisis will be different. Adjustments to the crisis communication plans will be necessary, as these are living organisms.

Paramjit L. Mahli is with award winning SCG Legal PR Network. She is a former journalist who has worked with CNN Business News, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and Journal of Commerce. Comprised of small and large firms, SCG Legal PR Network connects legal experts with reporters nationally and internationally. Ms. Mahli is a contributor to Legal Broadcast Network and writes frequently for Technolawyer. She also trains and gives CLEs  regularly on media relations.

As we pass the midpoint of 2010, do you feel that your practice is forging ahead or is in a state of regression? If you think that your practice needs a reboot it may behoove you to sign up for a FREE tele-seminar that will help you regenerate your productivity and your profits.  On July 27, 2010 at 5 pm EST, Paramjit L. Mahli and Allison C. Shields will be presenting “Lawyers: Is Analysis Paralysis Costing You Time and Money?”, a seminar dedicating to putting you back on the right track.

For information follow this link.

Public relations is the art of changing perceptions. One is managing, building and/or changing perception with groups or stakeholders whom the success of a business is highly dependent on. Stake holders or interest groups may include:

•    The press
•    Current clients
•    Prospects
•    Trade and industry groups—essentially anyone who can assist in the growth of business

All these relationships are managed, guided and steered effectively by good public relations practitioners. How many times have you heard the expression: “It’s all about perception.” Look what happened to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani after September 11. His reputation literally skyrocketed into the stratosphere.
Well, good public relations is all about perceptions. A note of caution: public relations is not only about putting seminars together, getting published, speaking or sending out an odd news release to the media. What good public relations does is change behavior. This, in turn, facilitates business growth. For example, your firm may want to:

•    Be seen in a more favorable light to an important target group. (This could be the firm’s ideal client target market)
•    Demonstrate how the firm’s services are different from its competition’s
•    Communicate effectively the firm’s participation in a particular community that is critical to the growth of the firm
•    Showcase attorneys in the firm who are experts—those at the top of their game in a specific area of law

If you’re still not clear, ask yourself when was the last time you or another attorney in your firm received a call from the press regarding input on a story they were working on? When were you last invited to speak by a trade or industry group? When was the last time your work was published? Remember the old axiom of “publish or perish.” It’s a critical component in building your firm’s reputation.
Finally, something that I come across all the time, particularly in the legal field, is don’t confuse public relations with advertising. One is based on building credibility, visibility and reputation through third-party endorsements. The other is essentially paying to be seen and heard.
Each tactic has its merits. One thing is for certain, regardless of whether these strategies are implemented by in-house staff and or external agencies; success is dependent on the right hand knowing what the left hand is doing. Otherwise, it will be yet another case of throwing things at the wall and hoping that one of them sticks!

Paramjit L. Mahli is with award winning SCG Legal PR Network. She is a former journalist who has worked with CNN Business News, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and Journal of Commerce. Comprised of small and large firms, SCG Legal PR Network connects legal experts with reporters nationally and internationally. Ms. Mahli is a contributor to Legal Broadcast Network and writes frequently for Technolawyer. She also trains and gives CLEs  regularly on media relations.
 

Marketing Lessons Learned continued...

3. Owning a law firm is really having three businesses: finding, minding and grinding the business. Where in your experience have you seen significant strides made?

TD: Our focus at Small Firm Business was really on the finding and minding stages. Finding relates to all of the points mentioned above. Regarding minding, I think the key issue there is the application of technology. Lawyers have to determine which applications might actually benefit their practices and improve client service. There are a tremendous number of tech “bells and whistles” being sold, but not all of them are of universal appeal. Also weighing on a firm’s tech decisions are pressures from both the clients and peer firms.

Clients will expect firms to have certain tech capabilities, particularly corporate clients. Firms also need to be mindful of what competing firms are doing on the tech front, lest they appear to be outmoded and somehow unable to serve clients as effectively.

4. Do you see any generational differences towards marketing? (For
example, younger crowds are a lot more open to marketing than those who are 60-plus and set in their ways.)

TD: There may be some older attorneys who still object to marketing as somehow being inappropriate for a lawyer, but I think most have come around and at the very least understand that things have changed. Though this doesn’t mean that they’re becoming bloggers, instead they’re pursuing more traditional marketing. I tend to see marketing as more of a personality issue rather than a generational one. We all know some people who appear to be “born marketers.” And that’s in no way pejorative. What I think it means is that there’s a certain comfort level and confidence that comes across when speaking to these people.

At the same time, some people are uncomfortable talking about themselves if it seems like it could be self-interested. So I think lawyers have to assess what their strengths are and what their comfort zones are. Partners in a small firm could play off of one another’s strengths to see that their firm gets the most exposure in a way that everyone supports and no one dreads.

A heartfelt thank you to Trevor Delaney for doing this interview. Currently he is the Personal Finance Editor at Black Enterprise.

Paramjit L. Mahli is with award winning SCG Legal PR Network. She is a former journalist who has worked with CNN Business News, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and Journal of Commerce. Comprised of small and large firms, SCG Legal PR Network connects legal experts with reporters nationally and internationally. Ms. Mahli is a contributor to Legal Broadcast Network and writes frequently for Technolawyer. She also trains and gives CLEs  regularly on media relations.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Trevor Delaney, former editor of Small Firm, Inc., an ALM publication about law firm marketing, specifically what problems and issues firms have concerning marketing. Here is an excerpt from that Q&A:

1. What are some of the biggest issues facing small law firms?

TD: A key issue for many small firm lawyers is — and I imagine always will be — how they can most effectively market their firms. Not surprisingly, the struggle largely stems from time-management issues. Attorneys want to know how they can most effectively utilize their marketing time and dollars, because there is no magic formula whereby attorneys would be guaranteed results; it just makes the decision making that much harder.

Add to the mix, blogging, podcasting and other ways that the Internet can be used to develop new business, and it becomes abundantly clear that marketing can be a complex decision. Ultimately, it’s a matter of weighing the nature of the practice, the expense, and what marketing efforts the attorney can be enthusiastic about, e.g., sending out a firm newsletter is only effective if there’s someone committed to making it work, each and every time.

2. As far as resistance towards marketing and business development, what changes have you seen during the life of Small Firm Inc.?

TD: While working on Small Firm Business, my sense was the more lawyers were trying to figure out ways to make marketing a more planned aspect of their business plans. Initially as I began to talk with lawyers, many seemed to take an ad hoc approach to marketing, e.g., an attorney might give a speech or make a presentation if the opportunity crossed her desk.

Increasingly I’m hearing about lawyers taking a more proactive approach, and taking the time to fill in some of the obvious gaps in their approaches to marketing. For instance, I think over time you’ll see more small firms setting up Web pages. I’m still surprised by the number of firms that don’t, because the Net has become the starting point for so many of us in any kind of purchase we might consider making.

Check back tomorrow for more marketing tips from Trevor Delaney.

With more and more law firms understanding the value of public relations and incorporating it to their business development arsenal, it is essential that paralegals, officer managers and attorneys doing their own media relations and wearing multiple hats be familiar with the very basic tools of communicating with the press.

There are a vast array of tools that law firms can use when communicating with the press. The story/pitch must be newsworthy for the reporter to write about it. Below are tools you can use to garner media interest:

1. Fact Sheets: these provide reporters with the data they need to support their story.
2. Press Release/News Release: these should announce something new, a piece of legislation, something that is going to have an impact on the community. Always ask yourself "tell me, something I don't know." Keep it short.
3. Media Advisories: Typically they can be used to alert reporters what legal experts are available to talk to the press on specific issues.
4. Letters to the Editor: Even though your firm may not incorporate a public relations plan, there is still a way to get your message and your name published in that newspaper. How many times have you read a newspaper article about a topic that is your area of interest and legal expertise —and felt disheartened and disappointed that you were not the person who was being quoted?

Paramjit L Mahli is with award winning SCG Legal PR Network. She is a former journalist who has worked with CNN Business News, Canadian Broadcast Corporation and Journal of Commerce. Comprised of small and large firms, SCG Legal PR Network connects legal experts with reporters nationally and internationally. Ms. Mahli is a contributor to Legal Broadcast Network and writes frequently for Technolawyer. She also trains and gives CLEs  regularly on media relations.
 

In this episode of the The Legal Beat Tip of The Day, Personal Injury attorney, Gerald Oginski, discusses marketing his legal services. After years of investing in traditional marketing and advertising, Gerald focused his efforts online with viral video media. Go Lawline.com soon to view Gerald Oginski's full course.

    Social media and the internet offer unprecedented opportunity for attorneys and all professionals.  While everyone should recognize these potential benefits, they should not forget the possible downfalls that also exist.
      Publishing something on the internet places it there forever.   It also makes it accessible by an infinite amount of people.  Attorneys often do not realize that unfavorable information may be available about them.  In terms of social media, they may often be the ones who are actually posting the content.
      A recent article in the ABA Journal notes that BigLaw Associates “Google” all candidates before considering them for a position.  Most companies do this as it offers insight into the individual that they are considering for a position.  It can easily be assumed that potential clients will do the same.  On the internet, almost everyone is a public figure.  Attorneys must pay attention to the information that they make available and, if necessary, control it.

What Can You Do?

1) Regular Checks on Major Search Engines
Not just to boost your ego….search your name and make sure that there is nothing you wouldn’t want others to see.   If there is content that you control (such as a blog post, twitter, etc.), you can probably erase it easily.  If not, you may have to contact website administrators.

2) If it’s Personal, Make it Private
If you plan to post pictures partying with friends, don’t make your Facebook or MySpace profiles public.  The same goes for blogging and Twitter.  When using them for personal use, limit the visibility to just your friends so that they are the only ones who see it.

3) Use an Alias
If you really have something that you want to share on the internet, but you believe it can potentially put you in an unfavorable light, use a different publishing name.  You can easily create an alternate e-mail address and/or social media account so that way you can still receive feedback on this content.

These are just some tips on what you can do to control the content that is available on the internet.  Anything you post that has your name on it can be associated back to you.  Comments should always be as neutral or inoffensive as possible, because you never know when they may resurface.

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 25 of our blog series on social media for attorneys…

That’s how I have started each blog post in this series, and it is how I wanted to start the last one too.  The social media series has reached the end of section 1, having covered the fundamentals of everything from Twitter and LinkedIn, to viral marketing and recruiting, to blog content.

This content has been so popular that we have decided to expand on it.  We are organizing the information from the first 24 blog posts into a book to be published and distributed by Lawline.com.  Look for that later this summer.

In addition, we will introduce the 2nd section of the blog series right here on the Legal Beat later this summer as well.  Section 2 will hopefully include some more dynamic features such as video and image sharing.  In addition, we will dive into more details regarding the specifics of interaction with others on the web.

For now, take a look back the first 24 parts of the series that have gotten so much attention around the internet.  Below is a link to each post with a basic description.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA SERIES as it stands today:

Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys: This post introduces the purpose of the series and explains what we hope to accomplish with regard to educating attorneys about the social web.

Part Two – Signing up for the Networks: This post takes you through the networks that we think every attorney should at least look into and why.

Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source: This post introduces blogs, explains what they are, where they came from, and how you can take advantage of the ones that exist.

Part Four – Start Blogging Today: This post expands on the previous one, by explaining how and why you should start your own blog and get involved in social media.

Part Five – Introduction to Twitter: This post provides a basic understanding of Twitter, the most popular micro-blogging platform on the web.

Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn: This post gives you the fundamentals of LinkedIn, a network for professionals, and tells you how you can use it to your advantage.

Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool: This post introduces the idea that you can use all the various social networks to communicate with more people than was ever possible before social media.

Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs: This post explains how and why you should submit your blog to various catalogs for organizing and promoting your own blog posts.

Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work: This post explains how you can use social media in your public relations efforts, whether you take care of it in house or you outsource it.

Part Ten – Lend us your Comments: This is a call for feedback from those of you reading the posts and trying out social media for the first time.

Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing: This post lays out the concept of viral marketing and explains how the social web is responsible for the spread of ideas more so than anything else.

Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0: This post outlines some of the newer question and answer platforms that allow experts to answer the questions of anyone online.

Part Thirteen – The Big Picture: This post shows 5 different trends that go to prove that social media is more than just a fad.

Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs: This post is meant to outline how you should be interacting with readers of your blog as well as other bloggers in your area to add value and get noticed.

Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks: This post covers the basics of communicating back and forth with people anywhere on the social web.

Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks: In this post, we introduce the idea of social networks as great recruiting tools for you and your practice.

Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job: This post expands on the previous one by showing how you can use the social web to make yourself look good to future and potential employers.

Part Eighteen – Video Resumes: This post goes to supplement the one before it by laying out the basics of a movement towards online video resumes and their effect on job searches.

Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media: This post takes a look around the web to find what others are saying about social media trends and habits.

Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital: This post lays out some basic ideas for how to come up with unique and valuable content for your blog to get you noticed.

Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming: This is a comment on another post that I read from a law student who writes about social media, and it theorizes that social media will only get more popular among lawyers as the next generation joins the field.

Part Twenty Two – NYSBA Journal Headline: This post comments on an article in the New York State Bar Association Journal on lawyers who use Twitter.

Part Twenty Three – Future Networks: This post presents the idea that social networks will continue to form and grow, and shows you why you never need to worry about being the first to join new communities.

Part Twenty Four – Using Social Media to Promote: This post goes through an example of someone selling a book, and covers an entire range of ways to use social media to help you do that.

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 24 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will talk about getting the word out on something you’ve done.

To start, I will use an example of something you may want to use social media to promote.  Let’s say you wrote a book that you self-published on a topic related to your practice.  In order for the book to mean anything, you have to get it in front of people.  The more people that see it, the more important the book will be to you and your career.  It can help you get speaking gigs, promote you as an expert in your field, and lead to new opportunities.

Social media is a great way to get the word out on your new book if you can do it in the right way.  The wrong way to do it is to simply blast messages like “Buy my book” to anyone and everyone who will read them.  This makes you sound annoying and desperate.  You have to be creative, be selective, and have a strategy involved.

The following are some things that can be done to help promote the book.  You can pick and choose what works for you from the list, but using multiple outlets with one succinct strategy is the best way to get more eyes on your prize.

1. Write an introduction to the book as a blog post.  Make it chapter 0.  It is the part of the book that is not part of the book.  Make it short and to the point, so those readers that see it will know that the topic is interesting and understandable.  Give a link to purchase the book from your site or from Amazon.com.

2. Release an E-book.  Create an E-book copy of the book that you can promote online.  There are two options here.  Either you can create an exact copy of the physical book and sell it online, or you can create a dumbed down version and give it away for free to entice people to buy the real thing.  If your goal is to make money directly from sales of the book you will probably want to charge for the e-book, though it may be a tough sell because most e-books are free today.

3. Run a contest to give away free copies of the book.  Leverage your blog readers and Twitter followers to announce a promotion for free copies of the book.  Make it creative; for example, you can ask trivia questions on the book’s topic via Twitter and give away copies to correct responders.

4. Contact bloggers who do book reviews.  Send them free copies of the book and tell them you would love them to review it.  In the package that you send them write a personalized letter thanking them.  The more people who review the book, the more people will hear about it.  All press is good press, so don’t worry about negative reviews too much.

5. Take some quick video of you at events with the book in hand.  Get people to give a quick review and post the videos to YouTube.  Then embed the videos back on your blog and ask for other people to send in their own video reviews.  This will make those people that do buy the book feel a part of a community of readers that you have created.

6. Finally, use your blog to announce that you are coming out with an extended version of the book in the near future, and ask for submissions.  Allow people that book the book to write a page or two that will be featured in the new book, at your discretion of course.  This type of collaborative effort will create new voices that will champion your work for you.  These evangelists can help spread the word and get others involved.

There are hundreds of things that you can do online to spread the word about something.  If you spend some time to think about how this news, or product, or service will benefit other people, then create a social media strategy based on that idea, the doors will fly open for you. 

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media
Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital
Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming
Part Twenty Two – NYSBA Journal Headline
Part Twenty Three – Future Networks

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 23 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will discuss what to do as new forms of social media become available.

It is well understood that the social media websites and services that we are using today will eventually give way to bigger and better versions of themselves.  Either the service will change and get more advanced, or there will be new competitors in the space that will become more popular.  It is important now to plan out how you will address these “advances” in the social media realm.

For many of the lawyers using social media, and following along in this series, you are using it mainly to broaden your online voice and build awareness about yourself and your practice.  Because of this, there is no race to be an early adopter of the next big thing in the social media space.  You want to “locate” yourself where you will have access to the most people, which means the more popular sites and networks.  So as new companies join the race toward more complete online communities, you can feel comfortable letting them come and go, only taking notice when they start to grow.

The “tech-sters” and social media experts will jump from new service to new service.  They will try them, grade them, and most likely move on.  That is, unless enough people find a new site that much better than an existing one.  Then a crowd will start to form, the service will grow, and more people will start to talk about it.  That is when you will want to take notice, maybe give a trial run, and see what it’s all about.

But, a warning, if you do decide that there is a new site out there that you need to become active in, don’t leave your old accounts to rust.  Stay active, continue to connect with people through writing and conversing.  Obviously you don’t want to spread yourself so thin that you are spending so much of your time worrying about social media, but it is a good idea to keep up with those sites and networks that are working.

So do not fear as you look toward your future in our online world.  When the right opportunities come along, you will hear about them.  Just keep listening, and keep growing your networks.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media
Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital
Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming
Part Twenty Two – NYSBA Journal Headline

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 22 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will take a look at an article that was published in this month’s edition of the New York State Bar Association Journal.

The cover article is titled “Look Who’s Talking: Legal Implications of Twitter Social Networking Technology”, by Steven C. Bennett.  It is always great to see a prominent legal publication run a story on social media, especially when they go and make it the cover.  And this article really touches on some important points that lawyers need to know about the service.  Follow the link to read a copy of the article online.

My favorite quote from the piece comes right towards the end.  “The only reliable means to cope with new technologies like Twitter is to embrace an understanding (if not a use) of such technologies, to participate actively in efforts to understand how such technologies may modify legal regimes, and to help clients formulate best practices to control and exploit such technologies.”

Mr. Bennett displays an understanding of Twitter, and does a nice job of combining thoughts on how to use the service in a legal sense with the idea that there is a lot of “yet-to-be-written” law about what you can and cannot say in such online conversations.  Some key takeaways include the future of legal ethics regarding communication over social media and using Twitter messages as part of the discovery process.

After I read it I decided to do a little research, and found that the NYSBA was on Twitter over at www.twitter.com/NYSBA.  I would have been a little disappointed if they had not been.  It’s good to see that more and more bar associations and legal authorities are getting involved, recognizing that social media is a powerful tool, and something that needs to be accepted and addressed in the legal community.  At Lawline.com, we’d like to think it is partly because of the efforts of this blog and others like it!

Articles like this one by Mr. Bennett are just the beginning of the examination process, whereby laws and procedures will be written and practiced as they pertain to social media.  And though this blog series has tended to focus on the implementation side of social media for lawyers, the future of the written law in this area is just as important.  So we will be sure to keep up with any updates.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media
Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital
Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 21 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on our youth, the up and coming lawyers in the world.

Technology has always been something that changes very rapidly, and today that is more true than ever, especially in the legal community.  Today’s law students will inevitably be more familiar with the possibilities that social media holds than older generations of lawyers.  So that means that this shift toward social media in the legal community should get a huge push as this generation of new lawyers make their way through the ranks.

This post, over at Social Media Law Student, shows that many of the country’s top Law Schools are getting involved on Twitter.  That is a step in the right direction, and one that should not go unnoticed.  As law schools realize that social media is a necessary part of branding and recruiting, they are realizing that the legal profession is headed the way of the rest of the world, online.  And their students already know this, so it should be no surprise to see a rise in interest from the schools themselves.

As these new “lawyers” graduate and join the ranks of those that came before them, the legal community will be in for an awakening.  This “new media revolution” which has started in other industries means a new way of doing things.  It provides new channels of communication, more efficient systems, and unique promotional opportunities.

With it will come a rise in new areas of the law that focus solely on the internet and communication.  New ethics rules will be written to handle communication by lawyers in the online world.  Big changes are coming, and it is this next generation of lawyers that will bring them to the forefront of the legal community.

In other industries, there has been resistance to this type of a change.  But in most cases, new technology and social media can not be fought, it is a natural movement toward the future.  And the law will be no different.  Acceptance of new media by major law firms, bar associations, and lawyers who are currently practicing will be the deciding factor in whether or not this transition is smooth or more complex.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media
Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital

Back in the old days, law firms were built on “old-boy networks” and schmoozing over cocktails at the golf course. But those methods are no longer in Vogue in the 21st century. Instead despite firms closing and laying off attorneys daily, there are firms who are seizing the marketing opportunities available to them. These firms are discussing about profile building, and brand equity rather than gin and tonic. They understand differentiating yourself/law firm is very important. Differentiation helps not only with bringing in new clients BUT helps with attracting and retaining good staff.

A proactive solid public relations plan helps in the process of differentiation and is a MUST for law firm business development strategy, regardless of size. Getting quoted in news stories, both in targeted industry publications and mainstream media, is one of the most cost-effective ways of securing exposure. A good public relations plan serves several purposes: it builds reputation and visibility, allows firms, practice areas and solo practitioners to become known, liked and trusted in their target market, and finally—and most importantly— helps to bring more business.

The three common ways to increase visibility are getting published, writing and getting quoted by the press.

Getting articles published in trade publications, magazines and newspapers have long been considered important benchmarks for building reputation as thought leaders and experts in a specific market for all businesses. It works very well for lawyers who don’t like the limelight but still need to get the word out about their firm or practice.

If you are doing your own marketing and public relations, then follow the guidelines below:

1. Come up with a couple of ideas that will be of interest to YOUR reader not you. Remember its all about your reader not you.
2. Identify a couple of publications your target market reads.
3. Review at least a couple of issues, before approaching the editor.
4. Approach the editor.

Like it or not, speaking engagements are a very important component of a public relations plan of any law firm intent on growth. Whether you fear public speaking, or your workload leaves little free time, it is important to find a way to make room for speaking.

Well-known marketers such as Dan Kennedy and countless others agree that speaking engagements are one of the fastest ways to get new clients. Firms need to expose their areas of expertise to prospective clients.

By speaking at conferences and forums put together by professional and industry trade groups, lawyers can increase their firm’s visibility and consequently its prospects for attracting new business. What speaking does is give the speaker special status, thus making it easier for speakers to meet prospects. Attendees expect speakers to reach out to the audience, in turn they give speakers respect and credibility.

Finally, consider becoming a resource for the press and getting quoted in press. We all have a love/hate relationship with the press. Yet survey after survey has shown that we the public pay far more attention to experts that are quoted than advertising that often supplements content.  Take a quick inventory, when was the last time a reporter called the firm? When was the firm/partner/lawyer quoted last? Do you have an online newsroom that has you bio with subject areas that you can talk to the press about?

Becoming known as an expert in one or more areas is only part of the equation; the other part is leveraging these opportunities successfully into other marketing activities. Articles, columns and/or bylines written by attorneys can be sent to prospects, strategic alliances and clients with the view of providing value, rather than circulating them with the intent of getting the attorney known. All published or sourced works can be included in newsletters and e-zines. They can be used as a basis for a speech or presentation to your target audience. And they should be added to your Web site.

Given today’s economic climate where every dollar spent is reviewed twice before spending is approved it is absolutely imperative to recognize and understand that building credibility and visibility does not happen overnight and rarely does it reap immediate results. It may take a nanosecond to destroy a reputation, but to build one takes work, effort and commitment from all the decision makers in the firm. However, with a sustained campaign working in conjunction with other marketing activities, public relations will reap huge dividends.

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 20 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will shift the focus back onto your blog.

Blogging can sometimes be a difficult task to keep up.  It is tough to come up with unique and interesting content all the time, especially when you are doing other things.  But remember, the key to writing a good blog, one that gains readers and gets attention, is content.  Without quality content, a blog is sure to fail.

So what can you do?  There are a number of things you can try to do to keep the content flowing and spice up your posts.

1. Comment on or highlight another blog.  Find blogs that you like or dislike, that you agree with or disagree with, and tell people why.  If you feature other blogs in your area, you will get noticed as an active member of the blogosphere.  You will also be providing valuable information to readers of your blog that do not necessarily know about this other blog.

2. Use video.  You can always embed video from anywhere on the web, or even your own content, in your posts.  If relevant, this is a great way to make the blog come to life, and changes the pace of each post to keep readers interested.

3. Create a poll.  Is there an issue that you wish to highlight?  If so, you can use free tools to create a poll and ask your readers to chime in.  This generates an interactive feeling on your blog that will be sure to get attention.  Then you can use the next post to discuss the results of your poll.

4. Highlight old posts.  If you have something to add on to an old post, do it in a new post.  Simply refer back to the old post with a link, and let people know of any updates on this subject.  Additionally, every so often it makes sense to do a top 3 or top 5 most popular older posts for new readers.  This clues them in to what other people have already read, and highlights some of your most important topics.

5. Open it up for posts by other people.  You do not have to be the only one writing your blog.  If there are other people in your practice, or people you know that have exciting topics to discuss, allow them to contribute.  Additionally, ask for reader submissions as well.  Featuring other people on the blog allows for more content, and is a great way to interact with other bloggers/lawyers.

There are many strategies out there to help you create great content.  The above suggestions are just a few.  Hopefully they can help you generate some interesting blog posts over the coming months.  Remember, though it is a huge cliché, content is king.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 19 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  What good would a blog series about social media be if we did not use the social web to highlight our ideas?  So this week we turn the focus outwards, and look at what some other people are saying about attorneys involved in social networking.

E-Justice put together a list of 50 social networking sites that lawyers should be aware of and operating on.  The list includes some well known names that we have discussed in past editions of this blog, and some lesser known sites that might be interesting to check out.

The ABA Journal wrote a blog post about lawyer blogs.  They claim that blogs are the cheapest way lawyers can grow their practice, and provide some first hand evidence to support it.

Bentley Tolk has written a great little post about the “Green” advantages of marketing via the internet.  This is a nice tie in to the other blog series we have been running on the legal community becoming more environmentally friendly.  There are some good points to think about here.

David Harlow’s Health Care Law Blog wrote a nice post answering all the questions you might have about Twitter.  Taking it one question at a time, this post will help jumpstart your mission to excel on the newest and hottest social networking tool.

Law Firm Blogger has a post that captures more of the big picture thinking that we like to address here.  The message, social networks may not be the answer to all your prayers, but if you can use them in such a way that gets you some positive attention and publicity, you are winning.

All of these blog posts show you just some of the attention that social media is getting in the legal community right now.  It is not a passing fad, and it is something that any lawyer should consider strongly if they want to grow their practice in the coming years.  Tomorrow’s lawyers need to learn tomorrow’s strategies today.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 18 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus we will continue our discussion on promoting yourself to potential employers.

In last week’s post, we discussed how you can use blogs and social networks to highlight your potential and accomplishments so that when it comes time to get a new job, you are more than ready to put your name out there.  This week, we will expand on that idea by diving into something that is relatively new, the video resume.

Video resumes are the wave of the future.  There are already a number of websites out there that promote the fact that job searches are more effective, for both the applicant and the hiring organization with video resumes.  They allow you to see not only a one sided list of accomplishments on one sheet of paper, they give you a feeling of how the person carries themselves, their personality and energy, and offers a more personal approach to recruiting.

In my opinion, everyone should set up a video resume now, because in the future it may be the norm.  Creating a video resume is very easy.  All you need is a type of digital camera, maybe a web cam or a Flip Camera.  Set it up in a quiet room in your house and just discuss the strong points of your personality, past accomplishments, reasons you’re a good hire, etc.  The best thing about a video resume is that it allows your personality to come out.  Don’t be afraid to stand out a little, this will convey something to a potential employee that a standard resume cannot.

Then, download the video onto your computer and edit it down to something that you can use.  An ideal length is somewhere between 3-5 minutes, because any video that is too long will just bore the viewer, and you will lose their attention very easily.  Make it quick and to the point.  You can download very simple editing software for free, or pay for something a bit more complex if needed.

Then, once you have your final product, upload it to the web.  Join a video resume hosting site, like the ones at Vault.com, HireVue, and ResumeVideo.  A simple Google search for the term “video resumes” will give you hundreds of sites that are entertaining the idea of including video resumes in future projects, which will tell you that this is a growing trend.

Also, you can post your video on your own sites.  Post it on your blog along with a copy of your standard resume so people have more to look at.  Or you can post it to a Facebook or LinkedIn page to get it more exposure.  Even uploading it to YouTube is a good idea, because from there you can just copy and place the link anywhere you want.

If all of this sounds too technically difficult, you can hire an IT professional or video editor at minimal cost.  You can also go online and find thousands of tutorials to help you get started on your own.  You will find that it is much simpler than you originally thought.

When you are ready to search for a new job, get the video some exposure by talking about it and sharing it with as many potential employers as you can.  It will get the word out that you are creative and a forward thinker.  And, if you provide the right content, it may land you an interview faster than any other method out there.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 17 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on the other side of recruiting, where you are the one trying to get a job.

Let’s face it, in any market, you always want to be prepared to move on to another job.  Whether you are changing your area of practice, moving up within a company, or moving to another firm for any reason, you will be in a position where you want a job.  And social networks have increased the amount of information that you can put out about yourself, and increased the ability that you have to reach out to potential employers.

By using social media, as we have said before, you are creating an online brand.  You are continuously adding to this image of yourself for all to see in the online world.  Well, when it comes time to get a job, having a solid image can do you a lot of good.

You can use the networks to continue to post your accomplishments, even using a Facebook page as your own personal online resume.  Tweet about cases you have worked on, successes that you have had, and new clients that you have taken on.  Update your status across all of your networks explaining that you are looking for a new position and what you are looking for.  Write a blog about what you have accomplished and what you are hoping to accomplish in a new position.

The great thing about the integration of the social web with the rest of the “old internet” is that all of these profiles are searchable.  Potential employers can find you, and they will.  Why not make it easier to find out about all the good things that you have to offer by putting them out there over time.  Don’t wait until it is too late and then rush to get it all out there.  Every week you should be adding stuff to your various profiles and pages on the web.

In a sense, by paying attention to how you might appear to potential employers at all times, you become your own recruiter.  You have a continuous stream of positive things to say about yourself, and the more that the information is on the web so that other people can see it, the more powerfully you can present yourself when it comes time to.

Soon we will come to a time when everyone is using the web to recruit and hire top talent, so it is important to get yourself in the game as soon as possible.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 16 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on using various forms of social media for recruiting.

Any good lawyer needs help.  Any good law firm needs lots of help.  And where do you go to look for that help?  More and more, people are looking to social networks and various other online sources to recruit talented workers.

I must have been thinking ahead when I posted this article just about a year ago about using the web as a recruiting tool.  Just one year later, the popularity of social networks as a means of recruiting potential employees is on the rise.

You never know when you are going to need to hire people, though in this economy it may be less frequently.  It is a good idea to have your professional network open to people who may be looking for jobs at all times.  For example, a simple status update on Facebook or Twitter can alert those people that know/follow you to the fact that you are hiring.  Additionally, a blog post about your open position can draw a lot of attention.

Job seekers are increasingly looking to the web for potential employers and opportunities, so it is a good idea to meet them there.  Using unique sources to find job applicants can increase the number of responses that you get for the open position, which usually leads to more qualified candidates.

As an example of how this can work, the Lawline.com summer internship spawned from online recruiting strategies.  We posted on our blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn that we were looking for interns with certain qualities and a defined skill set.  Within days we had hundreds of responses from interested college students and young professionals.  Now, we use these networks to announce all open positions at the company with tremendous success.

The recruiters and temp agencies already know the value in social networks, so why shouldn’t you use your knowledge of the social web to hop on board.  The more people use the internet for, the more attention you can get online.  Some simple announcements across your networks can go a long way to hiring your next team member.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 15 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on interactions that you will have on social networking platforms.

As a member of any social network, you’ll see that the interactions that you have with other people across that network are the most important part of creating and driving new business.  Clearly defined goals (ie. increased traffic or new clients) are helpful in determining how to conduct yourself on these networks.

For starters, with any social network account, it is very difficult to mix business with pleasure.  If you are using Facebook with any type of professional  focus, for example, do not also use that account for casual correspondence with family and friends.  Keep it professional.

Also, in conversations on various social networks, you never want to come off as doing too much self-promotion.  Many people that do this get “called out” for it by the community and lose their influence to connect and converse with people.  Be genuine, be interesting, help others, and help yourself a little bit in the meantime.

Here are some quick do’s and don’ts for Facebook and Twitter interactions that should help you…

Do: Reply to people on Twitter if they ask a question that you know the answer to.

Don’t: Reply to everyone saying “I agree”, no one cares.

Do: Send direct messages to Twitter followers after interacting with them to keep the conversation going.

Don’t: Automatically send direct messages to everyone who follows you saying “Thanks for the follow, check out my website”.

Do: Link your Facebook account to your blog and website.

Don’t: Send constant messages to people in your network with your most recent blog post.

Do: Reach out to people/companies in your network that you are interested in partnering or working with.

Don’t: Write on walls and comment on status updates with mindless dribble.

Facebook and Twitter, along with other social networks, are a great source of future business leads/partnerships.  Companies have found that using them to connect with customers and other businesses have lead to increase productivity, creativity, and customer satisfaction.  In law, it is clear that there is the potential to give your practice a boost using social media.  So use these tools to their greatest potential, and don’t exploit them with self-promotion.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 14 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on blog interaction techniques.

If you are a blogger, you probably have some interest in what other bloggers in your area are talking about.  This is the reason that most bloggers are also blog readers, hence the “community” of people and blogs we call the blogosphere.  The blogosphere has become a great place for casual interaction between people of varying opinions, goals and ideas.  And just like in any social interaction, there are a set of standard practices that have developed.

1. Comments – commenting on a blog should be used to add value to that post.  If you have an opinion that differs from that of the blogger, use the comments area to explain your view instead of trash the post.  This will start a good dialogue.  If you can expand on the bloggers points, do so in the comments so that other readers can learn more.  Using comments to say negative things about the blogger or to add meaningless information to link back to yourself are ways to get yourself ostracized in the blogosphere.

2. Reposting – a practice that is particularly controversial among blogs is the idea of reposting material.  Some blogs take their content of other blogs and news sources, reposting part of a post and linking it to the original.  In fact, I have a strong feeling that this post will eventually be reposted somewhere.  Though this is not necessarily unacceptable, it is bad practice.  You are much better off taking part of a post that you like, and writing something unique to go along with it.  But always give the original blogger credit and a link to that post.

3. Responding to comments – when people leave comments on your blog, take this as a compliment.  Whether the comment is good or bad, someone took time to read your full opinion and add their own.  Whenever possible, reply to their comment right below.  And, if they give their email address along with the comment, I would recommend writing them a quick email that thanks them for reading and adding their thoughts.  This shows that you genuinely value readers, and will make it much more likely that they will turn into a full time subscriber.

4. Blogrolls and Links – Use a blogroll, or links on your blog, to link your readers to other blogs that may interest them.  Many people abuse links, trying to help out friends who blog and get links back in return.  Although this may be a good search engine strategy, it may not be of much use to your readers.  Always remember, when adding a link, the best thing to do is think “If my reader clicks this, will they like it?”

Those are a few examples of how we can use blogs to interact with other people around the web.  Though there are many ways to use blog to our advantage, there are things that you should remember along the way.  Bloggers are people, and people are entitled to their opinions.  The social web is useful for debating and expanding upon ideas in a positive way.  It is our job to keep it that way.

Next week we will focus on interactions across other networks, including Facebook and Twitter.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 13 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on the big picture.

Social media is exploding.  It is connecting people that would have never been connected in the past.  It is opening up dialogue on important issues that never made it to the mainstream.  It is giving everyone a voice, and at the same time, teaching people how to use that voice.

Evidence that social media is bigger than we all thought:

1. Politicians are on Twitter.  Some members of Congress have started to use Twitter as a tool to spread messages about policies, opinions, and even day to day activities in Washington.  Even Barack Obama’s campaign team used Twitter to help spread his message before the election.  Check to see who is doing it here, http://tweetcongress.org/.

2. Businesses are using Twitter.  Some large companies have seen the benefit of using Twitter to communicate directly with customers.  Comcast uses it to handle online complaints and customer service issues.  Dell uses it to announce special deals.  Zappos uses it to discuss business strategy, upcoming promotion, and answer all questions from their customers.  JetBlue uses it to discuss flight times and schedule changes.

3. CEO’s are Blogging.  Many large companies have instituted corporate blogs to communicate both internally, and externally.  CEO’s are writing blogs to keep the public informed about what the company is doing, offering a more open atmosphere allowing customers to give feedback and hold companies accountable for their actions.

4. Companies on Facebook.  Over 10,000 companies are now using Facebook in some way.  Some, like JetBlue, have created fan pages to interact with customers.  Some, like Burger King, have started advertising through web applications.  Some, like Lawline.com, have started using it as an excellent recruiting tool.

5. LinkedIn is a huge success.  With 2008 revenue at close to $100 Million and rumors about an IPO, LinkedIn has exploded among both individuals and companies.  People use it to network and find jobs, and companies pay to have profiles for recruiting and brand recognition purposes.  It is one of the first truly profitable social media services.

These are just a few examples of the way social media is changing the world.  It is easy to see here that the future is shifting to online platforms, and those that do not get involved, run the risk of getting left behind.  As lawyers, you have the opportunity to gain an edge in your profession, one that is notoriously slow to change.

Next week we will return the focus to you.  We will go over specific examples of interactions on blogs, how you can take advantage of them, and avoid some mistakes that many new bloggers make.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 12 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on answering questions, the social media way.

Developed out of necessity, we used to have discussion boards and forums as a means of talking about common interests.  The online world would congregate to certain websites to discuss things, ask questions, find news, etc.  From there, we developed various other means of communication, leading to blogs, social networks, and question and answer services.

Question and answer services are a very basic way of asking the “world” a question, and letting the internet work for you.  If I log into one of these sites and ask “What is Twitter?”, hopefully someone out there will find that question and deliver an answer back to me.  Multiple people can answer the same question, and it can even start a whole discussion on the subject.

Using these services can help you label yourself as an expert in any field.  The more questions you answer, the more people will see your name associated with a certain topic.  The better your answers are, the more people will respect your opinion.  It all leads to a more credible online personality and can get you noticed by the online community.

Some sites that offer question and answer services are LinkedIn, which uses the power of their network connections to deliver questions to those who can answer them, Yahoo!, WikiAnswers, AnswerBag and AllExperts.  Each of these sites works basically the same, with various features and popularity making the biggest difference.  I would recommend logging in to one or two and cruising around, find some questions you can answer, and keep track of those discussions.

In addition, Twitter has started to replace these services in a lot of ways.  Look for people that are asking questions on Twitter and send them a reply or a direct message.  They will thank you for it and you will gain respect within that community.

Also, as an additional task, you can think about adding a service like this to your blog or website.  Include a place where people can ask questions to you or the community.  In this space, the subject of the questions can be narrowly defined to your area of practice or expertise.  Allow people to discuss various things they hear or see, including cases and laws.

Next week we will take a break from direct advice and focus on the larger picture of social media.  We will cover the current atmosphere involving the social web, where it is going, and what changes it is going to have on the rest of the world.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing

The following is a guest post written by Paramjit Mahli of The Sun Communication Group.  The Sun Communication Group is a full-service, boutique marketing and public relations company that works primarily with small law firms.

The economy maybe in the doldrums, and the natural inclination for businesses is to review areas where they can cut their budgets particularly marketing/pr budgets.  The irony of course, is during these turbulent economic times, business should actually be implementing their marketing/pr programs with more gusto than ever before. In fact, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) noted earlier last year:

“It is well documented that brands that increase (marketing) during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

It is more important to keep visible in the market place, particularly when competitors may be disappearing after cutting their budgets. All business is based on confidence and psychology.  And for people to do business with you, they have to like, know and trust you. PR is one of the best ways to get known and trusted.

Next time you are fortunate to have a reporter call consider some of the benefits of getting good press coverage:

1. Most clients like to see the firm's lawyer quoted in the news, particularly top tier press. Psychologically, it reinforces the belief that they made the right hiring decision.

2. Exposure increases business development opportunities.  Being quoted, interviewed, featured, or published in the media helps you gain visibility in the marketplace, and it confers that all important 'third-party credibility.'

3. Although our economy is going through some turbulent times, remember that what’s true for consumers of legal services is also true for lawyers looking for work; they prefer a firm that is perceived positively.

4. In high-profile cases/issues which draw media interest, an essential part of the job must be to make sure the media cover the story accurately and fairly. As with most people lawyers DO get a thrill out of seeing their own name getting ink.

5. Finally, public relations has a ripple effect, boosting the morale of other employees and instilling them with pride with the firm.

Of course, all of this is just empty rhetoric if PR plans are not implemented.
 
The Sun Communication Group has launched a very affordable service for those seeking public relations, SCG Legal PR Network. This service allows firms irrespective of size gain exposure to both national and non-legal media through a variety of opportunities.

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 11 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on viral marketing.

Viral marketing is a term used for the spread of an idea or movement from person to person.  This is a similar concept to word of mouth, but one that has taken on a whole new life of its own when used in the context of social media.  You can take advantage of networks and communities to get your message out to as many people as possible.

The term “going viral” simply refers to something that begins to spread rapidly across the web.  In many ways, a message or idea goes “viral” on its own.  But you can use the social media components that you learn in this blog series to facilitate that process.  Here is how:

1. Use Twitter to link to something that you want to spread with a short, exciting, and eye-catching punch line.  This way you’re followers will check it out.

2. Use your blog to either bring people in, or direct people out to where you want them to go.  The more links that you use, the better.

3. You can use your accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, or other networks to link back to either Twitter or you blog and create even more links.

4. Comment on other blogs with links back to your own blog, drawing readers from all over.

Things that will go viral are exciting and catchy.  Nobody is going to spread the word about something that is boring or common.  Make sure you have something unique to say, something that is worth spreading across the internet, and something that a lot of other people will find stimulating.

Some examples of things that are worth using the social media to spread are contests and promotions, new ideas, important published works, etc.  You can be creative.  And everything that you try to spread should be something that other people feel comfortable promoting as well.  Because no matter how much work you put in, the only way that something will really spread is if other people want to spread it too.

The more your name or your firm is associated with these ideas that spread across the internet, the more people will know who you are, increasing the likelihood of new business.  This is an important part of personal branding and the social web.

Next week we will dive into Question and Answer services, how they can help you “become an expert” and help drive traffic to your website.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 10 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on YOU.

Since the beginning of this blog back in December, we have received some tremendous feedback from attorneys and social media experts alike.  This series has been featured and referred back to in a number of articles and blog posts around the internet.  And we have helped a number of attorneys begin to blog, or market their blog more effectively.

But there are so many more of you out there that we have yet to reach/communicate with.  We want to hear from you.  Whether you want to share your social media experience with us, ask us a question, or you need some help, we’re listening.

There are many ways that you can interact/speak with us.  You can leave a comment below with your name and email address so that we can respond to you.  You can send us a message on Twitter, we’re at www.twitter.com/Lawline for those who have yet to follow us.  You can become a fan of Lawline.com on Facebook and leave a comment on our wall.

Each of these methods involves using a social media resource to communicate, and is a necessary step in learning the many processes that we discuss in this blog series.  We look forward to hearing from you, and hope that you do not hesitate to tell us or ask us anything about social media.  Thanks for reading.

Next week we will continue our discussion of social media, focusing on the idea of viral marketing – what it is, and how it can help you.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 9 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on your public relations department.

Odds are, if you are an attorney looking to grow your practice, you are engaged in some sort of public relations effort.  Either you do a little PR yourself, you work in a law firm that has a PR department, or you outsource your public relations work to a firm that specializes in that type of work.  The most popular one is most likely the third, let the pros handle it.  But the many areas of social media are so new that even the pros need to catch up.

You can use your ever evolving knowledge of the social media landscape to make sure that whoever is handling your public relations efforts are well informed and doing all that they can do to help you grow.  Call them in for a meeting and let them know that you want to go after the online marketplace.  Tell them that you expect to spread the word about your practice through new media, and that they can help you out in many ways.

In a recent poll, “Public Relations” was voted as the number one industry with the most opportunity in the social media landscape.  It is clear that the social media experts can see the positive effects that the social web can have in PR.  Do the PR firms see it yet?

Here are some things that your public relations team can be doing in the social media landscape:

1. Using Technorati, Google Blog Search, Twitter Search, and others to comb the web for mentions of your name, your firm, or other news that relates to you.

2. Joining groups on Facebook and other networks that can provide leads for articles, stories, reports, studies, and books.

3. Sign up for automated alerts from various niche networks in the legal community to find newsworthy events and stories.

4. Actively reach out to Twitter users and Social Network members with information regarding your online efforts.

5. Help create viral marketing efforts through interesting stories spread across networks like the blogs, Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and other bookmarking services.

There are many ways to take advantage of the social media space in public relations, and you need to be sure that whoever you hire is using this space to their advantage.  At this moment, the number of lawyers trying to grow their business in a stale market is greater than ever.  Those who take advantage of new media channels, and cutting edge technology, will be on the winning side in the longer term.  Making sure that your Public Relations department (in house or outsourced) is following up on your own online strategy is a major step to getting your name out there.

Other Social Media News: This blog series was mentioned as a resource in an article on blogging for lawyers.  To read the article, click here.  Also, this blog series was used as a reference for an article on hiring a social media manager for your organization.  To read that article, click here.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 8 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus our efforts back on blogging.  Hopefully by this point you have started writing your blog.  If not, start now.

There are many ways that you can leverage your blog to take advantage of the many other people out there blogging about similar topics.  One such tool is a blog catalog.  Blog catalogs of blogger networks allow you to group your blog alongside the blogs of other popular bloggers in your area.

The advantages of submitting your blog to a blog network are many.  First, it gives you more exposure as a contributing member of the blogging community.  This will drive more traffic to your blog, entice more readers to subscribe to your blog, and get you noticed by a large number of internet users.  All of these things give your blog more credibility, and builds the awareness of your name and “brand” online.

Second, submitting your blog to a network, or simply searching for networks to submit to helps you get in touch with all the possibilities that are out there for bloggers.  You will find more blogs on legal topics that interest you than you found before.  Don’t be afraid to contact these bloggers.  Anyone who is posting material to the web is doing it to connect with people.  The more people that know about you and your blog, the more you’ll be able to do with it.

Finally, it allows you to mention the fact that you are included in these catalogs.  You can post a link or a “badge” on your blog that shows your readers where your blog has been listed around the web.  This, in turn, provides even more credibility.  It could turn the casual reader into a subscriber, and someone that comes back to your blog over and over again.  You can start to label yourself as an expert in your field, and turn your blog into a business producing tool.

Convinced?  Ok.  Let’s go over some of the catalogs that are out there that you should be checking out.  The key here is that there is no end to the amount of blog networks that you can submit to.  Find the ones that seem the most interesting and valuable to you.  Here is a list that you can start with.

1. Blawg.com: A must for all legal bloggers.  This is a law specific blog catalog, one with sections ranging from practice area to law professors to legal marketing. http://www.blawg.com

2. BlogCatalog.com: This is one of the largest and best known catalogs out there.  This network allows you to create a personal profile and add your blog to it.  It allows you to converse and exchange information with other bloggers. http://www.blogcatalog.com

3. Technorati: Technorati.com is a search engine that shows the most “important” information on the web.  They use an authority system to rank blogs and news sources.  You can claim your blog there, something every blogger can do, then use it to track performance and find similar blogs. http://www.technorati.com

There are many other catalogs and directories of blogs and bloggers that can help you.  A simple search on Google for those words will give you all the answers that you need.  The greater your online distribution of material, the more people you will attract, and the more powerful your blog will become.  So get out there and put these skill to work.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 7 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will continue to introduce the various tools and networks that people are using to connect to other people on the web.   Whereas Twitter and LinkedIn are more directed social services, it is important to sign up for a number of pure social networks as well.

Facebook is a big win simply because it is the most popular.  Facebook just reach 150 million users worldwide, and that number continues to grow.  Though it may be hard to imagine where lawyers can use Facebook in a professional sense, there are many opportunities there.  I recommend signing up, adding your personal information and starting to search for and accumulate friends.  I would also recommend adding links to your blog, other networking sites in use, and your firm’s website.  If nothing else, this will add some extra online exposure for now.

Lawlink, JDSupra, and LegalOnRamp are some networking sites that are designed specifically for attorneys.  Each has a variety of services that you can take advantage of if you are a part of the network.  It can get a bit confusing to sign up for all of these networks, but I would recommend doing a little research and signing up for one or the other.  It will help you connect with other lawyers in your field and of similar interests.

There are a lot of things to consider when thinking of the future of legal networking.  These community sites that we discuss here will continue to add features that make it easier to practice law more efficiently and effectively.  The fact that these sites are designed for, and in a lot of ways by the users, means that they will continue to evolve into more complete services.  You can start to share and spread information among others in the legal community that you could never do in an offline environment.

For now, some of the basic things that you can use them for are simple discussions and promotion.  Use Facebook to promote your blog and other websites.  Use JDSupra to share articles or other works you authored.  Use Lawlink to discuss topics of interest with lawyers across the country.  Take advantage of whatever down time you have to get involved in these communities and you will uncover the many opportunities before you.

Where are we headed from here?  Next week we will discuss another great way to promote your blog and get involved with other bloggers, blog catalogs.  From there we will dive a little deeper into some of the networks, and learn more specifically how you can use them to grow your practice.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part six of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  As we continue to cover various networks that you can use to build relationships, promote your practice, and develop your online brand, we turn our attention to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is just as new to the social web as Twitter, but also just as important.  Created as the social network for professionals, LinkedIn is targeted toward the working world.  It developed ways to “Link” with people that you would want to develop a professional relationship with.  Starting out with friends, colleagues, and old classmates, you can build a series of connections with people across your industry and in your area.

When you signup, you are asked to add information about yourself and your professional background.  For many people, it is as simple as adding your resume.  From there, you can search for people that you know, or want to know, and connect to them.  In addition, more recently LinkedIn has been adding applications to the site that help you better connect to more people and use their services more conveniently.

The advantages of a profile on LinkedIn can be many.  One, you can use it to self promote in a way that is not as intrusive as other networks.  By adding your blog, website, and other professional contact information to your profile, you expose the information to anyone who searches for you.  Also, they have a question and answer service that allows you to ask or answer questions posted on the site.  For example, if someone in your network asks a question that you have the answer to, posting your answer will automatically give you credibility and access to anyone who sees it.

In addition, communicating with other people in your network is getting easier.  You can email your connections, post comments, and find personal contact information very easily.  And if you are looking to hire people for your practice, LinkedIn is one of the best new ways to find top talent.  Recommendations from other people within your network are easy to get and more reliable than other hiring or recommendation engines out there.

If you are not already on LinkedIn, I suggest heading over to http://www.linkedin.com/ and joining today.  If you are a member, you probably could be using it more.  Try spending some time on the site and learning a few new things.  If you do this once a week, you are sure to find a few features that you never knew about, and some that you can take advantage of very easily.  As is the case with many social networks, the more you use it, the more you will get out of it.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter

Welcome to the 5th installment of our series on Social Media.  In the past two weeks, we have discussed the ins and outs of blogs.  We’ve gone over the best ways to use blogs as a knowledge source, and an introduction to blogging for yourself.  Over the next few weeks, we will discuss a few networks that you should start to use.  Each of them can also be used to promote your blog, using the blog as the base of your online identity, or brand.

First, we will cover Twitter.  Twitter has become the “hot commodity” of the web of late, and it is important that everyone at least be aware of what it’s all about.  Twitter is a site where people can share experiences and ideas in 140 characters or less.  It is like a miniature blog (or microblog) that brings together many people to comment and discuss certain topics.

Signing up is easy, if you haven’t already.  Simply go to www.twitter.com and select Get Started Now.  Fill out a short form and you are ready to join the conversation.  Once you are up and running, the operational process is very intuitive.  You can update your status whenever you like, as often as you want.  You can invite friends and colleagues to join using an email address.  You can find other people on Twitter and begin to follow their updates.

Following someone simply means that you will see their updates on your own Twitter page.  And when someone decides to follow you, they will get yours.  To take advantage of this service as a business development and promotion engine, you’ll want to add as many followers as possible.  Do this by getting involved with other users, start conversations, and discuss interesting topics.  The followers will come.

To find people who may be discussing things of interest to you, you can use search.twitter.com to search any conversation topics.  If you find people you’re interested in, follow them.  Common practice on Twitter is to follow those people that follow you.  So searching for these people and following them will lead to more followers for you, a good thing.

In addition to the normal conversations, you can send direct messages, both public and private, to other users.  If you want to reply to someone, or start a conversation, use the “@” symbol followed by their Twitter name.  For example, if you type @Lawline before your message, that update will come directly to Lawline.com’s twitter account.  This is how you can start more one on one conversations to discuss specific topics and build a relationship.  The more people you involve yourself with, the more popular your Twitter identity will become, and the more you can get out of the experience.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today

Welcome to the 4th installment of our series on social media for lawyers.  Last week we focused on using blogs as a source of information.  Hopefully many of you have started subscribing to those blogs that interest you, and find reading them both helpful and enjoyable.  This is a good place to start your journey into the social web.  But now it’s time to participate in the conversation.

The most logical place to go from here is to start blogging yourself.  Blogging is important for many reasons.  First, it helps you start to establish your personal brand in the online world.  It puts your name out there associated with whatever topic you start to blog about.  Second, tying your blog to your website helps your search engine optimization, meaning Google and other search engines will start to rank your website higher.  This will help you draw more people to the website that might have otherwise missed it.  And more people on the site means more attention, and more clients.

The truth is, blogging leads to many other things.  For example, we started The Legal Beat as a way to deliver news and information about Continuing Legal Education.  But it became an outlet to feature our prestigious faculty, deliver current legal news, and get in touch with some up and coming lawyers and legal services.  We have forged more potential partnerships from the blog than we ever anticipated.

So what do you blog about?  Well, that all depends.  Take a look at the other blogs that are out there.  Is there a certain need or area that is not being addressed?  Is there a topic that you know more about than anyone else?  It really does not matter what you decide to blog about, you can always refine it as you go.  But staying consistent and on point is important.  Know who your readers are, or who you want them to be, and give them the information that they need.

If you blog is to draw potential clients, write about important news and decisions in your practice.  If it is just a general blog about your area of practice, deliver some new information that people can’t get anywhere else.  And don’t be afraid to take a stand on certain issues, people like blogs that are opinionated.

So what are you waiting for?  Go get started.  You can go over to blogger.com, wordpress.com, or typepad.com and get a free blog.  If you want the blog to be hosted on your own website, talk to your developer.  It is a very easy process, and you can do it at a very low cost.  Most people shy away from blogging because they think it is a lot of work, but once you get started you will see that everything is easier and faster than you think.  Just commit yourself to writing a couple new posts a week, and you are well on your way.  Happy writing!

Past Editions of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source

Our series on Social Media has reached the third week, and we have yet to discuss a specific website or service in detail.  So now, it is time to dive in and get started.  The focus of this discussion will be using Blogs to gain and share knowledge within certain communities.
For this post, we do not have to assume that you currently write for or operate a blog of your own.  That will come later.  This is about taking advantage of the blogs that are already out there, and that other people are using to get information.

A blog, for those who are unfamiliar, is quite simply a webpage devoted to writing articles of interest in a particular area.  They can be owned and operated by one person or a group of people.  The most popular ones have many writers, with new articles (or posts) coming out very frequently (many times each day).

Reading blogs in your area of interest is a great way to get news and updates quickly and easily.  Whereas traditional media like newspapers and television are broad and slow to deliver, blogs offer current, easily accessible information on niche areas of interest.  If you think a specific topic that you find interesting, there are most likely a number of blogs devoted to that topic on the web. 

With well over 100 Million blogs out there, it is important that you can focus your readership to those blogs that will offer the most relevant, and interesting information for you.  You can do this in a number of ways, but the easiest is doing a search on Google.  If you go to google.com and look at the top left corner, there will be a link that says “More”.  Click that and find the link for “blogs”.  That will take you to Google’s blog search.  From there, simply search for anything you might want to read about.

From there, you can subscribe to the blogs that you find most interesting so that you can review updates automatically whenever you want.  Instead of going back to that blog every day, many blogs allow you to enter your email address and receive new articles via email.  However, too many emails can get annoying, so most people will subscribe in a blog reader.

A blog reader allows you to group all your subscriptions onto one page and lets you access all the blogs from your own account.  If you search Google for “google reader”, you can sign up for their blog reader account.  From there, simply type in the web address for each blog that you wish to follow and you are all set.

Blogs can be a great source of information, no matter what area you are in.  With opinionated, up to date information, they offer knowledge and ideas that you would not get anywhere else.  There is a great shift taking place in how people obtain their news, and the more we can gather information online through blogs and other sources, the easier it will be to stay current.

Here are some legal blogs that I would recommend taking a look at to start: Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Above the Law, Simple Justice, The Legal Beat, How Appealing, Overlawyered.  Also, take a look at Blawg.com to see hundreds of other legal blogs.

Past Editions of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks

In part one of our series on social media for attorneys last week, we discussed the very basics of social networking.  We introduced the idea of social media and explained the many forms of online knowledge sharing and communication that are growing in popularity.

There are four general categories of ways that you can use social media to grow professionally.  Each week, as I introduce a new aspect of social media, I will try to give you actionable steps in one or more of these four areas:

1. Networking – using information sharing and online interactions to develop relationships with people.

2. Brainstorming – creating and discussing ideas for new business projects with people in a forum type environment.

3. Learning – using the wealth of information available in the various social media outlets to educate yourself and stay ahead of the game.

4. Promotion – in a way, taking an active role in social media is always promotion, but there are specific ways to do this more efficiently.

Most attorneys that are starting out in the online world are doing it because someone has told them that it’s a great way to get free advertising.  And while that is true, I feel that the concept needs some explanation.

Online marketing is all about getting your name out there.  The more your name is associated with a particular area, the better the affect for you.  You will eventually be looked at as an expert in that area, and your “internet popularity” will increase.  This all leads to a better public awareness, and hopefully more business (or clients).

Think of your name, or your firm’s name as a brand.  And what we are trying to do is associate your brand with quality legal services in one or more areas.  And the fastest, and most times easiest way to do this is an active online marketing strategy.  But with social media, the word marketing can mean just taking part in the conversation.  And you will see how throughout the course of this series.

First thing is first.  Today’s actionable step is to sign up.  Join the networks.  After all, you have to do that before you can use them to your advantage.  Here is a list of networks I would recommend using: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Lawlink, YouTube.  Sign up for as many as you like, but in the world of the social web, more is better.

Past Editions of this series:
Part 1 – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys

Social Media and Social Networks.  They are fast becoming a part of the professional world.  Even the legal profession has started to take notice of the power of social media.  And though we have only started to realize its potential value, it is important that those of us who are seeking innovative new ways to share knowledge and communicate take notice.

To start off this series of blogs on the topic of social media for attorneys, let us introduce the primary concepts.  Social Networking is defined as a social structure made up of individuals or organizations that share one or more common interdependency, value, belief, or goal.  And that same idea has been taken and transformed into new online technologies to make networking easier than ever before.

Popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace were introduced as ways to stay in touch with friends.  On top of them, other communities were built around specific niches and goals.  LinkedIn is a networking site built strictly for professional contacts and relationships. YouTube allows a community of users to share videos.  Flickr allows its members to share photos.  Twitter is a tool for open communication of ideas and events.  Even at the most basic level are blogs, wikis, and discussion boards, that open up communication and the flow of ideas.

This entire area is known as Web 2.0 Social Media.  It is built around the concept of openness and sharing.  It has turned into a way for people to communicate with other people, businesses to communicate with other businesses, the media to communicate with the masses, and an organization to communicate with customers and potential customers.

And it is entering the legal landscape now faster than ever before.  In fact, just last night Lawline.com’s President, David Schnurman, was featured in a panel discussion on Social Networking for Lawyers.  The presentation was held at New York County Lawyers’ Association for CLE Credit, and will be turned into an online course soon.

Begin to take notice of the shift towards online media for means of communication, marketing, and sharing.  And stay tuned for Part 2 of our Series next week.

There are many tools available online to help attract attention and drive traffic to your website.  And, through the magic of the internet, many of them are free.

Lawyers and law firms alike can use these services to help them gain interest and bring potential clients, interested people in the industry, and media attention to the website.  The more traffic that you get online, the more valuable your website becomes.  Some services that are available to you are blogs, directories, forums and discussion boards, question and answer services, and online videos.

One such service that is gaining popularity is squidoo.com.  Squidoo is a website that allows anyone to create a webpage, or "lens", about anything you want.  For instance, we just created a page for Lawline.com which you can see here.

Squidoo gives you an outlet to explain your services and give detailed information to anyone who might find it interesting.  For example, a solo practitioner can create a page based on their practice.  On this page you can include a bio, certain areas of expertise, photos or videos relating to your practice, etc.  It will all link back to your website and/or blog.  It can help drive traffic to your website from people that may not find you any other way.

The key with all of these services is that using them will never hurt you.  The more you use them, and the more you create exposure for yourself online, the easier it is for people to find you.  In the online world it is important to stand out from the crowd.  Be creative and your "brand" will make its way out to a broader audience.  Then use your own website to support the other online marketing that you are doing and stay in contact with those people you intend to serve.

There has been a lot said recently about the importance of lawyer marketing initiatives.  With the amount of lawyers out there vying for the business available, it is so vital to stand out from the crowd.  But what happens behind the scenes and in public after the initial marketing attempts?  What kinds of strategies do you have in place to follow up on your marketing campaigns and retain new clients based on those efforts?

That is where a company like Legal Ease Consulting, Inc. can come in handy.  Legal Ease Consulting is based in New York, and they do exactly what the name suggests, make the life of a lawyer or law firm easier.  How do they accomplish that feat?  Well that depends on who you ask.  Basically, they try to strategize with small to midsize law firms in order to revamp business development systems and make the operations of a law firm more efficient.

It is not enough to have one great marketing campaign if you cannot follow through and serve the type of quality representation you claim.  Following up on that marketing, and living up to the promises you make, are just as important.  That means having the systems in place to arrange meetings, handle paperwork, maintain records and billing efficiently and accurately.  Everything working together provides a good work environment, a satisfied client relationship, and better time management.  Overall, you will be spending less time on the day to day task management issues, and more time on your clients.

With Legal Ease Consulting, Inc., you will get a complete consultation from an expert in the field.  Allison Shields started the company after spending time as a managing partner in a mid-size law firm, focusing on marketing and business development.  With custom tailored services for your law firm, hiring a consulting firm like this one can have you on your way to a more efficient practice in no time.

We all know how important it is for lawyers to get their names out to the public as much as possible.  Perceptions, after all, are everything.  More and more, public relations is the number one avenue taken by attorneys looking to do more business development.  There is a certain credibility firms can gain when quoted in the press or featured at events.  And for many attorneys, the idea of public relations is still a relative mystery.  This is partly due to their legal backgrounds, and also partly due to the fact that PR itself is a drastically evolving field.

That is where a public relations firm or coach can come in handy.  Just as your clients leave the legal stuff up to you, you can leave your public relations up to the professionals.  There are many firms out there designed to work especially with lawyers and law firms to help them increase their media presence.  One such company in the New York area is The Sun Communication Group, who works primarily with small to mid-size law firms.

Boutique firms such as The Sun Communication Group can help lawyers do everything from getting published, speaking at conferences, and other activities that publicize lawyers in newer and fresher ways.  One of the major benefits of working with a specialized PR company is that they already have all the right contacts and necessary information.  You can rely on them to get the job done rather than hire and train someone yourself, wasting a lot of your time and resources.

The general old-school way of thinking for lawyers is that you can sit back and wait for the business to come to you no longer holds true.  With more options out there today, it is vital for attorneys, especially those at smaller firms, to go out and approach potential clients in a number of different ways.  Public relations and the legal industry are slowly growing together and firms like The Sun Communications Group are paving the way for attorneys to grow their business through visibility and reputation.

The internet is a quickly becoming the main focus of advertising and marketing for every industry, including the law.  There is no substitute for online exposure, as many professionals are learning the hard way.  You have to stay one step ahead of your colleagues if you are going to attract more potential clients your way.  At Lawline.com, we have worked with numerous attorneys to help them build their “internet brand recognition”.  The goal is to get your name out there as many places as possible to begin to develop your own online network.  Here are some tips.

TOP FIVE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR ONLINE EXPOSURE

1. Write Articles.  One of the best ways to associate your name with a particular topic or area of expertise is to write about it.  Attorneys are always trying to get published, and the internet makes it easier than ever.  There are hundreds of websites out there that will take article submission from people in their network.  Most of them are free to join.  Submit your articles for people to read and your name will begin to gain exposure.

2. Join Networks and Directories.  Martindale-Hubbell, FindLaw, Lexis Nexis, and the Lawline.com Featured Attorney Directory are just a few of the popular attorney directories online.  There are many more like them and it is important to have yourself listed in as many as possible.  You may have to spend some money on a subscription fee but the value is well worth the cost.  These directories are well known and visited often.

3. Write a Blog.  Blogs are a great way to get your name and ideas out into the online world.  They are easy to start with many websites offering free blog hosting and templates.  The only trick is you have to commit some time to stick with it.  Add to it often, write about interesting news and trends that apply to your practice area, and people will read it.  It is a great way to boost your search engine visibility.

4. Update Your Website.  Websites today have begun to move away from the traditional one page information source, where all you see is a picture, an attorney bio, and a contact number.  Many attorneys are starting to add more to their website to make it engaging and interactive.  People visiting the site want to be interested.  You have to stand out from the crowd to truly make a name for yourself online.

5. Continuing Legal Education Programs.  CLE is moving online, and it is becoming much more of a marketing tool than ever before.  If you speak on a topic that directly relates to your practice area, others will see it and hear about it.  At Lawline.com, our faculty members gain immediate online exposure related to their Continuing Legal Education course.  These courses are displayed online and show up in search engines.  They are a great source of personal networking and referrals.

These are only a few of the ways attorneys can begin to market themselves on the internet.  The best thing about the world of online marketing, you can be as creative as you want.  The goal is to have your name associated with your individual area of expertise anywhere someone might look.

Arthur Levin is the Founder of AGL Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in law firm consulting, business development training for lawyers, and helping companies sell products and services to law firms.  Arthur has been involved with the business development side of law firm marketing for years and he has developed several key tips that he offers to every lawyer or law firm that he works with.

Lawline.com spoke to Mr. Levin recently to find out what kind of tips he would be willing to share with us.  The most important thing he said was that a Lawyer needs to really understand what he or she does for the clients.  Representation, as he says, is such a strong word because you are actually speaking and acting for another person.  As a lawyer, you have to be willing to sell your services and your own persona to gain a client’s, or even potential clients, trust.

Below is a clip from the interview in which Arthur speaks about a 30-second pitch that any lawyer should develop to help convey your own personal value to the client.

Happy New Year!  We move boldly into a new year with new possibilities.  As lawyers and businessmen alike, it is important to use the new year to develop new strategies of growth and success.  2008 marks the year that new internet technologies and increased market awareness should lead to many new and effective ways of marketing.  Technologies that once seemed too difficult to master or too futuristic to be effective are now intuitive and efficient.  To kick off the new year of the Lawline.com Friday Five, here is a list of new technologies that you can use to help jump start a year of business development.  Enjoy!

TOP 5 TECHNOLOGIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IN 2008

1. Email.  Today the traditional uses of email as a means of communication have become so commonplace that it has become vital to the day to day activities of many individuals.  More and more, email is becoming a marketing tool favored by many to communicate with current and potential clients/customers.  Surveys, promotions, newsletters, and other email mechanisms can be automated to provide customers with information easily and efficiently.

2. Blogging.  Everywhere you look, people are blogging.  It is important to see that blogging has emerged out of a way for a few web users to write down their opinions on certain topics, and into a way that companies and clients alike discuss the most important aspects of any industry.  Blogging can be used to let people know what is going on behind closed doors, and to encourage an interactivity between businesses and their customers.  It takes the companies goals and values and helps match them up with their customers.

3. Video.  Online video has become mainstream.  Videos can be used in a number of ways as a marketing tool.  Websites like YouTube, Google Video, and the like make it easy to upload and host videos anywhere.  Videos can be used to share offerings, discuss values, showcase talents or highlight expertise.

4. Social Networking.  Networking sites are everywhere.  For every tiny niche or industry, there is a social network of people online ready to share their ideas and experiences.  Along with that, there are social bookmarking sites that allow users to share things they find on the internet.  It is important to take advantage of the communication channels there.  Companies can take an active role in discussions, listen to what people are saying, and mold the way they approach new clients based on that information.  It is a great way to create a brand name that appeals to the masses.

5. Podcasting.  News, opinions, lectures, and ideas are all being shared in the form of podcasts across the internet.  It’s just another form of online media that allows internet users to really listen to things they are interested in.  Just like online video, this can be a great way to showcase talents and experience on a given subject.  For lawyers, you can feature yourself on a podcast that reveals your knowledge of a certain practice area to potential clients on many online forums.

It does not matter what you use it for, only that online media and marketing technologies are for everyone.  Treat your practice like a business, and take advantage of everything available to grow that business.  We wish everyone the greatest success in 2008.

In a continuing effort to help lawyers learn how to better market their websites and increase their online presence, Lawline.com has created a video series of how-to guides.  Part 3 of Lawline.com’s series is entitled An Intro to Google Adwords.  In the following video we discuss the importance of Adwords and some of the basic things you can do to get started.

Google has many services that they offer to help businesses and consumers alike.  Their services cover everything you can think of that make the online experience simpler and more enjoyable.  Google Adwords is certainly one of the most important programs they run.  It is their main source of revenue and it continues to grow every year because people can see the results.

Running an advertisement on Adwords is so easy it’s no wonder the idea is spreading like wildfire.  For lawyers, placing these ads with Google can do a number of things to help you stand out from other lawyers and law firms out there.  It can place you on the first page of Google searches, which is more important now than ever before as people are shifting to the web as a way to find everything they need.  They also help you target specific regions and keywords so you can show your ad to all the right people.  And the best thing about it is that the service costs only the amount you choose to spend.  You can set daily budgets as low as you want.

Please enjoy the video below, and to get started with Google Adwords you can visit the website: http://www.adwords.google.com.

In a continuing effort to help lawyers learn how to better market their websites and increase their online presence, Lawline.com has created a video series of how-to guides.  Part 2 of Lawline.com’s series is entitled An Intro to Blogging for Lawyers.  In the following video we discuss the importance of blogging and some of the basic ways to get started.  It is no secret that everything we do in the world is shifting to the web, and this is a major form of communication that cannot be ignored by any professional who hopes to reach potential clients or customers.

Some of the major reasons to start blogging are to increase the amount of content you put online and to help improve your search engine rankings.  Search engines like blogs because they constantly get updated and keep content fresh.  It is important to add to your blog often, keep it current.  Blogs are special because they add the ability to create many links to your site and other relevant sites like yours.  In addition, other sites will link to your blog as a reference.  This is all helpful for search engine optimization.

To get started the best thing you can do is a find a blogging service that matches your budget.  There are many companies out there that have built blogs that are easily duplicated and cost little to add to your site.  These services are good because they allow you to create the look and feel of an established blog right away.  And once you have it set up, just start writing.  Take a few minutes each day or week to write something short and to the point.  It is up to you what to write about, just know your audience and create something they would be interested in reading.  That will create an increase in traffic to your site, add to your “online brand”, and get your site ranked higher.

Please take a moment to enjoy the video below.

Here at Lawline.com we have had the privilege of working side by side with many lawyers and law firms.  Through those interactions, we have learned that many lawyers out there have a few complaints when it comes to marketing and business development.  More specifically, we have been asked by many lawyers to help them better market themselves online.  We figured that if the lawyers we talked to needed help, so did many others across the country.  That was the premise for the Lawyer’s Guide to Marketing Your Website, a series of videos and podcasts designed to help teach lawyers how increase their online visibility.

The first part in this series is an introduction to search engine optimization.  Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about making your website more search engine friendly, leading to better rankings in Google, Yahoo, Ask, and other popular search engines.  This will increase traffic to the site and hopefully lead to more business for you.  For lawyers, it is important to get your name or firm name out to the public as much as possible to reach new clients daily.  This is an example of how you can do that very easily.

In the video below we will go over a simple 5 step process to getting started.  Step 1 is simple, set up a plan and a timeline for what you would like to accomplish in terms of SEO.  Be realistic because this is a process that will take time and effort on your part.  Step 2 is to select important keywords that you would like to rank more highly for.  These keywords should be specific phrases that people are searching to get to your website.  It is important to remember that general phrases are going to be more difficult because there is more competition. 

Step 3 is to use those keywords everywhere.  Your website is full of places to put keywords, including but not limited to text, links, images, titles, descriptions, and Meta tags.  The more these keywords become a relevant part of your web pages, the more a search engine like Google will see them.  Step 4 is to actively set up a link network.  Links to your site are one of the most important factors in ranking highly.  Your site becomes credible if other sites refer to it as a source of information.  And finally, the last step, though very cliché, is to stick with it.  SEO is a continual process of staying ahead of the game.  The rules will change from time to time and it is important not to get caught with a stale website that search engines lose track of.

Please enjoy the video below and look for Part 2 of our series on marketing your website next week.

For so many lawyers, marketing is the last thing on their minds.  It is easy to see why this is the case.  First, time spent marketing is time spent away from working on cases and earning money.  The rewards for the time you spend marketing does not show up in the bottom line as billable hours do.  And second, marketing is not something that many lawyers learned or have experience in.  Therefore, marketing to go out and get more clients gets put aside until things get desperate.

In actuality, marketing is the most important aspect of business development for every law firm, from the big firms to the solo practices.  Educating yourself and taking risks on the marketing side of the business is so important to growing your practice.  Christy Burke, founder of Burke & Co., writes a column about lawyer networking and business development for a publication called Marketing Your Law Firm.  Lawline.com invited Christy to talk with us about some of the tips she gives lawyers and law firms.

One major recommendation is to use lunchtime as a chance to meet with contacts and potential clients to create a relationship and open the lines of communication.  It is important to develop a working relationship, and continue to network to increase the amount of relationships you create.  Marketing is truly a numbers game, and too many lawyers limit the amount of people they talk to and deal with.  Getting yourself out there and branding your name and your practice will allow you to reach more people.

Of course, there are many different ways for lawyers to market themselves.  For more of Christy Burke’s tips, please enjoy Lawline.com’s interview with her below.

Ari Kaplan is one of those people that truly enjoys helping and encouraging others. You can tell just by talking to him for a few minutes that his passion is coaching and teaching. He wants to help people succeed in their endeavors, whatever they may be.

One main area of expertise Mr. Kaplan possesses is getting published. In fact, he runs a company called Ari Kaplan Advisors that is dedicated to coaching those who are trying to get published. This is such an important skill to learn for lawyers and attorneys everywhere. Getting an article published in a magazine, newspaper, or law journal can do many things for a lawyer’s reputation and career. It will help establish expertise in a certain area, relate your name to a particular topic of importance, and improve your status as a respected member of the legal community.

Ari Kaplan also has a new book due out in 2008 that is geared toward young lawyers and law students that focuses on the area of getting published and empowering yourself. He says, “The book is really about getting up, and getting out there. Do something that you feel passionate about and inspires you.” There is nothing more important for a young lawyer than to believe in yourself and your abilities. That type of positive attitude can lead to so many opportunities. And the earlier you start, the further your career and passion will take you.

Below is a clip from an interview Lawline.com did with Ari Kaplan. In it, Ari discusses the new book and talks about the importance of lawyer empowerment.