Constant Content : Legal Ghostwriting & Content : Janet Raasch : Copy for Lawyers & Attorneys, Law Firm Business Development

In a recent survey that is getting a lot of online attention, 164 in-house counsel were asked about their use of new media.  As part of this survey, in-house counsel ranked the following activities as "most important" for helping them research and hire outside counsel:

1.  Recommendations from sources you trust -- 73 percent

2.  Articles and speeches the lawyer has authored -- 38 percent

3.  Bios on the firm's Web site -- 30 percent

4.  Blogs published by lawyers on relevant topics -- 27 percent

The Corporate Counsel New Media Engagement Survey was conducted by Greentarget Strategic Communications, ALM Legal Intelligence and Zeughauser Group.  There is a lot of good stuff there.  Go to those sites to download a copy for yourself!  (By the way, a survey counts as "content.")

Three of these four results involve content produced by lawyers and law firms -- which the survey calls "credentialing" or "demonstration of thought leadership."

In fact, the concept of credentialing among providers and purchasers of legal services is evolving almost as rapidly as the technology that is driving the change.  What does it mean to be credentialed in today's legal marketplace -- a marketplace in which real-time communication is critical, true dialogue is expected, and traditional sources of information are under constant pressure from emerging media?

It means that to a greater degree than they currently may realize, law firms have the potential to hasten the inevitable assimilation of new media tools by recognizing their value as information-delivery and marketing tools -- and by crafting content for them that is authentic and relevant.

While the more traditional marketing channels for law firm credentialing continue to dominate -- publishing articles in trade journals, speaking at industry conferences and being quoted in the press -- in-house attorneys now are using new media platforms to deepen their professional networks; to obtain their legal, business, and industry news and information; and to enrich their social and personal lives.  Most importantly, they expect that trend to accelerate in the future.

A constant stream of quality content -- the best way to establish the credentials of a lawyer or law firm.

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When it comes to the latest developments in social media usage, Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog is one of the best resources around.  Go to his blog and subcribe to his feed!  Just this weekend, he added two posts that are must-reads for anyone in the legal marketing profession.

And he's not afraid to evolve with the times and trends.  Last year, O'Keefe advised his lawyer/clients to stick with the "big three" of blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn.  On Saturday, based on the latest stats on the meteoric growth of Facebook, he noted that "more people are hanging out on Facebook than any other place on the net" and added Facebook to this list.  "With the world going to Facebook, how can I ignore it and survive as a successul business leader?"

Today, O'Keefe reported on a recently released social media study from the Nielsen Company, which states that the time spent by Americans on social media sites increased 210 percent in 2009 (the increase was 82 percent for global users).  The top U.S. social media sites are Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Classmates and LinkedIn.

O'Keefe concludes his post by questioning the fact that -- in spite of these statistics -- 45 percent of US law firms continue to block the use of social media and social networking sites.

I agree completely.  Law firms need to trust their lawyers to act appropriately in "public."  You don't ask them to stay home from "real world" business networking opportunities on the off chance that they'll say something inappropriate.  Social networking sites are no different.

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According to a post by Larry Bodine, an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories.  Larry gets his data from a national survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of George Washington University.

89 percent use blogs for story research

65 percent use social networks for story research

61 percent use Wikipedia for story research

52 percent use microblogs like Twitter for story research

Mainstream media have clearly hit a tipping point in their reliance on social media for research and reporting.  What do reporters and editors find out about you when they search these sources while researching and writing an article?

Have you populated blogs, social networks, content sites, Wikis and Twitter with the kind of informative, useful content that positions you as a reputable source for a reporter or editor?

Create good content.  Post it on sites that accept user-generated content.

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When it comes to blogs and other social media for lawyers and law firms, Kevin O'Keefe and his team at LexBlog are recognized as the industry experts.  Because LexBlog designed and hosts my Constant Content Blog, I am invited to participate in LexBlog's regular online Webinars.

Over the years, we've all been snookered into worthless Webinars -- where presenters drone on endlessly about concepts that are obvious to 95 percent of the audience.  Or simply read their slides.  Not so with the LexBlog series.  I consider myself pretty "cutting edge" when it comes to social media, but I always come away from these sessions with a number of good ideas that I can easily put into action myself.  Each one is an hour well spent.

The June 28 LexBlog Webinar was Creating effective blog posts and engaging in online discussions to enhance your online reputation. 

The month before, the subject was Twitter:  What is it?  Why should I use it?  How do I use it?

And there are many more.  A recording of each Webinar is posted online.  Try them.  You'll like them.

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In the modern marketplace, savvy businesses and law firms are adopting weblog technology as a useful and proactive tool -- to promote products and services and to manage their images.  In this November 2005 article for the Canadian Bar Association, Janet Ellen Raasch discusses the use of weblogs by forward-looking law firms in Canada.

Web logs help lawyers estalbish themselves -- quickly and inexpensively -- as thought leaders in a niche market

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