Digitally distinguishing yourself in a downturn.

• Author: Kaplan, Ari L.
• Position: HOW WEB 2.0 CONNECTIONS CAN MAKE ADIFFERENCE

DESPITE THE UNIVERSAL CONCERN OVER THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE, THERE IS JUSTIFIABLE OPTIMISM IN THE LEGAL INDUSTRY. Adownturn actually allows individuals and organizations to reposition themselves for the next wave of success. This repositioning requires marketers to find more creative ways to serve their constituencies and to raise their profiles in doing so by making friends, rather than contacts. And technology is likely to be the catalyst for this renewal.

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At the 2009 ABA Tech Show in April, Steve Matthews, founder of Stem, offered a presentation on the use of LinkedIn by lawyers. Matthews revealed that there were 563,000 lawyers with profiles on the networking site, up from 406,000 in December and 118,000 a year ago.

Of those half million-plus lawyers on LinkedIn, it is unlikely that many are using it to its maximum potential. The first step to any experiment in marketing is to actually make the attempt. But if you do not see results, the natural inclination is to focus on other options. In this environment, simply leveraging the benefits of existing tools that are often free may dramatically enhance your efforts.

Create a Group

Although many think of sites such as LinkedIn as a Web-based contact management system, those who create groups that combine various networks realize the potential of the service and gain a reputation for thought leadership. In addition to starting a group, attorneys should participate in the discussions of others and be sure to comment first or second to ensure that group members evaluate their viewpoint.

Even with a busy schedule, legal marketers should suggest that attorneys consider calendaring reminders to participate. Active systems such as Legal OnRamp, a Web 2.0 collaboration platform for in-house counsel and other members of the legal community, will send notices of follow-on comments. In fact, when attorneys interact with someone about an issue with a time-sensitive nature, they should add a direct follow-up email or phone call to the calendar. It is much more about the relationship than the actual information. "The fundamental trend in the world is that information becomes more transparent, but relationships and reputation are extremely valuable," says Paul Lippe, CEO of Legal OnRamp.

Update Regularly

In order to stay in the minds of decision-makers, one needs to maintain regular ties with each person in his or her network. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others allow...