Getting blogs on your side.

• Author: Hellerman, John

In the March edition of Strategies, an article entitled "When Blogs Attack--Your Firm, That Is" [p. 4], discussed the downside of blogs and their tendency to be less conventional sources of news. However, as the article points out, ignoring blogs won't make them go away.

In fact, the legal community is actively engaged in the ever-expanding blogosphere. With more than 1,000 legal blogs on the Web, firms and attorneys are beginning to recognize the value of blogs as unique marketing and business development tools. Whether embracing the already-established blogosphere or creating your own blog, blogs can be useful components in a firm's communication plan.

The first step is identifying the most influential and respected blogs in your desired market. The best way to do this is by using specialty search engines such as Technorati (www.technorati.com) and Google (http://blogsearch.google.com). By using key words to search, you will undoubtedly find hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs. However, it is important to spend an appropriate amount of time visiting these blogs and weeding out those that you deem less credible. Asking the right questions as you review a blog makes it fairly easy to tell a legitimate one from a waste of time. For instance, does it have a high Technorati ranking? Do lots of other blogs link to it? Is it carrying legitimate advertising? Is it updated regularly? Is it interactive and, if so, are there a lot of comments posted? Are the comments thoughtful or wacky? Did it or its editors receive any media attention?

Another terrific way to identify legitimate and relevant blogs for a campaign is to identify one and then review its "Blogroll" (typically a list found on the side of the page of similar subject-matter blogs that are favorites of the current blog's editor). It's a safe bet to assume that if you like the style and content of a particular blog, you will also appreciate the blogs that particular author depends on for news. Put another way, someone invested enough to blog regularly about, for instance, the marketing of off-label generic pharmaceuticals will likely be a good referral source to evaluate similar blogs.

Maintaining Buzz

While bloggers aim to break news and get the inside scoop in order to demonstrate their blogs are current and active, they're often very happy to circulate (and comment on) already reported news.

In recent years, Cornerstone Research, a consulting and expert witness firm, has relied heavily...