Social Media for Legal Professionals by Molly DiBianca

8/9/2019 Social Media for Legal Professionals by Molly DiBianca

1/21

Soc ial Media

for the

Legal Professiona l

www .YoungCona wa y .c om

www.DelawareEmploymentLawBlog.com

www.GoingPaperlessBlog.com

@MollyDiBi

Molly DiBianca, Esq.

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP


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www.GoingPaperlessBlog.com @MollyDiBi www.YoungConaway.com

Table of Contents

The Contenders ........................................................................... 2Top 5 + Twitter .............................................................................................2Where to Sta rt? ..........................................................................................3What to Skip?..............................................................................................4

The Theory .................................................................................... 5Why Bother? ...............................................................................................53 Princ ip les ..................................................................................................6

Linked In Chec klist ....................................................................... 8Ste ps to Get Sta rted ..................................................................................8

Twitter Guide.............................................................................. 10Twitter 101 ................................................................................................ 10Twermino logy .......................................................................................... 11Crea te Your Ac c ount ............................................................................. 13Crea te Your Profile ................................................................................. 16

Resourc es ................................................................................... 20Other Lists of Tweeting Lawyers ............................................................ 20Additiona l Resourc es ............................................................................. 20
http://twitter.com/MollyDiBihttp://twitter.com/MollyDiBi


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The ContendersThere are c ount less soc ial-netw orking sites (SNS) but o nly a few tha t

are particularly useful for lega l p rofessiona ls. Below a re desc riptions

of the six of the mo st p op ula r soc ial-networking sites amo ng lawye rs.1

TToopp 55 ++ TTwwiitttteerr

LinkedIn.com

Professiona l (non-persona l) use b ut no t limited to lega l p rofessiona ls.The large st p rofessiona l SNS, with more tha n 60 mm users worldwide .

Averag e a ge is 41; averag e incom e is mo re tha n $100 k / yea r.

Users p rofiles resemble a resume. Users c onnec t based on

affilia tions suc h a s sha red em ploye r, alma ma ter, and inte rests.

Linked In o ffers leg a l professiona ls a best-prac tice s guide a t

http://learn.linkedin.com/attorneys/.

Martindale-Hubbell Connected

ww w.Ma rtinda le.com / c onnec ted . Leg a l p rofe ssiona ls only. There

are c urrently mo re than 1 mm lawyers in the d a tabase. The site

prom ote s peer-to-pe er netwo rking (as op posed to a ttorney-to-c lient

ma rketing ). Users answer questions, post artic les, and engage in

d isc ussion group s.

Avvo.com

Lega l p rofessiona ls only. Users c an list expe rienc e, past c ases, and

rec eive endorsem ents. The site g enerate s a numeric a l ranking .

Co ntroversial due to its ra ting system.

1 Whether Twitter ca n be c ha rac terized as a soc ial-netw orking site is

som ew ha t de ba tab le. The p op ularity of Twitter, thoug h, is not the sub jec t

of d eb a te, so it is inc luded on this list, as well.


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LegalOnRamp.com

Lega l p rofessiona ls only. Foc uses on co llabora tion, particularly

betw ee n in-house c ounsel; limited numb er of a ttorneys in priva te

prac tic e a re a dmitted . To b e a dmitted , you must ide ntify an a rea ofexpertise or know led ge and a gree to sha re information about tha t

top ic with other users. If ac c ep ted , you must submit a Q&A a bout

that topic .

Facebook.com

With m ore than 400 mm users wo rldwide, Fac eb oo k is its ow n

phenom eno n. Users c rea te a p rofile page tha t shows their friends

informa tion about themselves. Content c an be sta tic o r dynam ic

with up dates posted as freq uently as the user chooses. Users c ansea rc h for friend s and send a friend req uest, which, if ac c ep ted ,

ena b les the other user to see som e o r a ll of your p rofile. Picture-

sha ring is one of the mo st p op ular fea tures of the site, enab ling users

to keep friend s and family mem be rs up to d a te a t onc e, instea d of

on a person-by-pe rson b asis. Persona l notes c an be written to yo ur

friends and sha red by posted on a users Wall for all to see .

Twitter.com

A mic rob log ; users c an po st messages of up to 140 c ha rac ters.See the rest o f this guide for add itiona l de ta ils.

WWhheerree ttoo SSttaa rrtt??Now tha t you re a ware o f the top 6 SNS for leg a l p rofe ssiona ls, here

are some p oints to c onsider whe n de c id ing w hethe r any of them a re

right fo r you.

Linked In is a must. It is nearly as imp orta nt to p rofessiona ldeve lop ment a s a we bsiteno p rofessiona l should b e without a

Linked In profile and no b usiness should be w itho ut a w eb site. The

time investment required to mainta in your p rofile is minima l. Firm

ma rketing dep artme nts should p rovide a ttorneys with sugge sted

language or, if possib le, a ssist a tto rneys with p rofile c rea tion on a n

individua l ba sis.


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Ask anyone w ho twe ets and the yll surely admit that they d idn t

get Twitte r a t first. Twitter req uires the lea st a mo unt o f time of the

six sites d isc ussed here, so it makes sense to try it if only for tha t

rea sonit s an ea sy introduc tion to the wo rld of soc ial networking .That sa id , mo st p eop le d on t see a bene fit until they ve used it for at

least severa l weeks.

WWhhaa tt ttoo SSkk iipp ??Fac eb oo k is a ll the rage a nd c an be loads of fun, as we ll as an

unbea table wa y to stay in touc h (or rec onnec t) with friend s from the

past and those w ho live fa r awa y. The p rofessiona l-deve lop ment

va lue, tho ugh, is limited .


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The TheoryWWhhyy BBootthheerr??Now you re a wa re o f som e o f the most pop ula r soc ia l-netw orking

sites ava ilab le. But, you ma y be asking , why should you b other with

soc ial networking in the first plac e? Well, ma ybe you shouldn tthe

purpose of this guide is to ed uc a te, not to a dvoc a te. Here are som e

of the many benefits soc ia l netw orking c ited by lawyers and leg a l

professiona ls who engage in soc ial me d ia :

Network

Soc ial networking c an be a great w ay to c onnec t w ith others in your

prac tic e a rea , c om munity, or orga niza tion. The b roa der your net of

c onnec tions, the mo re likely you a re to rec eive referra ls or direc t

inquiries from potential clients.

Educate

Twitter, in p artic ula r, is ha rd to b ea t a s a wa y to stay up to d a te o n

the la test happenings in your particular a rea s of interest. By

expand ing your lea rning c irc le, you increa se no t only your sourc es of

informa tion b ut also the c ontent to which you re expo sed .

Maximize

Get the m ost out o f your non-billab le w ork prod uc t, suc h as

new sletters, b log posts, and e-a lerts, by pushing them to a b roa der

aud ienc e via soc ia l netw orking.

Develop Relationships

Keep c urrent with wha t s happening w ith your c lients, co llea gues,

and c ompe titors. Chanc es are that theyre promoting their own

suc c esses via soc ia l networking . When they do , you c an be the first

to c ongra tulate them o n their ac c omplishment!


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Get Help

The rea l-time (i.e., as-it-hap pens) na ture of soc ia l networking enab les

users to reac h out to othe rs in the p rofession and ask questions, either

as op en-ended req uests for input o r as mo re spec ific polls or surveys.

This up-to-the-minute d a ta c an be invaluab le in ob ta ining the

informa tion you nee d , as we ll as getting authe ntic feed bac k.

Protect

It is ent irely possib le tha t you ha ve a soc ia l-networking presenc e

a lrea dyeven if you neve r c rea ted o ne. There are num erous stories,

both in the na tiona l new s hea d lines and in my own p rac tic e, of

ind ividua ls and businesses who dec ide to set up a Fac eb oo k

ac c ount, only to d isc ove r tha t it alrea dy exists and is c ontrolled by

someo ne else. For this rea son, it is importa nt to c la im your online

space.

Promote

At a minimum , pa rtic ipa tion in soc ia l networks will expand your web

presenc e, ma king it easier for others (inc lud ing potentia l c lients and

the med ia , for examp le), to find you. And , if your soc ial-networking

c ontent is good, onc e you re found , you ma y be seen a s a

knowledge referenc e or, eve n, an expert.

33 PPrriinncc iipp lleess

Community

Soc ial ne tworking is about sha ring. Users sha re knowledge and

informa tion on every top ic imaginab le. And one of the rea sons

soc ial netw orking ha s bec om e so pop ular so quickly is its ab ility to

c onnec t individua ls in a m ore d irec t and immed iate wa y than othertype s of online a c tivity. So, when you are thinking a bout wha t to

post in your Linked In p rofile o r tweet about on Twitter, ask yourself,

Does this informa tion c ontribute som ething o f va lue to the

community?


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Conversation

Like any goo d c om munity, partic ipants understand tha t the d ia log ue

must g o both wa ys. No one likes som eone w ho only talks about

himself. You must listen, as well as ta lk. In the c ontext of soc ial

netwo rking , this me ans answe ring questions asked by your follow ers

and group membe rs, c ommenting on top ic s releva nt to your

orga niza tion, and p rom ot ing the va lue of sha ring . Inte rac tion is a

key com ponent o f suc c essful soc ia l networking, so avoid a lwa ys

trying to b e the sta r of the show.

Transparency

Be honest and transparent in all of yo ur online ac tivities. If you areprom ot ing yo ur organiza tion, be sure to d isc lose the a ffilia tion. Fa ilure

to do so c an result in liab ility fo r your firm (or other em ploye r). 2 Your

c onve rsa tion m ust b e honest o r risk losing a ll c red ibility in the

community.

2 Rec ently promulga ted FTC regula tions ma nda te tha t you d isc lose your

affiliation. SeeAnother Rea son Emp loye rs Need a Soc ia l-Med ia Polic y,

Delaw are Emp loyme nt Law Blog , ava ilab le at

http:/ / ww w.delawa reem ploymentlaw blog.com / 2010/ 01/ another_rea son

_employers_need.html.


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LinkedIn ChecklistSStteepp ss ttoo GGeett SSttaa rrtteedd

Know who else is LinkedIn

There are m ore tha n 50mm Linked In users worldw ide . Average a ge is 41 with an averag e ho useho ld inco me of $109,703, with

mo re than 50% having a n inco me ove r $100,000.

Ap proxima tely 64% are m a le.Create your profile

Uploa d your c olor pho to. Dra ft your profile using w ords tha t you think others would use in a

sea rc h. Inc lude expe rienc e and a c c om plishments.3

In Ad d itiona l Informa tion, add links to your b log o r we bsite. Set yo ur Priva c y Set tings as pub lic . In Netwo rk Upda tes, list a ny upc om ing spea king engag em ents or

other events you ll be a ttend ing. Upd a te we ekly.

Make connections

Invite c lients, c ollea gues, law-sc hoo l c lassma tes, and any contac ts whoma y be a pote ntial netw orking source o r refe rra l source.

Ad d your Linked In web address to your e-ma il signa ture. 4 Rea d the we ekly e-mail and look for relevant c hang es ma de b y your

connections.

3How to c rea te your p rofile (guide a nd video):

http://www.lakeshorebranding.com/company/blog/how-to-create-your-

linkedin-company-profile/

4 How to add your Linked In a ddress to your Outlook e-ma il signa ture:

http :// ww w.bnet .com/ 2403-13070_23-219860.html


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ww w.GoingPaperlessBlog.c om @Mo llyDiBi www .YoungC ona wa y.co m

Join Groups

Join 2-3 group s for releva nt a ssoc ia tions based on industry, ge og raphy,and p rac t ice area.5

Sta rt a nd participa te in d isc ussions within the group s to which youbelong.

Submit links to a rticles of interest and add your own c om me nta ry.Improve your profile with add-on applications

Pull posts from your blog and Twitter feed to yo ur p rofile a utom atica lly.6 Upload doc ume nts, inc lud ing PowerPoint files.Proceed with caution

Be c autious of giving and see king rec om me ndations, espec ially withothe r lawye rs, as rec om me nda tions a re c onsidered testimonials, sub jec t

to the Rule 7.2 of the Rules of Profe ssiona l Co nduc t. Lawyers may not

ma ke o r permit othe rs to ma ke fa lse o r mislea d ing sta tem ents in

rec omm enda tions or enga ge in a quid pro q uo exc hange o f

recommendations.

When a nswe ring q uestions in the Answe rs sec tion, be a wa re o f thepotential to c rea te a n a ttorney-client relationship by p roviding leg a l

informa tion. At a minimum , use a c lea r d isc la imer.7

Additional Resources

LinkedIn blog: http://blog.linkedin.com The Linked In Lawye r: http :/ / linked inlawye r.blogspot.c om

5 How to successfully participate in LinkedIn groups:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5671213_successfully-participate-linkedin-

groups.html

6 How to use the Linked In-Twitter c onne c tion p rop erly:

http://www.searchengineoptimizationportland.com/blog/2009/11/how-

to-use-the-new-twitter-linkedin-connection-properly/

7Video explaining the Answe rs fea ture:

http://www.flyteblog.com/flyte/2009/11/linkedin-for-business-using-

linkedin-answers.html


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Twitter GuideTTwwiittttee rr 110011

More than 27.3 million twee ts are twee ted every day. As of Oc tober 2009, mo re tha n 5 billion twee ts had be en sent. By the end of 2010, Twitter is p rojec ted to have 26 million users.

If the w hole w orld s a twitte r about Twitter and it ap pea rs possibletha t c lients ma y wa nt lawyers who partic ipa te in or, a t the very lea st,

und erstand Twitter, why a ren t m ore leg a l professiona ls jumping into

the Twitter strea m? Lac k of understand ing is a t lea st pa rtly to b lame .

Most law yers simp ly a ren t a wa re of w ha t Twitte r is, exac tly and

aren t, therefore, inclined to g ive it a try.

To help a lleviate som e o f the c onfusion, here a re a few desc rip tions

of the Twitter p roc ess, in 140 cha rac ters or less, of c ourse.

With Twitte r, users send out sho rt p osts c onsisting of 140c ha rac ters or less.

Your posts c an be seen by a nyone b ut will appea r on thehom e p age o f your follow ers.

You c an follow peo p le w ho p ost things tha t a re interesting orhelpful to you.

You c an forward a post tha t you think your follow ers ma y findinteresting o r he lpful.

You nee d no t (nor c annot) know eve rything tha t hap pens inTwitter.


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TTwweerrmm iinnoo lloogg yy # (Hashtag)

Ca lled a hashtag , the # symbol is used to signify a searc ha b le

top ic , simila r to a keyword . By add ing # in front o f a w ord or phrase

(i.e., # lega l), othe r users will more e asily find relevant p osts when

sea rc hing. At Taga lus (http :// taga l.us), you c an sea rc h for the

mea ning o f a p artic ula r hashtag and de fine hashtag s of your ow n.

Hashta gs are p a rticula rly useful for kee p ing everyone in the loop

ab out an event or conference .

@ (Reply)

A message d irec ted to one Twitte r user tha t is pub lic (a ll of the

senders followers c an see the message). The message sta rts with

@USERNAME. Any time a twee t conta ins @ fo llowed by a users

name , a hyp erlink to the users strea m is c rea ted.

Avatar

Your Twitter pic ture. The thum bna il ima ge tha t ap pea rs next to your

twee ts. In your p rofile, the ima ge c an be enlarged to full size.

DM (Dir ect Message)

A d irec t me ssage is the e quivalent o f an e-ma il or instant message. A

twee t tha t beg ins with DM[username ] is sent to the user priva tely

it is no t visib le to either person s followers or searc h eng ines.

Failwhale

The wha le logo tha t appea rs when the Twitter servic e c rashes. When

the failwha le ap pe ars on the Twitter home pa ge , wait a few minutes

and try aga in to a c c ess the site.

FeedYour posts on Twitte r appea r in your feed . Also c a lled a timeline

or strea m. The p ub lic time line d isp lays a ll c urrent twee ts in rea l

time.


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Twi tt er Str eam

SeeFeed.

Twit terverse (or Twit tersphere)The universe of Twitte r (c fblogosphere).

URL Shortener

Trims URL leng ths to a llow fo r posting in microb log leng ths. Some

pop ular ones inc lude Tinyurl.co m and Bit.ly, which a llow s you to trac k

the numb er of c lic k-throug hs.

CCrreeaa ttee YYoouurr AAcc cc oouunnttBefo re you c an d ip your toe into the Twitte r Strea m, you ll need to

c rea te a Twitter ac c ount. Signing up is ea sy. Go to Twitter s web site

at a nd c lic k the Sign Up Now button.

Figure 1: Twitter home pag e

In the new windo w tha t op ens, you ll be a sked to p rovide your name

and e -mail address and to c hoose a username and p asswo rd .


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Figure 2: Join the c onve rsation

In the Full Name field , enter your rea l name otherwise, no o ne w ill

be ab le to find you! If you a re c rea ting a n ac c ount for a b usiness or

other g roup, use the organiza tion s name . Even if you are going to

c rea te m ultip le a c c ounts for your group , use the organiza tion s

nam enot eac h individuals nam e.

Your Username (a lso known as a ha nd le ), will be your Twitter

ident ity and is how you ll be know n in the Twitterverse. My ha nd le is

@MollyDiBi. Ma ybe youve he a rd o f som e o f these p op ula r twitte rers:

@Oprah, @AlGore, o r @SarahPalinUSA.8

8 @Sarah_Pa lin is no t the Twitte r ha nd le o f the rea l Sarah Palin. But it isan

excellent example o f ano ther rea son you should set up a Twitter

ac c ountif you dont c laim your name , som eone else m ight.


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After providing the rest o f the req uested informa tion on the Join the

Conversation pa ge , c lic k the Create My Ac count button at the

bottom of the sc reen and , Voila !youre a c ard-holding m embe r of

Twitter!

After you c rea te an a c c ount, Twitter wa lks you through the step s to

find others twitterers you know a nd then suggests peo p le to follow .

Skip the se steps for nowwe ll find fo llowers in a la te r sec tion.

Instead , spend som e t ime setting up your profile, as out lined next.

Cho osing your username is not a ta sk to b e taken lightlyit s

imp ortant! If you re c omm itment-phob ic , don t worryyou ca n

c hange your Username any time .

Twitter for Professionals: Tips for an Effective Username

First, make it short. You g et just 140 cha rac ters per twe et , so yo u don t

wa nt your usernam e taking up va luab le rea l esta te. Plus, as we ll disc uss

late r, you wa nt others to ta lk to you a nd a bo ut you and to retwee t your

po sts. Make this ea sy to do by not c row ding o ut the go od stuff (the

me ssage) w ith a n overly long Usernam e.

Sec ond , keep it simp le. Your Usernam e should be ea sy to rem em ber. Don t

use num bers or quirky spellings. Skip the hyphens. And g ive som e thought

to c ap italiza tion.

Third , if you ll be twe eting o n ha lf of an o rganiza tion, use the orga niza tions

name . We ll add your name in the Bio sec tion in the next step . If you

think your organization m ay wa nt othe rs to tweet und er different ac c ounts,

now is the time to c onsider wha t Usernam es eve ryone w ill use.

For exam ple, the Username @Zappos be longs to Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

The 495 othe r Zappos em p loyees who tw ee t c an use a persona l, non-

Zapp os nam e a s their handleor a deriva tive of the ma in Zapp os nam e,suc h a s @Zappos_Mo llyD.

Or follow the lea d of c ab le-new s g iant, CNN. There is, as you m ay guess by

now, a ma in @CNN ac c ount. The c om pa ny has other ac c ounts, such as

@cnnbrk (breaking news), @CNNWorld, and @cnn_newsroom.


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CCrreeaa ttee YYoouurr PPrroo ffiillee There is no w ay to oversta te the imp ortanc e o f your p rofile. It s the

online equivalent o f a first imp ression. When p eo p le a re d ec id ing

whether to fo llow you, they are likely to look at your p rofile. The

wo rds you use in your bio bec om e keyw ords tha t will (or will not ) be

ea sy for othe r users to find.

Give som e thought to your p rofile. Determine what message you

wa nt to communic ate to p otential follow ers. Conside r how you c an

ma ke the best p ossible first impression. Thenyoure rea dy to c rea te

your p rofile. Here s how:

After signing in to your Twitter ac c ount, you c an ac c ess your p rofile

through your home pa ge (@username), by c lic king the Settings link at

the top right c orner of the pag e. Ma ke sure you are on the Acc ount

pa ge and , if you re not, c lic k the Acc ount tab to ge t there.

Figure 3: Change your settings on the Account tab

Comp lete the information in the Time Zone , Web Site, and Location

fields.


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The ne xt step towa rds an effec tive profile is add ing a p icture. Click

on the Pic ture tab.

Figure 5: Pic ture tab

Here, you c an upload a photo o r other ima ge . The imag e must be

smallup to 700 K in size, 600 x 600 pixels in d imension, 72 pixels per

inc h in resolution, and saved as either a JPEG o r PNG. And its best

to use a square p ic ture instea d of leaving the c rop p ing dec isions to

Twitter.

Figure 6: Upload a pic ture

If youre wo ndering w hethe r you reallyneed to ad d a picture, the

answer is YES! Nothing says Im to ta lly out o f my league mo rethan the de fault ima ge p rovided b y Twitter.

If using a photo grap h, use a hea d shot o r othe r p ic ture tha t show s

you from the nec k up. The p ic ture a ppea rs as a tiny thumb na il on

your profile p age, so a nything more tha n this will be d iffic ult to

discern.


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Op inions on the use o f log os as your profile a va ta r a re mixed . Som e

say tha t a log o is too impersona l and doe sn t g ive the imp ression

tha t you rea lly wa nt to c ontribute to the c onve rsa tion tha t is the

essenc e of the Twitter experienc e. Others say tha t you use lose ava luab le b rand ing o pportunity by not using your log o w hen spea king

on b eha lf of your organiza tion.

I ll lea ve this dec ision up to yo u but will note tha t, if you re th inking of

having multiple o rga niza tiona l ac c ounts and more than one

rep resenta tive on Twitter, you ll need as ma ny ima ges as you ha ve

ac c ountsa logo should not b e used as the fac e of more than

one twitterer.


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ResourcesOOtthheerr LLiissttss oo ff TTwweeeettiinngg LLaa wwyyeerrss ILTA: http :/ / twitter.c om / ILTANet/ law-firm-memb ers MEMa tWorks list of Am Law 100 Firms:

http://twitter.com/mematwork/am-law-100-firms-tweeting

Joshua M. Kings list of Business Law Firms:http://twitter.com/joshuamking/us-business-law-firms

LexTweet: www .lextweet.c om. Justias Legal Birds: www .leg a lb irds.justia .c om . You c an sort by

seve ra l d ifferent c riteria , inc luding b y prac tic e a rea . You a lso c an

see where the leg a l professiona ls on Twitter a re loc a ted by using

a Google map .

JD Supras List o f Lawyers to Follow on Twitter:http :/ / sc oo p.jdsup ra .co m. This list, which is generate d by Twitter

users via c om me nt submission, is c ontinuously up dated but its

prac tica l app lic a tion is limited by its overwhe lming size.

AAdd dd iittiioonnaa ll RReessoouurrcc eessTwiTips, at w ww .twitips.c om , is an exc ellent b log about Twitter and

inc ludes several new bie pointers and tips.

Leg a l ma rketing we bsite, LawyerCasting , ha s seve ra l goo d postsabout Twitter spec ific to the lega l p rofession, ava ilab le a t

www.lawyercasting.com/twitter.

The Twitter Help Center, a t http :/ / support.twitter.c om / , is a new

resourc e, fea turing several tuto rials and explana tory guides, all on

video.

Social Media for Legal Professionals by Molly DiBianca

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