Social Mediafor Neutrals

Social Media for Neutrals
It’s Not Your Mentors’ Business Development Model Anymore
Victoria Pynchon, Esq. ADR Services, Inc. © 2009

Jackie Hutter’sSocial Media Marketing for Dummieshttp://tinyurl.com/c6g3m8
Charles Fincher’s law comics http://LawComix.com
Kevin O’Keefe’s invaluable advice
http://lexblog.com
Acknowledgements
Victoria Pynchon ADR Services (c) 2009

Victoria Pynchon, Esq.
Settle It Now! Negotiation Blog
http://negotiationlawblog.com
Member of Forbes Business & Financial Network
Mediate.com Featured Blogger
IP ADR Blog
http://ipadrblog.com
Specialty group blog
Lexis-Nexis top 10 copyright blogs
LinkedIn
Twitter
http://twitter.com/vpynchon
http://ipadrblog
Ning & Meetup
Founder: Professional Women’s Network of Southern California
Pwnscal.ning.com

Tomorrow’s market
is here
Today’s market is here
We are here

These are mediation’s core values
People with expertise want to share it with others
People with access to people are eager to connect you
Social media has spread like wildfire because we want community and we want to be useful to our fellows
Web 2.0 is collaborative and reciprocal

Lawyers don’t read blogs (6/06)
No one who’s employed uses LinkedIn (12/06)
Twitter is a useless time suck (12/08)
Stephen N. Goldberg, Esq.
partner Heller Ehrman (‘72-’08)
Dickstein Shapriro (‘08-present)

What’s in it for me?
Control of your “brand”
Unlimited access to your market
Your market’s unlimited access to you
Weak links = greatest opportunities
Connection with mass media
NPR
Law.com
L.A. and New York Times
High profile in local, state, national and international market
Fewer rubber chicken dinners

Business solutions to business problems
Resolution of justice issues
Fairness
Vindication
Revenge
Recognition of human frailty
Apology
Reconciliation
A productive future vs. a rancorous past
Being happy vs. being right
Selling Resolution

Selling the Resolver
Wisdom
Experience
Specialty knowledge
Skill
Evaluative ability
Negotiation skills
Results
Clients won’t leave $$ on table
Client satisfaction with legal representation
Client satisfaction with results
Attorney satisfaction with results

Lawyers
AmLaw 100 and 200
mid-sized firms
Solo practitioners
Business
Fortune 50 & 500
mid-market
Small business
People who refer people
church/temple members
therapists
Sports
PTA/rotary/clubs
Networks (legal; women; business; professional)
Who is your market?

Where is your market?
Bar associations?
ABTL
Defense and Plaintiff Bar Associations
Specialty bar associations and sections
Business associations?
Rotary
Chamber of commerce
Specialty industry organizations

Wisdom
Skill
Experience
Specialty knowledge
Relationship
Reputation
What is your unique value proposition to your market?

Attend bar meetings
Serve on bar/section committees
Attend events your market attends (mine below)
Annual CRF dinner
Annual ACCA dinner
Annual Public Counsel dinner
Annual Bet Tzedek dinner
Read what your market reads
Speak at Bar events & law firms
Write articles for legal/business publications
20th Century Marketing

Whether using 20th or 21st Century marketing methods
Identify your market
Identify information your market needs/wants
Identify what your market reads
Identify where your market congregates
Identify your own unique value proposition

Whether using 20th or 21st Century Marketing Methods
Make a plan with deadlines
One event
One article
One lunch
One seminar
One social media platform
Identify who/what you are selling
Put plan into action

21st Century Marketing

The blawg experts
An effective internet presence is bigger than a website—it does not come from having a website that can be seen all the time. Effective Internet presence is the ability to communicate and demonstrate expertise. It is what causes people to talk about you online. We network more online now than we do offline.
Kevin O’Keefe,
President LexBlog
http://lexblog.com

Types of blogs

Subscribe to google alerts
Set up news reader
Follow blogs
Adr
Legal niche
Peace & justice
Become part of the conversation
News
Blogs
comments

Aggregators
Pundits
Scholarly
Topical
Practical
Theoretical
Mediation blogs (a sampling):
http://mediationchannel.com DIANE LEVIN (hub of all mediation blogs)
http://mediatorblahblah.blogspot.com GEOFF SHARP (New Zealand mediator)
http://settlementperspectives.com JOHN DEGROOTE (in-house counsel)
http://pgpmediation.com PHYLLIS POLLACK Los Angeles SCMA Board member
http://schausmediationinsights.com JAN SCHAU Past President of SCMA
http://firstmediation/blog JEFF KRIVIS of Improvisational Mediation
http://mediatortech.com TAMMY LENSKI: Queen of Mediation Marketing Blogs
http://idealawg.com STEPHANIE WEST ALLEN: work-life balance
http://enjoymediation.blogspot.com: JEFF THOMPSON: NYPD Mediator

Update your blog at least once a week (3x is standard)
Post quality content.
Read other blogs/link to them
Be succinct
Focus on one niche or practice area
Join a blogging network
Register with online legal blog directories
Post comments on other related blogs
Easy Secrets to Blawg Success

Networking on speed
Your colleagues
Your colleagues’ contacts
Your colleagues’ contacts’ contacts
Not just a resume
Blog posts
Recommendations
Questions and answers
Slide presentations
LinkedIn Groups
L.A. Mediators
Industry Arbitration and Mediation Group
Professional Women’s Network of Southern California
LinkedIn

More on LinkedIn
> 8 million members & 200K lawyers (11/08)
single source of online visibility
Fishing line in water
Searched by reporters
Continuous

Twittertwitter-facebook link listsLexTweet

A is for Asshole, the ABC’s of Conflict Resolution
Fan page connected to twitter account
Creation of writers, publishers, agents, book fair twitter lists
Joining and following book sites
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-is-for-Ahole-The-ABCs-of-Conflict-Resolution/172123543445?ref=nf
http://twitter.com/ABCsofConflict
http://twitter.com/vpynchon
Facebook Fan Pages

“virtual water cooler” in 140 characters or less
People hire and recommend those whose names they recognize and trust as experts
i.e., @Labor_Lawyer posts news and views on employment law & is followed by HR people at Fortune 500 companies
@ipstrategist followed and was followed by Business Week & published short piece in online Business Week as result of twitter
Drive traffic to blog
Publicize news
Create personal relationships with people in market
Where to find lawyers on twitter http://lextweet.com
Networking on steroids
Lawyers to follow:
http://Twitter.com
@kevinokeefe
@minasirkin
@ipstrategist
@dianelevin
@adrianos
@vpynchon
@SCartierLiebel
@blawgreview

Online Affinity groups
Legal marketing http://lawmarketing.ning.com
Professional women http://pwnscal.ning.com
Online presence
Free Platform:
Posting to group blog
Announcing events
Forming groups
Ning communities

What about boundaries?
As Anne LaMotte says in Bird by Bird, we each have our own emotional acre and we can do anything we want on it. We can also include and exclude anyone we want.
If you are a private person, draw a clear boundary between your private life and your online life.
You have a multiplicity of selves and you do not need to bring all of them online.
The ones you DO bring online, however, must be AUTHENTIC.

Wherever you market and however you market, follow your bliss