I get a lot of unsolicited email from law firms by way of their PR firms. That’s fine, it goes with the territory and is usually a quick delete, unless something catches my eye over morning coffee. Here’s one such email yesterday that did:
Alright, you have a new website. In the pre-Internet era this would be akin to saying: we bought a lot of new paper.
Intrigued, I read on, and see that this law firm has bought into legal social media lock, stock, and three smoking barrels (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn). They really really want you to join in:
So I went to the footer of the firm home page and found the social media links. These screenshots were taken yesterday, (and checked again this morning). Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I would “like” a law firm or become a “fan” of a law firm. It seems I’m not alone:
Hmmm, nothing there yet on Facebook but a link back to their new website. What’s to like?
No problem, I’ll just head over to Twitter. Here’s how it looks:
That works, just the basics, although if I were the first name partner I might not like how my “S” was squished. Let’s check out the tweets:
So much to do, so little time to do it. Put another way, no birds chirping, just these.
The last stop on the legal social media highway is Linked In. It’s what most lawyers start with, and where many find some value for starting connections with others in the legal space:
OK, I guess we are in the early stages of legal social media here.
This firm sounds like it has many lawyers with a lot of relevant experience in very important areas of corporate law. But you wouldn’t know it yet.
There’s a few lessons here beyond the obvious “the press release went out a few days too soon.” More on those lessons tomorrow.