NextGen_Law Magazine

A copy of the premier issue of NexGen_Law magazine came in the mail today.  It’s rather thin put out by Daily Journal Publications, although there is no reference to the magazine on their website and the magazine has no web presence of it’s own. That’s seems rather odd for a rag positioning itself as cutting edge. Anyway, I’ll post more info later when I learn more.

Of note to this blog is a piece titled Facebook for Lawyers.  In short, it comments on how Facebook is long on social interaction and short on business development. It likens it to an electronic cocktail party. I think this is a pretty fair assessment. It also mentions that you lose a fair amount of control over contacts. Although the article focuses on lack of control over ad placements. I don’t think that’s a big deal as potential clients and prospects are likely savvy enough to recognize them for what they are, especially if thet are familiar with Facebook already.

The cocktail party analogy is interesting because I think it’s not only accurate but a useful observation. In my limited experience in testing a business Facebook account I’ve come to find that there’s not a lot of direct business development functionality but there are opportunities for building relationships.

For example, one of my friends is a lawyer at my firm.  I really do not know him well and we connected as friends on Facebook based solely on our shared employment at the firm. But I noticed in several of his postings that he has an interest in wine, which is actually very common among attorneys I know. While on its own this information is not earth shattering, it can be a useful tidbit that one would store in their CRM notes on an individual, especially if the individual is not particulay close to you.

It could provide a nice intro if you need a social talking point at a meeting. Or if you were to plan a lunch or dinner meeting you could make sure your restauarant choice has a good wine selection. Or maybe you see an related news item or magazine article that you can share via email, or send a clipping in the mail.

Whatever shape the touchpoint takes the key is that you use the information to establish a relationship. It may not seem like much, but little friendly touches like this do make an impression (as long as they’re sincere).

So a key lesson I’ve learned so far is that a business development Facebook account can be helpful to glean useful personal insight on your contacts. This alone may not generate business leads but may help you develop a 1-to-1 relationship. My next post will cover this in more detail as I give my definition on legal 1-to-1 marketing

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Defining Legal 1-to-1 »