Social Networking Websites for Business and Exposure

A newer way to connect with friends and obtain business is to become active in
online social networking websites. There are many free online sites for attorneys to list their
names, practice areas and contact information. Now that I have an IPhone I can check
emails and social media requests for information anytime day or night. isit some of the
!ocial networking sites below for ideas. The ma"ority of new clients in our office not referred
by prior clients learned about our office online. The different free social media sites will
increase the lawyer#s visibility since the name, practice field and phone numbers are
displayed in a $oogle search.
Facebook is the largest free social networking service and website. According to
%ikipedia.org, &acebook users can create personal profiles and groups. &acebook users
can request another user to become a friend. I am a member of several &acebook running
clubs where members post messages on activities. 'sers can also create events and invite
friends. (y law office has an annual summer happy hour at )ar Anticipation in *ake +omo
where we invite our ,-- plus &acebook friends. &riends can post photos and tag names of
persons in the photos. Additionally, for businesses you can set up a .fan page./ 'sers can
add links to 0ouTube videos, and post photos.
I have never actually obtained a client through &acebook, but it is important to keep
up with the times. In 1223 few law offices had a website. Now, every law office has a web
presence and ma"or consumer companies have &acebook pages. Potential clients referred
by e4isting clients or other attorneys will often .$oogle/ an attorney to learn more about the
attorney or to verify the recommendation.
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LinkedIn is a business5related social networking site. It is mainly used for
professional networking. As of November 6-11, *inkedIn reported more than 173 million
registered users in more than 6-- countries. (embers can create business profiles. Instead
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of .friends/, users can invite other members to .connect./ *inkedIn also supports the
formation of interest groups, and as of (arch 6,, 6-11 there were 89-,:16 such groups
whose membership varied from 1 to 799,---.
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As lawyers, we are indeed in a service industry. ;ur work life <and often our personal
life= is driven by the demands of clients and the courts. These demands leave us strapped
to our desks or in courtrooms scrambling to meet deadlines. >ow do we as busy lawyers
find time to really connect with our clients?
@merging from the fog of %ebsites, blogs and social media now used by lawyers and
clients is *inkedIn. &or those unfamiliar with *inkedIn, you are missing an opportunity to
connect with your clients and referring lawyers. *inkedIn is a social media %ebsite similar
in concept to &acebook. >owever, *inkedIn has thrived because of its primary distinction
from &acebook A *inkedIn is a purely professional social network. &orget the useless daily
updates on trips to the coffee shop and the grocery store, *inkedIn is e4clusively meant for
business. *inkedIn boasts that 93 of the &ortune 1-- companies are clients and that
*inkedIn is the new .global talent marketplace./ *inkedIn has become an important way to
connect and communicate with clients and other lawyers.
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The *inkedIn mobile app <for
IPhone, i;!, Android and )lack)erry platforms= makes *inkedIn more useable and provides
a good <and free= way for many lawyers, especially those increasingly relying on
!martPhones and apps, to use *inkedIn more frequently.
As with most !martPhone apps, you can download and install the *inkedIn app from
the applicable app store. %e#ll use the iPhone app as our e4ample. ;nce installed, you
configure the app and can access your *inkedIn account through the app directly. The
.what#s my password/ issue is eliminated because the password is entered as part of the
configuration.
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I can now check my *inkedin messages on my IPhone while in an elevator
for 63 seconds at the courthouse. *inkedIn#s mobile app also has a section for .People you
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may know/ and with one click you can invite them to become one of your connections.
Google+ aka $oogle Plus is $oogle#s attempt to rival &acebook. $oogleB integrates
social service sites such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz. It was opened to the public in
!eptember 6-11 and already has a user base of 2- million.
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Twitter is an online social networking and micro blogging service that enables its
users to send and read te4t5based posts of up to 1,- characters, known as CtweetsC. (any
of the sites listed below will permit the user to forward for free a tweet to Twitter setting forth5
new webpages and page updates. There are now 7-- million users.
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ouTube is a way to get your videos published. 'pload, tag and share your videos
worldwideD &ounded in &ebruary 6--3, 0ouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch
and share originally created videos. 0ouTube provides a forum for people to connect,
inform, and inspire others across the globe. It acts as a distribution platform for original
content creators and advertisers large and small. (ac computers have a built in camera
and video, so attorneys can record their own short videos and post them on 0ouTube. I
practice for my seminars by recording 35minute clips of the presentation, then uploading the
clip to 0ouTube. A one5paragraph narrative can be added as a description to the video.
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Free Legal SitesE
!" Supra is a repository of free legal information shared by those professionals who
utiliFe it. 'sers can create profiles, share documents, articles, forms, and pleadings. 'sers
can share legal documents, court filings, and decisions, whether their own or relevant to
their practice. NG !upra users can also automatically share documents, with connections,
on *inkedIn and &acebook.
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#$$o Legal ratingE Avvo has a list of all the licensed attorneys in New Hersey. It is
free to create a profile. &or New Hersey attorneys, an initial profile is already there. %hen
you claim it, add what you want, as often as you want, to give prospective clients,
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competitors, and the media a clear picture of your rIsumI and e4pertise. The website also
includes lawyer5submitted legal guides, attorney profiles, and unbiased ratings. &ree
access draws over 6.3 million visitors to Avvo every month.
Avvo draws an enormous pool of consumers by offering them information on
attorneys and whether there has been any ethical discipline. Attorneys have the opportunity
to get noticed by these prospective clients through free and paid marketing solutions. Avvo
averages more than 1:-,--- lawyer contacts per month.
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!ustia Law%er "irector% 'sers can participate in the Hustia community by creating a
free account. +laim and update your Hustia *egal Girectory profile, ask or answer questions
in HustiaJs *egal Answers, or participate in Hustia *egal )irds and )lawgsearch
communities. )y registering you can choose to also receive announcements of upcoming
new free services. Hustia permits attorneys the use of publications, blogs, Twitter, social
networks, and videos.
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&artindale'co( )onnected is a free site for attorneys to post newsletters, articles
and set up a profile.
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#ttorne%*ages'co( helps lawyers gain e4posure on the Internet quickly and at little
or no cost, via one of the respected online directories of consumer oriented lawyers. %ith a
focus on performance, AttorneyPages offers an affordable law firm marketing solution that
generates good results.
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Legal *la%ground is a social networking website that allows members of the legal
community to connect with prospective clients. This web application helps to search for
lawyers by name, organiFation, practice fields, or location. Thus you, or your client, can view
profiles, photos, videos and blogs.
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Law*i$ot is a legal KLA website that enables companies, especially startups, to
confidentially receive crowd sourced legal answers from highly qualified lawyers for a
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fraction of the cost. Additionally, the site allows lawyers to market their legal services by
sharing e4pert advice and engaging in discussions. The company#s KLA technology utiliFes
a personaliFed search algorithm to provide companies with relevant lawyers to provide
answers to their specific legal questions.
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&eet t+e Elite allows attorneys, accountants, insurance agents and financial
planners the ability to create a free web profile to network and promote their services.
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LawLink is a social network for the legal community with over 8,--- members
nationwide. *aw*ink states it now receives over 13-,--- visitors a month. *aw*ink consists
of four separate but interconnected social networksE 1= The Attorney NetworkM 6= The
@4pert %itness NetworkM 7= The *aw !tudent NetworkM and ,= The *aw Professional
Network.
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&%legal'co( helps lawyers make smart buying decisions by offering merchandise
from legal vendors around the world.
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,ocket Law%er- Inc. is an online legal forms and services company in !an
&rancisco, +alifornia. Nocket *awyerJs primary service allows users to create, store, share,
and @5sign legal documents from a single account dashboard. Nocket*awyer also connects
users with attorneys for legal document review. Attorneys can sign on for free and
potentially get cases from individuals who realiFe online forms may not solve their
problems.
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Non. legal sites/
&%space is considered by many to be the original social networking site. >owever,
&acebook has overtaken it.
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Flickr users share photos and short videos. 0ahoo purchased it. 0ahoo claims that
&lickr has a total of 31 million registered members.
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0rkut is a social networking site purchased by $oogle. It has over :- million users
worldwide.
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FriendFeed is a real5time feed aggregator that consolidates the updates from social
media and social networking websites, social bookmarking websites, blogs and micro5
blogging sites, as well as any other type of N!!O Atom feed.
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Gat+er has ,.3 million monthly '.!. visitors and ,., million global (embers who
receive their own subdomain and can publish articles and share comments. (embers can
create groups pertaining to their own efforts, or to any other topic.
*laxo is an online address book, formerly a social networking service.
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1irb'co( users receive a personal profile page where they can post blogs,
photographs and videos. Additionally, users may add others as friends and send them
messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.
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"igg is a social news website. It consists of letting people vote stories up or down,
called digging and burying, respectively.
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&eta)afe is similar to other video viewing websites such as YouTube or
Dailymotion, but has since transformed itself into a short5form video entertainment site with
several differences. The site now showcases curated, e4clusive and original premium
entertainment5related video content.
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Bebo is an acronym for )log @arly, )log ;ften. 'sers receive a personal profile page
where they can post blogs, photographs, music, videos and questionnaires to which other
users may answer. Additionally, users may add others as friends and send them messages,
and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. )ebo is very similar to
other social networking sites, like &acebook.
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1eo+ allows users to post short law videos.
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&%earBook is a social discovery website providing the opportunity to interact and
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meet new people. Non5members cannot view profiles unless they have an account
themselves.
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Stu(ble2pon is a discovery engine <a form of web search engine= that finds and
recommends web content to its users. Its features allow users to discover and rate %eb
pages, photos, and videos that are personaliFed to their tastes and interests using peer5
sourcing and social5networking principles.
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"elicious <formerly del.icio.us= is a social bookmarking web service for storing,
sharing, and discovering web bookmarks.
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elp for Business 0wners is a company that operates yelp.com, a social
networking, user review, and local search web site. 0elp.com claims it has more than 3,
million monthly visitors as of late 6-1-. 0elp provides online local search capabilities for its
visitors. A typical search includes what the user is seeking <e.g. a barber shop= and the
location from which the search is to be performed, entered as a specific address,
neighborhood, cityOstate combination, or Fip code. @ach business listing result contains a 35
point rating, reviews from other site visitors, and details such as the business address,
hours, accessibility, and parking. !ite visitors can aid in keeping the business listings up to
date, with moderator approval, and business owners can directly update their own businessJ
listing information.
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S3uidoo is a community website that allows users to create pages <called lenses= for
sub"ects of interest. !quidoo had 1.3 million hand5built lenses as of ;ctober 6-1-.
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)+a(ber'co( is for business networking. It has appro4imately 6,--- members.
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Spoke is a business directory and social networking site mainly used for professional
networking. The site collects and aggregates information from public sources, private
databases and member uploads.
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&ultipl% is a social networking service with an emphasis on allowing users to share
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media A such as photos, videos and blog entries A via a Creal5worldC network. It is currently
the biggest Csocial shopC in !outheast Asia with over 163,--- merchants and 6- million
visitors. In addition to a profile, users can post videos.
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ELL0W*#GES'co( is an Internet web site operated by ATLT Interactive.
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#t+links is a free5of5charge sports social networking website which primarily
presents race results for running, swimming, cycling, mountain biking, triathlon, and
adventure racing. !ports.
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Blogs/
)logs are not actually social media, but another method of free internet presence. An
attorney can set up a blog on any type of practice. The blog author can permit comments
on the blog, or only permit comments by friendsO followers.
Blogger is a blog5publishing service that allows private or multi5user blogs with time5
stamped entries. It was bought by Google in 6--7. $enerally, the blogs are hosted by
Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. It is not social media, but you can permit readers to
comment on your posts. &or e4ample, an attorney who handles primarily immigration law
can add immigration cases to the blog on a weekly basis. Potential clients do a Google
search, and since Google owns Blogger, that attorney#s immigration law post will appear
higher in a search than an old immigration website.
It is simple to create a blog in your practice field. To +reate a blogE
1. ;n the Internet, go to websiteE www.blogger.comOstart, create a free account.
6. +lick C!ign into )loggerC,
'ser nameE
PasswordE
7. +lick on C+reate a )logC, then fill in the blanks
Then click, New Post
&or the title, whatever you want
5@4ampleE NH *aws @5mail Newsletter, ;ctober 1-,6-11 P66,, Name of Article
,. Te4t goes in the last section.
3. +lick publish post
:. +lick Cview blog.C
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+reating a blog is easy and free. ;ther blogging platforms besides )logger are TypePod,
%ordPress and <for law blogs= *e4)log. !everal search engines search many blogs at
once, for e4ample Tehnorati, $oogle )log !earch, &eedster, and )logdigger.
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;ne site
with many listings of interest to law students and lawyers for 1= information gatheringM 6=
networking and "obs=, 7= sharing, ,= forums, and 3= miscellaneous is +riminal Hustice '!A.
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Kenneth A. Vercammen is an Edison !iddlese" #ounty $% trial attorney &ho has 'ublished
()* articles in national and $e& %ersey 'ublications on business and litigation to'ics. +e handles
#riminal Probate #i,il -itigation and Estate matters. +e often lectures to trial la&yers of the
American Bar Association $e& %ersey .tate Bar Association and !iddlese" #ounty Bar
Association.
+e is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation issues for the American Bar Association /#-E
$e& %ersey .tate Bar Association and !iddlese" #ounty Bar Association. +is articles ha,e been
'ublished by $e& %ersey -a& %ournal ABA -a& Practice !anagement !agazine and $e& %ersey
-a&yer. +e is the Editor in #hief of the $e& %ersey !unici'al #ourt -a& 0e,ie&. !r. Vercammen is
a reci'ient of the $%.BA1 Y-D .er,ice to the Bar A&ard.
+e has ser,ed as a .'ecial Acting Prosecutor in nine different cities and to&ns in $e&
%ersey and also successfully handled o,er 2ne thousand !unici'al #ourt and .u'erior #ourt
matters in the 'ast (3 years.
/n his 'ri,ate 'ractice he has de,oted a substantial 'ortion of his 'rofessional time to the
're'aration and trial of litigated matters. +e has a''eared in #ourts throughout $e& %ersey se,eral
times each &ee4 on #riminal 'ersonal in5ury matters !unici'al #ourt trials and contested Probate
hearings. +e ser,es as the Editor of the 'o'ular legal &ebsite &&&.n5la&s.com
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http://www.facebook.com
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http://www.linkedin.com
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Ryan Johnson ABA LawPactice.!ew" # $eb%a& / 'ach 2(12
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See ABA LawPactice.!ew" # $eb%a& / 'ach 2(12
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http://www.)oo)le.com
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http://www.twitte.com
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http://www.&o%t%be.com
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http://www.*d"%pa.com
i4
http://www.a++o.com
4
http://www.law&e".*%"tia.com
,i
http://comm%nit&.matindale.com/membe"/2445864/defa%lt.a"p,
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http://attone&pa)e".com/law-fim/593(1.2(6(929.htm
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http://www.le)alpla&)o%nd.com
,i+
http"://www.lawpi+ot.com
,+
http://www.'eet/he0lite.net
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http://www.lawlink.com
,+ii
http://www.m&le)al.com/'&1all/tabid/81/a"%id/47535/2efa%lt.a"p,
,+iii
http://www.ocketlaw&e.com
,i,
www.m&"pace.com
,,
http://www.flick.com
,,i
http://www.ok%t.com
,,ii
http://fiendfeed.com
,,iii
http://m&pla,o.com/
,,i+
http://+ib.com
,,+
http://di)).com
,,+i
http://www.metacafe.com
,,+ii
http://www.bebo.com
,,+iii
http://www.+eoh.com
,,i,
http://www.m&&eabook.com
,,,
http://www."t%mble%pon.com
,,,i
http://delicio%".com
,,,ii
http"://bi3.&elp.com
,,,iii
http://www."4%idoo.com
,,,i+
http://chambe.com
,,,+
http://cente."poke.com
,,,+i
http://m%ltipl&.com
,,,+ii
http://www.&ellowpa)e".com
,,,+iii
http://athlink".com
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http://*%&law.t&pepod.com/delibeation"/"ocial.netwokin).html
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http://www.ciminal*%"tice%"a.com/blo)/2((9/5(-teific-"ocial-"ite"-folaw"t%dent"-and-law&e".