The use of real tweets helps “chunk” the piece both visually and logically; we think it makes it easier to read.

There are some folk who felt that a pasted-in image of a tweet was a bit “tacky”.  Personally, I never really minded it, since it illustrated a point.  Either way, there’s now an easy to use alternative!

With just a small bit of code you can generate simple, selectable flat-HTML tweets like the one I used here.

You’ll need to capture a Tweet’s URL and paste it in,  so you may want to take a look at Ben Sparks’ directions on how to do so first.

Here’s the link!  Blackbird Pie

Other articles you may be interested in:

A Great Legal Marketing Firm Tool to Optimize Twitter

A Very Simple Twitter Formula for Generating Legal Marketing Business

A Real-Time Social Web Clock Watcher for Curious Legal Marketers

Legal Marketers: Responding to social media inquiries is more important than you think

3 Reasons For Legal Marketers to Start Thinking Like Journalists

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

The last post I wrote about my friend, Philadelphia filmmaker Tigre Hill’s feature documentary “Barrel of a Gun” received some terrific feedback from my legal marketing audience.  I’m thrilled to find the Karasma Media Legal Marketing Blog readers find his work as intriguing as I do!

His most recent coverage comes from  Philadelphia Magazine writer, Don Steinberg in the article,

The Gospel According to Tigre

The film’s take on the matter is that Mumia is guilty as charged — and convicted — in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Hill released an incendiary three-minute trailer for Barrel in September, and the global outrage arrived on cue. Abu-Jamal supporters began labeling it an “anti-Mumia lynch-mob movie” and Hill an Uncle Tom. Protest-tourists from around the world started printing up signs to wave at the film’s premiere, which may be in Philadelphia, maybe this month or next, at least according to the last time Hill pushed back the timetable.

The Barrel of a Gun Trailer

Other related articles you may be interested in:

MOVE — A Legal, Political and Emotional Turmoil In Philadelphia’s History Revisited

Legal Marketers – Step out of the box with video

Karasma Media Introductory Video

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

The National Bar Association (NBA) announced in a press release today, April 14, 2010,  their  nomination of the first African American female Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Ann Claire  Williams.

Honorable Ann Claire Williams

Williams is the first African American ever appointed to the Seventh Circuit and the third African American woman ever to serve on any United States Court of Appeals.  The United States Supreme Court seat vacancy will become available after last week’s  announcement of Justice John Paul Stevens’ retirement.

Normally, I steer away from direct political involvement.   However, I was Ann’s sister Drew’s, roommate when I first moved to Harlem more than 10-years ago, so I’m making an exception.  I had the opportunity to spend time talking with Ann during a difficult, transitional time of my life, when I was debating completing college and a career change.  Needless-to-say, today with an M.A. in hand and a successful New York business, she was obviously an inspiration to my life, and I wanted to give her my complete support!

All the best to you Ann!

See the NBA Press Release Below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Erika C. Owens, Communications Coordinator
National Bar Association, Phone: (202) 842-3900 x20
eowens@nationalbar.org

Jill M. Butler, Advocacy & Policy Coordinator
National Bar Association, (202) 842-3900 x22
jbutler@nationalbar.org

In a letter written to President Barack Obama, the NBA noted that as “a moderate and faithful adherent to constitutional principles of government, Judge Williams is extremely well qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and has all the necessary experience and the professional expertise to succeed Justice Stevens.” Williams, an active NBA member, has been a leader and long-standing public servant. She was a recipient of the NBA’s William H. Hastie Award and recipient of its Gertrude E. Rush Award, named in honor of the sole female founder of the NBA.

NBA President Mavis T. Thompson noted that “Justice Stevens’ retirement creates the opportunity for the country to have its first African American female Supreme Court Justice.  As was the case with Justice Stevens, his replacement must have the highest integrity, be undoubtedly very well qualified, have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to equal justice under the law and possess appropriate judicial temperament.”

Consistent with the NBA’s historic mission and its leadership role on behalf of over 44,000 of the nation’s African American lawyers, judges and academics, the NBA is committed to playing an active role in the process to fill the vacancy created by Justice Stevens’ retirement. The NBA strongly urges President Obama to use this upcoming vacancy as an opportunity to further diversify the high court and to make it more reflective of the nation it serves.  Without question, at this critical juncture in the nation’s history and with so many important legal issues to come before the United States Supreme Court, Judge Ann Claire Williams is the right person to succeed Justice Stevens.

#

Other articles you may be interested in:

Women and Minority Law Firms Looking to Grow – Mastering Social Media Highlights Your Reputation

Keeping Creativity Flowing on Your Legal Marketing Blog

Mixing Business With Personal — Legal Marketers, it’s OK to “Cross-Brand”

There Has Never a Better Time for Legal Marketing Brands to Engage in Social Media

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

You’re  Informed -  It’s time to engage your audience
As a professional marketing legal services, there is a need for you to distinguish your services.  Obviously, all information is not created equal, and it is more important now than ever for you to reach out to your audience as a viable information source in your area of specialty.  You need to provide a venue for them to be able to interact with you easily, and these interactions will translate into the quality clients you want to attract.

News and information sources today have never been more accessible and anyone with an internet connection can contribute to the broadcast of information.  A  new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the Project for Excellence in Journalism makes clear, we have become a nation of news grazers whose “relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized and participatory.

But as the concept of “journalism” expands to include citizens with cellphone cameras, Twitter Facebook, and LinkedIn, the survey’s responders reflected something we all feel, with 70% of them feeling overwhelmed by the amount of news and information from different sources, and 72% think most sources of news are biased.

All of us consumers want to be connected to the people and products we can  trust.   There’s no better way for professionals marketing legal services to distinguish their credible information from misinformation and propaganda than by being in control of their online presence.  Journalists will seek you out as an expert and when you approach one of them, being able to reference articles your online articles written by firm members and associates will be invaluable.

Your Results Will Reflect Your Efforts
I published an interview I conducted with Social  Media expert Chris Brogan last week, reviewing his perspective of social media’s impact on legal marketing services.  The next day, I featured the article in my e-mail newsletter and posted it on the Karasma Media Platforms on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

It’s important to note that  fresh information is kept flowing on these platforms on a daily basis.    Since the article’s initial publication (8-days ago at the time I’m writing this):

The Alexa rating of the Karasma Media Marketing Blog has gone up more than 15%, which translates into an increase of almost 40 readers per day, three calls from prospects and two requests for in-person interviews.

Once legal marketers put their infrastructure of information into place infrastructure is in place and the information is flowing, your potential clients and legitimate journalists are going to use it.  Today, legal marketers need to think like journalists because they are  increasingly serving as informational gatekeepers, both by creating and publishing original content online and by passing on (and thereby endorsing) news and information created elsewhere.

The Federal Government’s Providing Educational Support
The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, which was released last month, offers an important opportunity to increase news-literacy education to millions of students. The plan, authorized in the $787 billion stimulus package last year, is a long-overdue effort to shore up our digital infrastructure by extending high-speed Internet access to the entire country.

The online infrastructure’s in place, and the government is backing it.  Now is the time to put your legal information structure into place and bring your online platform up to full speed.

USA Today article referenced:  As Journalism Changes, So Must You

Other articles you may be interested in:

Social Media as PR in Legal Marketing is Underused and Under Funded

Legal Marketers and Our Responsibility

Why technology and social media need to be integrated into your branded legal marketing strategy

Ease, Steadiness and Awareness Work for Legal Marketing Social Media

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

At the end of March 2010,  the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision that is certain to have significant implications in social media policy circles.

In Stengart v Loving Care Agency, Plaintiff Stengart, in anticipation of a lawsuit against her employer, Loving Care Agency, sent several email communications to her lawyer from her company-provided laptop, over the company’s Internet server but via her personal Yahoo email account. She did not store her password on the Laptop.

Points to note from this case for social media policy makers within companies – and for users:

• When companies allow reasonable personal use of company-issued systems, absent specific policies to the contrary, employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy to the content and communications they access/contribute via personal, password protected sites (ie personal email)

• This may (and seems logically to) extend beyond email to social networking sites like Facebook, Martindale Connected and Twitter

• That Stengart did not store her password on the computer itself was cited several times as a factor in her reasonable expectation of privacy – which begs the question – if we let our work-issued computers “remember” our passwords (via stored cookies presumably), are we forfeiting our reasonable expectation to privacy to those sites?

• Finally, explicit policies notwithstanding, the court was clearly stating that public policy, such as the attorney-client privilege, cannot be waived by well-crafted policies, and therefore there are certain expectations of privacy that employees have on company-issued computers even if the policy states there are none.

Read John Lipsey of Martindale.com’s full article:  NJ Supreme Court Ruling Has Implications for Companies’ Social Media Policies

Other articles you may be interested in:

Legal Professionals Who Are Not Social Media Savvy Can Jeopardize Their Cases

Why Technology and Social Media Need To Be Integrated Into Your Branded Legal Marketing Strategy

Chris Brogan on Legal Marketing – An Interview With Karasma Media

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

Over the last two years, I’ve been a huge proponent of lawyers cross branding themselves between business and personal on Facebook, not to everyone’s liking.

I was hoping that legal professionals working with criminal cases and other areas of practice would not feel it necessary to broadcast that sharing their personal information was inappropriate.  Alas, those of us familiar with the online legal conversation, know this was not to be the case…

At any rate… Here we are, and Yahoo’s gotten very active on Facebook, and their interaction on the platform is one worth noting for legal marketers.  Facebook is affording them a platform for cross communication with their readers that they didn’t have on Facebook.

This is where legal comes in…

As of April 2010 – The Facebook Company statistics:

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day
• More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

Considering these numbers –  chances are pretty good that legal clients are among the people using Facebook

With your blog as the central platform, Facebook along with other platforms of syndication like JD Supra, Ezines, and Martindale Hubbell, the legal marketing community is going to be able to reach out to their audience in a way they’ve never been able to  before.

Real Estate Law – just reached a readership of 3,200 Facebook fans. A good start. Here’s an example of how the page’s fans (many of them real estate professionals) respond to JD Supra’s legal content:

The fact is, the mother of all news sites has jumped into the business of curating and distributing stories on Facebook and Twitter – joining the likes of The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, Fox News, and all the other media outlets quicker to arrive at the social media party.

Read:  Facebook for Lawyers: It’s In the News – JD Supra: The Scoop on Legal Marketing

Other articles you may be interested in:

Mixing Business With Personal – Legal Marketer, It’s OK to Cross-Brand

4 JD Supra Applications For Your Law Firm’s Facebook Page and Accentuating Your Personal Brand

Legal Marketing Pros – Avvo’s Growing Fast and Listening

Lawyers Forget About “Quitting Facebook” – Expanding Your comfort Zone To Communicate Is Key

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

Whenever I include an article in my online newsletter with “Video” in the title, it receives more opens than any of the others.  The same holds true for the articles on this blog, reflecting marketing statistics on video inclusion, across the board.

That being said, here’s my introductory video:

The director, Michael Bailey of Morning Glory Films, is a lifelong friend with a production studio in Washington, D.C.  I admit, when he first suggested shooting me with green screen and rock music on the 2nd track, I wasn’t so sure…

My point is, If you craving to differentiate yourself as not “just another legal organization” then don’t be trepidacious about doing so.

My video’s finished product is slightly “out-of-the-box” from what you normally see in the world of legal service marketing.  Like it or not, it is something different  that’s available for you and you’ve kept reading to this point, and engagement is the first part of conversion!

My goal is to keep stimulating your creative ideas for your  legal marketing online platforms, while encouraging you to participate in my “Jump Start” sessions.  Hopefully, I’ll accomplish both of those things.

On another note, in case you’re wondering, yes, I used stock footage.

It’s not as if many of you aren’t  going to notice!  So, I may as well just say it…
Let’s be honest — it keeps  costs down and time expense to a minimum and since I’m admitting to it , it is kind of funny, yes?

There’s much more online video to come from Karasma Media.  Please feel free to call if you have any questions about how I can assist you with implementing your social media  to generate new business.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Content Brilliance Is the PR of Social Media for Law Firms

“Draconian” ideology is no fix for legal marketers

Legal Marketers Can Step Out Of the Box With Video

As the Legal Industry Shifts – We Can Differentiate By Making A Difference

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

One of the reasons I love working with attorneys is because of the creativity and innovation they bring to their practices. This is probably one of the primary reasons they’re struggling with business development in our current economical environment as much as they are.

I met small business attorney Kevin Houchin about a  year-and-a-half ago, not long after he began shifting from hourly billing to billing his clients at a flat-rate.  Last year, I included his FTC Toolkit for staying abreast of new online marketing rules in my client communications and I’ve had the privilege of watching his practice flourish.

Many of the small and mid-size firms that I speak with are struggling with this model, particularly litigators and Kevin’s had considerable success with the transition and maintaining his work/life balance.

I’ve received a number of calls lately from brilliant attorneys struggling to implement and/or maintain their firm’s operational business practices, while simultaneously developing new business.  Because of this, I’ve become an affiliate of Kevins’ Space Between Center for Creative Spirit In Business

On March 19th, Kevin lead a call co-hosted by legal marketing expert Ben Glass that addressed the question:

Are you tired of struggling to have the lifestyle you deserve and work with the entrepreneurial clients you enjoy?

Sign-up here to here to hear the recording
Become a Fan of The Space Between Center Facebook to stay informed of upcoming events.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Legal Firms Don’t Have To Run Into Trouble Using Social Media

Legal Marketers and Bloggers: The FTC’s New Regulations for Endorsements and Testimonials are Effective December 1, 2009 – FTC Toolkit Keeps You Informed

10 Essential Rules for Legal Marketing Brands in Social Media to Follow

Producing Important Change in Legal Marketing Isn’t Always Easy

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

Mobile and wireless technologies such as smart phones, Wi-Fi hotspots and laptop data cards are becoming more important for small-business owners, according to the “Small Business Technology Poll” from AT&T.

A recent article in E-marketer stated:

More than one-fifth of respondents said they could not be in business at all without wireless technologies, and a further 43% claimed it would be a major challenge. That makes mobile and wireless critical for about two-thirds of small businesses.

This reflects the increase in use of mobile and wireless tech among small businesses over the past two years. AT&T found that while one-quarter of respondents reported the same usage as in 2007, 74% of small businesses relied on wireless at least somewhat more.

That dependence is set to increase, according to small-business owners’ plans for the next two years. Nearly three-quarters of respondents plan to up their use of mobile and wireless technologies, including 37% who say they will use the services “much more.”

Kevin O’Keefe of Lex blog clearly doesn’t’ agree with this rational and strongly disapproved of the announcement of Karasma Media’s iphone application on his blog post Why your law firm should forget about building an iPhone App

Personally, I can’t quite grasp see the rational that  potential legal marketing service clients and all of us service providers,  are out side the realm of these findings.

Look, Apple has a reputation of being young, hip, and innovative and their products reflect that.   I don’t know too many legal clients who wouldn’t appreciate there law firm or legal marketing service provider who provide services that reflect at least some of these attributes.

Rex Gradeless’ blog, the Social Media Law Student, is mainly followed by lawyers, judges, legal technologists, and other legal professionals but also appeals to those interested in the intersection of law and technology.

In March 2010, Social Media Law Student was rated 249,325  on Alexa, with 190 sites linking in,  and Rex has almost 77,000 Twitter followers.  He’s also a big fan of iPhone Applications in the article, New IPhone App Gives You The Legal Edge discussing JD Supra’s iPhone App…

Again, I don’t think we legal marketing folk can disregard all of  this…

The legal industry is already notoriously behind other businesses technology, and many attorneys are struggling to maintain and build their client base because of it, so my thought is, opinions dissuading the use of technologies not being used by people criticizing them be taken with a grain of salt.

Like everything else dealing with today’s social media tools, brand distinction and interactive outreach is the heartbeat of success.

If you’re a small to mid-size law firm feeling like you should invest in an application, now is the time to dive in.  Having it designed to suit your needs is not prohibitively expensive and your markets absolutely moving in that direction.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Legal Professionals Who Are Not Social Media Savvy Can Jeopardize Their Cases

Legal Marketers – Now Is Not the Time To Give Up On Twitter

Lawyers – Forget About Quitting Facebook – Expanding Your Comfort Zone To Communicate Is Key

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

With so many tips, how-to’s, opinions legal and otherwise floating around about how legal marketers should use social media,  it’s really  hard to know what truly essential strategies you should follow to effectively use social media to build your client base.

• Does Facebook really work to attract clients?

• Why should I search out, connect to and/or  and pay for online forums that connect me with other legal professionals?

• Why should I interact with online platforms that aggregate my information  in order for for consumers to critique my character, ridicule my services and tout the competition?

• Once I do decide to jump in to social media,  how I will I know if it’s working?

Taddy Hall of Advertising Age wrote an amusing and insightful article that reviews 10 essential rules for brands to follow when using social media.

Here’s my favorite:

The Martha Stewart Rule

“Throw your own party; don’t just cater someone else’s! If you base your social campaigns in venues you don’t control — such as Facebook or YouTube — you may get great “attendance,” but data show it’s hard to convert and retain these party-goers.

If your goals are anything beyond building brand awareness, it’s better to have a house of your own where friends can find you — such as your own branded social site, contest site, or customer forum.”

Read Taddy’s full article:   10 Essential Rules for Brands in Social Media – Advertising Age – DigitalNext.

Other articles you may be interested in:

5o Great ideas for writing legal articles in 5-minutes

Keeping Creativity Flowing On Your Legal Marketing Blog

Does Social Media End Cold Calling As A New Business Tactic For Legal Marketers?

Why Technology and Social Media Need to be integrated into your branded legal marketing strategy

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410