December 2011 - Riverside Lawyer Magazine - Riverside County ...

Barristers President’s Messageby Scott H. TalkovUsing Social Media to Organize LawyersWith the advent of social media as a meansto connect with one another, many organizationsdepend upon such social media to get theirmessages out. Recognizing the power of socialmedia to organize lawyers, the Riverside CountyBarristers Association has harnessed this newtechnology to increase attendance of young andnew attorneys, whose reliance on social media isever-increasing. Specifically, the Barristers’ useof our Facebook group, Constant Contact emaillist, and website has coincided with our exponentialgrowth over the past two years.FacebookThe Barristers Facebook group is constantly growing, with 121 young andnew attorneys receiving updates each time they log in. In fact, a substantialnumber of people who recently attended Barristers meetings have indicated thatthey learned of the association and its meetings through our Facebook group.Unlike other technologies, Facebook is interactive, allowing members to writeposts and to discuss the posts of other members. We also use the group to createFacebook events to inform our members about upcoming speakers and socials.By doing so, we can message our members with updates or simply remind themto attend. Members can also post any questions or comments they may haveabout the events. Best of all, Facebook is entirely free.EmailThe Barristers also send out emails to those who have been added or haveadded themselves to the email list. Rather than simply emailing attorneys fromour Outlook mail client, Constant Contact maintains the list of attorneys, allowingthem to opt in and out without any effort. These emails are formatted sothat attorneys can easily receive the information. We know our members arebusy working on their cases, so we always include all relevant information inthe email, rather than requiring further action, such as downloading an attachmentor clicking on a link. Event announcements profile topics and speakers indetail. The general information, such as the venue, date, and time, is also prominentlydisplayed. We try to stand out from their other emails through the use ofimages, unique layouts, different text sizes, colors and other features to engagereaders in our content. These emails can easily be forwarded to others to view.Yet again, Constant Contact is free through the use of the RCBA’s account.WebsiteAnother marketing tool is our new Barristers website, located at riversidebarristers.org.This site includes information on the association, the board,events, sponsors, and other related matters. Any of our members can easilyupdate the website to include information about upcoming events and otherchanges in the organization. The key to a good website is accuracy, which goeshand-in-hand with regularly updating information. There are amazing tools outthere that will make any lawyer look like a web professional. By far the mostpopular is WordPress, which is entirelyfree. Our website provides links to join theassociation’s Facebook page or to sign upfor the email list.Using Digital Marketing to GrowYour Committee or OrganizationThese three forms of social mediahave been tremendously useful and effectivein reaching out to the young and newattorneys of Riverside. Using them hasallowed our association to grow, not onlyin the number of members, but also in thecommitment of those members, who havebuilt strong and lasting relationships withone another. The Barristers believe thatthese means can be effectively utilized toreach out to an organization’s existingmembers and to grow the organizationas new members learn about the numerousopportunities to help attorneys andthe public. Harnessing these technologiesmight be easier than you think.Upcoming Barristers Social andMeeting on Public Interest LawOur December event will focus ongiving back to public interest law andimproving access to justice, with DarrellMoore of Inland County Legal Servicesas our featured speaker. The event will beheld from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday,December 14 at Packinghouse BrewingCo., located on the north side of theRiverside Municipal Airport at 6421Central Ave., Suite 101-A, Riverside, CA92504. A portion of all proceeds will goto the RCBA’s Elves Program to providetoys to underprivileged children in ourcommunity. More information will beprovided through our Facebook page,email, and website.Scott Talkov is the 2011-12 President ofBarristers as well as an attorney with Reid& Hellyer, where he practices real estateand business litigation.6 Riverside Lawyer, December 2011