Legaltech companies at ABA Techshow : Give love to get love on social media

The ABA Techshow, one of the largest legal tech gatherings of the year, runs the rest of this week in Chicago.

Legal technology companies, new and old, will be there in spades.

All seeking attention. All wanting the love.

The companies and their people will be all over social media. Look at who we are. Look at what we do. Look at a new feature we just launched. Look at who we partnered with.

The problem is you get the love on social media only when you give the love on social media. At a ratio of about ten to one, too – you’ll receive ten times as much love as you give.

Rather than looking at social media as a neon sign with your name in lights, look at social media as a means to have a conversation with someone and to build a name over time. You do this by giving a little love to the people you’d like to talk with – online or offline.

It’s not hard. Make a list of the people and companies at Techshow with whom you’d like to engage.

If you’re seeking publicity for your company or a new product, the influencers ought to be at the top of your list.

The influencers? Leading tech bloggers, reporters (if you can find any), trusted industry leaders who have a nice presence on social media – could be company leaders, lawyers, bar executives or anyone who’s developed a nice following over time.

Also on the list are the names of companies and individuals who’d you like to meet, if not at this show, then down the road.

Maybe it’s a company or two with whom you’d like to work with. Or a company founder or executive from whom you’d let to get a little guidance.

Now you need to stick out your hand and shake theirs – online.

Monitor the #abatechshow hashtag on Twitter. When the people or organizations on your list tweet something they are proud of, a new product launch, that their team is in Chicago or whatever, retweet it, giving them a little kudos. Maybe it’s them reporting something you could share.

Just like walking into a room full of folks at a conference, you can only engage those people there. So be flexible as to those you’re engaging on Twitter via the ABA TechShow hashtag. By engaging those not on your list, you’ll meet others.

As you walk around the exhibit floor, make note of the companies and organizations you’d like to meet. Stop at their booths, talk to the people and get to know them a bit.

Also, put together a Twitter list of the people and organizations whom you’d like to engage. The list will pick up everything from these folks, including that which didn’t reference conference hashtags.

Take picture or two of the people and their booth. Share the photo on Twitter, giving a shout out to the company as to what you thought particularly cool. Maybe it was the people, the history of the company or a new launch. Doesn’t matter.

Make sure in all your Tweets, you’ve included the Twitter handle of the individuals and organizations. That way they’ll see you.

Social media, for building a reputation and relationships, is all about shining a light on others. Doing so you’ll end up in conversations, online and offline.

Niki Black, an attorney and legal technology evangelist at MyCase, does a wonderful job of giving love to others on social media as means of building MyCase’s brand.

She’s blogged about her observations at conferences, giving shoutouts to people and companies as part of her reporting.

This last year she’s been doing video interviews of legal tech entrepreneurs, innovators and influencers right at MyCase’s booth. The videos are nicely edited and then run over a few months time – all strategically shared across social media. Who wouldn’t like that type of love?

Beer for Bloggers events, hosted by LexBlog at tech conferences over the last thirteen years, were started as a way to give a little love to Bloggers and other industry professionals who always spoke kindly of LexBlog online and offline.

For the last ten years, LexBlog has conducted video Interviews at legal conferences all over the country. We wanted to portray the people interviewed as heroes for companies they founded or initiatives they launched, be it even their blog. Conference coordinators loved it was well.

Be different. Engage others. You think you’ll get the ear of Bob Ambrogi, the “Dean of Legal Tech Reporting,” by shouting at him and the world on Twitter.

• “Easy timekeeping wherever you go – stop by Booth #318 while at ABA Techshow…”
• “We will be at booth 821 #ABATECHSHOW tomorrow in the Startup Alley section #legaltech”
• “Boost #SEO, #PPC and turn visitors into customers. Contact us for a FREE consultation at 619.567.9322. #ABATECHSHOW”
• “…is going to #ABATECHSHOW this week and we’re revealing new product! Stop by Booth 808 and see what the buzz is about!

ABA Techshow, a conference filled with down-to-earth tech companies, industry leaders and lawyers, is a great place to learn to use social media the right way.

By giving a little love.

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