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State Bars: Stop Being Stodgy And Boring

State Bars need to up their social media game to engage with their members.

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Ugh, another boring email from the state Bar.

Ugh, another boring email from the state Bar.

Dear State Bars of the U.S.,

I would like to like you more.  Truly.  Liking some of you is easy.  However, liking other Bars (like the Bar to which I’m a member) is an excruciatingly painful endeavor.

Here are my sole interactions with my own Bar:

Oh, look, my Bar’s bar journal!  Let’s see… boring article about something I don’t practice… boring article about something I don’t practice… oooh, who’s been reprimanded? 

Crap, I have to submit my CLE certifications and pay gobs of money! Nooooo!

That’s been my own limited involvement with my state Bar. I’m more involved with the ABA.  They have upped their social media game, with the officers increasingly aware of the importance of social media.  But state Bars — meh.

What could make the state Bars more useful and fun, and at the same time make their members want to be more involved?  If my state Bar were to….

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  1. Actively engage its members…
  2. …by providing meaningful content in an entertaining way….
  3. and provide service to its members and the community at large.

Sounds like a nice policy, but what does that mean as a practical matter?  Well, let’s discuss what other Bars are doing around the country.

Leading the charge, at least in my humble opinion, are The Florida Bar, Ohio State Bar, and the New York State Bar.  These Bars have bucked the tradition of very stodgy postings about seemingly unimportant material to get bigger draws and followers.  In contrast to my Bar’s tweets about CLEs, it is a refreshing stream of information and entertainment.

Add to that the Bar’s original content.  In addition to putting out links to stories that may interest some or all of its members, The Florida Bar started a #LawyersAreTheCoolest hashtag on twitter.  It trended quickly and still hasn’t died, unlike some hashtags.  For example, my #AALS2016 commentary was time limited, and my #TrumpInAcademia hashtag just wasn’t funny.  Dead immediately.

The Florida Bar also released a #JustAdulting website and app to help teens transition into adulthood and recognize their rights and responsibilities (and the risks of misconduct).  I count this as a very well thought out, entertaining service to the community, again launched and advertised on social media.

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The result of all these efforts is profound success. The Florida Bar went from 600 followers to 6,000 followers in the course of two years.  As part of my part-time hard-hitting journalism gig, I interviewed The Florida Bar’s Communications Committee Chair Renee Thompson.  She said, “Social media engages your members on their level. Not only can your Bar become a trusted source of information, but your members can begin to see your Bar as so much more than just regulatory in nature.”  In other words, you don’t need to say hello to your members only when you want their dues.

If you look at New York State Bar’s tweets, you see that a social media person is at many if not all of the large events.  Are your events so awesome that you can make your members wish they were there?  In that case, you should be live tweeting your events.  In addition, the New York State Bar tweets about interesting historical facts, current cases, graduations in the state, and interacts with other organizations within the state.

That’s the key, it seems, to providing meaningful content.  There has to be something for everyone, and it can’t just be about the state Bar itself.  As an example, Ohio State Bar’s tweets national stories of interest, from the legally interesting to the legally crazy.

I’ve also noticed that the Bars with active and successful media operations aren’t shy about interacting with others, including other Bars.  There have been numerous twitter exchanges between these bars and me, for example, including a particularly famous battle (all in good fun).   They aren’t afraid to mix it up, to take some risks, to retweet content from their members, and even from anonymous law professors.

While I’m focused on Twitter, I should point out that Bars are all over other social media.  Texas, for example, leads the Bars in terms of Facebook followers, with over 28,000 followers.

One of the reasons for theses changes away from same old, same old?  Bars employ media managers tasked with getting the word out.  If I’m not mistaken, the D.C. Bar was the first Bar in the country to employ a media manager.  Respect, D.C. Bar, Respect.

In short, Bars, the times are changing.  If you want your members to be engaged with you more than just recycling the Bar journal, you have to up your media game.  And, of course, follow me on Twitter.  That part’s just a given.

LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here and on Twitter. Email him at lawprofblawg@gmail.com.

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