Growing Your Committee’s Membership: Technology, Communication Tools & Other Resources  Utilize social media  Communicate with your members through Listserv  Keep your committee’s web content current  Encourage your members to visit the TIPS iCafe

Committee Websites Keep Your Content Fresh! Updated content keeps your members coming back and attracts new members---your site is a resource, service and member benefit Announcements Newsletters Upcoming Programs Conference Calls Increased site content boosts Search Engine Optimization (SEO); bringing in new traffic and potential members Use visible Social Media buttons to increase member interactivity

Committee Websites Appoint a Technology Vice-Chair Every general committee should appoint a Technology Vice-Chair Committee websites are DCH (Dynamic Committee Homepage) pages which allow members to access and edit the site themselves by logging in to their ABA account DCH pages are user-friendly and do not require the Technology Vice-Chair to have a strong programming background To set up DCH training for a member, contact TIPS Technology Specialist, John Benigni at

The Social Media Revolution

What is Social Media?  Social media Social interaction online Interactive -- many to many communication Involves content consumers and content producers Easy way to share information and post content online  LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are examples of social networks which fall under the social media umbrella.

LinkedIn   A business-oriented social networking site “online resume”  An interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries and 200 countries  Mission: connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful  Launched in 2003  More than 200 million users worldwide  A new member joins approximately every second  Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members  You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals  Members of TIPS LinkedIn Group: 4,878 (March 2013)

TIPS Group on LinkedIn-Profile Page

TIPS Group on LinkedIn-Overview Page

TIPS Group on LinkedIn-Subgroups

Create a Group for Your Committee on LinkedIn  You will need to register and create an account (requires an address and password)  Under Groups click Create a Group  Here you can add the TIPS logo, Group Name (Example: ABA TIPS “Committee Name”), Summary, Description, Etc.  Then click Create A Members Only Group (you approve requests to join)  From here you can manage the content of the group, invite others to join, and your group will be searchable to others

Create a Group for Your Committee on LinkedIn Click on Join Today Set up Account Under Groups, Click Create a Group Create Your Committee Group!

TIPS for LinkedIn  Create your own profile and join the TIPS group  Create a group for your committee  Keep group content up-to-date  Post relevant content on upcoming programs or start discussions on relevant topics or past programs Example:  Recruit colleagues and other professionals to join your committee’s subgroup

TIPS Subgroups  Admiralty & Maritime  Alternative Dispute Resolution  Animal Law  Appellate Advocacy  Automobile Law  Commercial Trans  Corporate Counsel  Excess, Surplus Lines & Reinsurance  Fidelity & Surety  Government Law  Insurance Coverage Litigation  Intellectual Property Law  International Law  Medicine & Law  PODL  Property Insurance  Self Insurers and Risk Managers  Staff Counsel  Toxic Torts & Environmental Law  Trial Techniques  Workers' Compensation  Young Lawyers

Facebook   A social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers  Founded in February 2004  The second most-trafficked PHP site in the world  A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social network by worldwide monthly active users  User privacy has always been a top priority for the company which is TrustE certified and gives users the ability to share and restrict information based on specific friends or friend lists  Over 350 million active users  Members “Fans” of TIPS Facebook Page: 724 (March 2013)

TIPS Page on Facebook-Timeline The Timeline functions as an open discussion forum for people who “Like” the TIPS page Users will receive notifications when the TIPS page posts something to their Timeline Committees can notify others when site updates have been made by posting on the TIPS Timeline

TIPS Page on Facebook-Info Tab

TIPS Page on Facebook-Events Tab

TIPS Page on Facebook-Events Page Events pages provide details for each posted event Join events to see who is going, and to let others know you are going

Create a Page For Your Committee on Facebook  You will need to register and create a Facebook account (requires an address and password)  Under “PAGES” in the left column of your main screen, click “Create a Page…”  When prompted, select “Company, Organization or Institution” for your page type, and choose a name  Let’s be consistent with our titles, for example: ABA TIPS Trial Techniques Committee  Once created, you can add photos and information to enhance the page; and then invite members and potential members to join and post content  Your page will now also be searchable to other Facebook members as well!

Create a Page For Your Committee on Facebook Sign Up and Create Account On left, click on pages feed, then Click more and Create a Page Select Company, Organization… and get started

TIPS for Facebook  Set up a profile so you can join the TIPS and other committee pages  Mention your firm and involvement in TIPS in your profile  Make a personal decision on whether you will accept friend requests from colleagues or clients or if you will keep your page personal  Keep your committee page content up-to-date  Post upcoming programs and applicable content links  Recruit members and potential members to become involved with the TIPS and individual committee Facebook pages

Twitter   Online social networking and microblogging service that enables users to send and read text- based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets"  Created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July  Rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with 500 million users as of 2012, generating over 340 million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day

Twitter Including in your tweets alerts us that you are tweeting at TIPS or about TIPS Twitter tracks “trending” topics by the use of a hashtag (#) before certain keywords and phrases If TIPS members were in a discussion on twitter; all relevant tweets can be identified by the use of a common hashtag; for example: #ABATIPSSpringMeeting

TIPS Twitter Account  1,147 followers  Visit to  Tweet about upcoming meetings, programs, deadlines, eTIPS News, press releases, etc.  Your “followers” will see what you tweet in realtime  Goal is to begin assigning members to post live tweets from our programs and meetings

Set Up a Twitter Account Sign up Set up your profile and Start tweeting!

TIPS iCafe  Designed to raise awareness of TIPS’ social media accounts and efforts  Gives members a chance to explore and create accounts for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn  Provides an initial opportunity to begin live tweeting with fellow TIPS members  Encourage your members to visit during Section Meetings

Committee ListServs  All TIPS General Committees have a ListServ  When a member joins a committee, they are automatically subscribed to that committee’s ListServ  ListServ messages are plain-text and an easy communication vehicle  TIPS Staff can send messages to your Committee ListServ, they are not to be over-used and abused but are a great way to communicate directly with your members

TIPS Technology Committee- We’re Here For You  Provides oversight and input to the Section's web presence, and serves as a technology resource to Section committees  Assists with list management, website content management, and other technology issues  Works closely with and provides guidance to the TIPS Technology Specialist, John Benigni, in developing the technology needs for TIPS staff and TIPS committees and members  Encourages committees to keep their web content updated and fresh and to utilize social media to communicate with current and potential members  Technology Committee members liaison with each general committee. If you haven’t been contacted yet, you will be soon

TIPS Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee LinkedIn Profile Page

TIPS Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee LinkedIn Discussion Page Number of new members since January 1, 2011 = 90 Number of those new members directly attributed to social media outreach = 15 17% increase due to Linked In efforts

TIPS International Law Committee LinkedIn Profile Page

TIPS International Law Committee LinkedIn Discussion Page

TIPS Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee Website

ABA TIPS Best Practices for Recruiting Members 1.You Are Your Committee’s Brand Don’t need the hard sell  Briefly Explain your ABA journey Make the business case  Laying the foundation Mention your committee position briefly at conference; follow-up with business card notes; invite to participate on monthly call (FREE) and to join Linked In page (FREE) Once Joined: Start them slow – newsletter article; minor role in program with seasoned committee veteran; graduate to larger roles each year Chris Nolan

Best Practices for Recruiting Members 2.Recognize different pitches needed for different people A.At your law firm: business generation case to partners; writing/speaking/leadership opportunities for associates B.In House/Government Counsel: The ABA means something; full- time administrative staff and lobbying wing in Washington, D.C.; opportunity to meet and assess counsel on national platform; never know when you’ll try private practice for first time or again C.Law students: unmatched access to leaders in the industry who will provide job advice, interviewing tips, a friendly ear

Have Questions or Need Help?  Erin Ruehrwein:  John Benigni: