Embracing Web 2.0

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So much to your children’s embarrassment, you’re on Facebook for fun and maybe marketing, too. Want to really annoy your kids? Embrace Web. 2.0.

You’ll soon be all over the Web, and probably even getting new clients along the way.

It’s been an effective and cost-effective strategy for Madison’s Scott E. Mickelson, of Scott E. Mickelson, Attorney at Law LLC.

But first, if you’re like me and you don’t know what Web 2.0 means, here’s an abbreviated definition from Wikipedia: “The second generation of web development and web design that facilitates information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web.” Examples include social networking sites like Facebook, wikis and blogs, to name a few.

To see how Web 2.0 can boost your marketing efforts, Google “attorney Scott Mickelson.”

I did this a couple of times over the course of the few days it took to write this column. On the first try, I saw that his law firm’s Web site was the first result on the first page. There’s an attorney in Coquille, Ore. with the same name, but the Madison Mickelson was mentioned first and was the subject of seven of the 10 results on that page. The Oregon Mickelson was the subject of just one.

On the second try a few days later, the Madison Mickelson was mentioned in every single result on the first page.

Mickelson says that he decided a few months ago to start keeping track of all the online profiles he’s created over the last few years, or that have been created about him by others, such as Avvo and Justia. He chose Google Profiles to serve as his profile “clearinghouse” of sorts, since it’s a Google application and one of his goals was to improve and increase his Web/Google presence and page rank.

To see what he’s done, go to Google Profiles, and search for “Scott Mickelson.” You’ll find a head shot, professional bio and a whopping 57 links to his profiles/personalized Web applications. The first link is to his Web site; he says it’s easy to control the order in which the links appear.

He’s on all the better-known sites, such as Facebook – both Mickelson personally and his firm have accounts. They’ve “friended” each other; and not surprisingly, Mickelson is a fan of Scott E. Mickelson, Attorney at Law LLC.

He’s also on Twitter and Twellow (Twitter’s Yellow Pages), LinkedIn and Avvo. Then there’s Live, Yahoo!, Flickr, Yelp and many more – even his Amazon.com wish list. No, he’s not expecting that one day a huge parcel will arrive bearing every item on that list. But to the extent that it communicates something to the outside world about himself, his practice and his interests, he considers it yet another free marketing tool.

Mickelson says that of the dozens of profiles/personalized Web applications he lists on his Google Profile, among the most useful to him has been Plaxo.com, which is “about as close to a universal address book as I’ve been able to find.”

He also likes Eventful.com, for promoting events sponsored by the civic and business groups in which he’s involved.

Most importantly, Mickelson says embracing Web 2.0 has yielded new business. In fact, just before we spoke he accepted a new client who said he found him on the Internet. He’d booked an appointment with Mickelson using GenBook, a free online appointment scheduling service. He paid him with PayPal; and the meeting took place via the telephone. Isn’t technology wonderful?

One thing you need to remember – these Web applications are all free, but you do need to invest time.

“It’s just something you have to set aside time for,” Mickelson says. “As I’m learning more about search engine optimization and tweaking my advertising strategies, I’ve come to believe that a solo has to have some idea about how to help your profile rise up to a certain level online – just like you have to meet with the telephone book representative on an annual basis to place your Yellow Pages ad.”

Moreover, there are ways to avoid duplicating your efforts. Mickelson cuts and pastes the same text for his professional bios. He’s linked his Twitter and Facebook accounts, so that updates on one become posted to the other automatically. He also recommends Ping.fm to update all your social networks at once.

Finally, be advised that there are downsides to Web 2.0. It’s very likely you’ll see an increase in spam. And you need to be absolutely sure that what you put in your profiles is information you don’t mind sharing with the whole world, because that’s a genie that can’t be put back in the bottle.