Online Visibility

Simply put, online presence is the ability for one to create awareness on the various social media platforms, giving people reason to visit the internet. Take for instance, Linda Ikeji’s blog is one of the most viewed blog in Nigeria for celebrity gossip and news, Konga and Jumia are the foremost online retailers of goods […]

Simply put, online presence is the ability for one to create awareness on the various social media platforms, giving people reason to visit the internet.
Take for instance, Linda Ikeji’s blog is one of the most viewed blog in Nigeria for celebrity gossip and news, Konga and Jumia are the foremost online retailers of goods in Nigeria, these sites keep online viewers engaged.
Some have argued that popularity online doesn’t represent popularity in the real world. They argued that most online users are living in a fake world in the internet; in other words, the presence of a user online doesn’t represent the true position of the realities of the world.
Some have also argued that online presence doesn’t benefit the user financially; these and many more are responsible for the lackadaisical approach of some users to the online world. 
There are two sides to a story; it all depends on the angle one is looking at. For the purpose of discourse, we shall be focusing on how a legal practitioner can gain online presence, and the benefits attached to same. Running a blog or a website is finance and time consuming, thus online in this context would be Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatsapp, and Google+, online platforms that don’t cost much to create and manage.
A lawyer who desires to have an idea of his or her online presence should google their names, the search result would give a hint of how popular or otherwise one is on the social environment. How then does a legal practitioner create online presence?
Linkedin is a professional networking site that allows users with common interest and specialisation (let’s say law) interacts with each other. In creating a profile on LinkedIn, a lawyer is given the opportunity to state his skill set and interest, and to connect with colleagues and friends. Jobs of similar interests are advertised, articles and write-ups of the profession of interest are also supplied to inform a user.
Google+ is available to users of gmail account, some gmail users are unaware of the google+; here one includes people into their circle, be they friends, acquaintances, family or professionals, posts shared are viewed by those in your circle.
Instagram is a social media platform where picture says it all. The posts on Instagram are more picture-based than status. Here you view posts of those you follow – likewise your followers see your post. Then we have twitter, Facebook, and whatsapp. These three need little or no explanation.
Where does one find the time in the busy work schedule to post on different platforms? Luckily for you, there are applications e.g hootsuite on several play stores that harmonize these social media platforms into one, whereby a lawyer with a push of a button would communicate his post or update to all the social media handles.
The idea is to create a profile of the lawyer you are.
Online visibility avails one to advertise without breaching Rule 39 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners. No one is saying that a lawyer should falsely represent himself in the online world, rather, create a profile of your current status as a legal practitioner; try to make out yourself as a brand to the online world, let people know who you are and what you offer.
There is a senior lawyer online, Mr. Mobolaji, in all his pictures including his profile picture, he is always putting on bow tie and pocket-handkerchief, this writer might not have met Mr. Mobolaji personally but his online presence portrays one who is always sporting a bow tie – that is his brand. You too can create a brand for yourself.
A wise friend once said, if you try to do everything at once, you would end up doing nothing. Start one at a time; look at your profile and ask ‘what do I want people to know about me?’ ‘Which kind of posts should I share or engage in?’ The right answers to these questions would determine how the online world views you as a legal practitioner. You might be a very good lawyer in your cubicle and no one knows about it, another might not be so good as a practice lawyer, yet the online world knows he is a lawyer.
It all depends on how we look at it.
Do send your comment{s}, observation{s} and recommendation{s} to [email protected] or like us on www.facebook.com/younglawyerscolumn