Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Two-thirds of adult internet users (65%) now say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago, according to Pew Internet Research. That’s more than double the percentage that reported social networking site usage in 2008 (29%).

"For those adults online, which includes virtually anyone who would be hiring a lawyer, the rates of participation are higher at 65 percent," writes Kevin O'Keefe in an entry on Real Lawyers Have Blogs entitled "Time for lawyers to wake up."

Sure social networks attract more people in the 18-29 age group (63%), but 51 percent of those in the 50-64 age group are using social networks," he writes. They are "The core group of clients, prospective clients, and referral sources for lawyers."

"It's funny how good lawyers and legal marketing professionals continue to debate the merits of social networking. They're ignoring reality," O'Keefe adds.

Only email and search engines are used more frequently than social networking tools. The report adds that while young adults have consistently been the most likely to use social networking sites, internet users in other age groups have seen faster rates of growth in recent years. In the past two years, social networking site use among internet users age 65 and older has grown 150%, from 13% in April 2009 to 33% in May 2011. Similarly, during this same time period use by 50-64 year-old internet users doubled—from 25% to 51%.

When social networking users were asked for one word to describe their experiences using social networking sites, “good” was the most common response. Users repeatedly described their experiences as “fun,” “great,” “interesting” and “convenient.”