BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Having already demonstrated a mastery of Google ad-word buys, blogs, and search engine optimization, the plaintiffs' bar has moved to a new frontier in class litigant recruitment: Facebook.

 The social networking site that now boasts more than 200 million active users (more than half of which are above the age of 30) is fertile ground for plaintiffs' attorneys seeking clients for litigation against companies ranging from cell phone service providers to financial services giants.

It costs the plaintiffs' firms nothing (except minimal staff time) to maintain the pages. And Facebook' s viral nature means that each time someone joins a class action group, each and every "friend" of that new member will see that the group exists as well - providing plaintiffs' attorneys with a pool of thousands of potentially damaged parties.

Canada-based Merchant Law hosts a Facebook group that has already attracted more than 8,000 members to a planned suit against some of the country' s top cellular service providers. Florida-based Aronberg & Aronberg is also using the site in its efforts to recruit class litigants to a shareholder suit against Fannie Mae.

What all of this means for companies with class action liability is that if you' re not actively monitoring social networking sites like Facebook for recruitment efforts like these, then you' re missing out on a major opportunity.

By watching the social media space for mentions of litigation against your company, you gain insight into opposing strategies, get a sense of just how large the plaintiff pool might get, and enhance your ability to engage aggrieved parties (group members) in order to rebuild brand loyalty and trust.

It' s the same game - but it' s shifted a new and more perilous playing field. The time has come for companies to catch up with the plaintiffs attorneys that remain a full Internet-generation ahead of those that they target.