Comments on: THE BEST SOCIAL NETWORK FOR LAWYERS, OR ANYONE, IS….. http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/ Strategic Social Media: Making Social Media Make Sense Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:58:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Legalmatters http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-2417 Legalmatters Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:45:30 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-2417 Great article and I like Gerry's comment. We are all trying to learn the ins and outs of social media to generate new business. In my experience, it can take a minimum of 2 years to see any real results from social media so long term is the mentality to have when looking at Sm as a tool to bring in new clients. I just got an email today for this new service that launched. It seems like an easy way to generate new business now while other things develop. The site is www.simplyprospects.com, I just signed up today so don't have any real feedback yet but I like it so far. Great article and I like Gerry’s comment. We are all trying to learn the ins and outs of social media to generate new business. In my experience, it can take a minimum of 2 years to see any real results from social media so long term is the mentality to have when looking at Sm as a tool to bring in new clients. I just got an email today for this new service that launched. It seems like an easy way to generate new business now while other things develop. The site is http://www.simplyprospects.com, I just signed up today so don’t have any real feedback yet but I like it so far.

]]> By: 11 Reasons Why Big Law Should Experiment with Social Media (Part 2) | B2B Bliss http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-1184 11 Reasons Why Big Law Should Experiment with Social Media (Part 2) | B2B Bliss Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:57:38 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-1184 [...] up a Google Reader so you can listen in. Some of my favorites are Jane Navarre, Heather Milligan, Nancy Myrland, Adrian Dayton and Kevin [...] [...] up a Google Reader so you can listen in. Some of my favorites are Jane Navarre, Heather Milligan, Nancy Myrland, Adrian Dayton and Kevin [...]

]]> By: Zen & The Art of Legal Networking http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-944 Zen & The Art of Legal Networking Fri, 21 May 2010 23:45:32 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-944 <strong>Re-Cap From Social Fresh Portland: Corporate Blogging Panel...</strong> Another great session at Social Fresh Portland was the afternoon panel on Corporate Blogging with Mike Volpe of Hubspot, Kristy Bolsinger of RealNetworks, and Andrew Sinkov from Evernote.  Starting the panel off with a bang, their first quest... Re-Cap From Social Fresh Portland: Corporate Blogging Panel…

Another great session at Social Fresh Portland was the afternoon panel on Corporate Blogging with Mike Volpe of Hubspot, Kristy Bolsinger of RealNetworks, and Andrew Sinkov from Evernote.  Starting the panel off with a bang, their first quest…

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-765 Nancy Myrland Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:11:14 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-765 Hi Gerry...welcome, and thanks for stopping by! Yes, video plays a huge part in what we should all consider as a valid marketing vehicle to help communicate our message. Not everyone will feel comfortable with video, or any of the other tools that are social in nature and allow for feedback, but that's okay. The right tools are right for that person, or that firm, or company based on their goals, what they like to do, what they can learn to do, and what attracts the right clients or referral sources to them. Thanks for joining the conversation. I hope you'll come back often! Hi Gerry…welcome, and thanks for stopping by! Yes, video plays a huge part in what we should all consider as a valid marketing vehicle to help communicate our message. Not everyone will feel comfortable with video, or any of the other tools that are social in nature and allow for feedback, but that’s okay. The right tools are right for that person, or that firm, or company based on their goals, what they like to do, what they can learn to do, and what attracts the right clients or referral sources to them. Thanks for joining the conversation. I hope you’ll come back often!

]]> By: Gerry Oginski http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-760 Gerry Oginski Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:57:53 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-760 Hi Nancy, I just came across your blog post today. The question shouldn't be what is the best social network for you as an attorney. Instead the question should be what is the best social media available to market yourself? That's the goal, isn't it? That's why we spend so much time blogging and tweeting and being on Facebook? We all know that social media is King online. It used to be that plain old text and content was King online. Now it's all social media. Well, guess what is king of all social media? The answer is video. Video allows the viewer to see you, hear you, and a viewer can begin to trust you before they ever walk into your door. I know there were comments above that talked about off-line social networking as well as online networking. The key is to use all of them to improve the chances that the people in your network will recognize you as an expert and contact you to help them solve their legal problems. If an attorney is deciding among many different social networks, and you pose your question, the answer, in my opinion should be: video; although I suppose that does not technically fall within a "social network." Best regards, Gerry Hi Nancy, I just came across your blog post today. The question shouldn’t be what is the best social network for you as an attorney. Instead the question should be what is the best social media available to market yourself?

That’s the goal, isn’t it? That’s why we spend so much time blogging and tweeting and being on Facebook? We all know that social media is King online. It used to be that plain old text and content was King online. Now it’s all social media. Well, guess what is king of all social media?

The answer is video. Video allows the viewer to see you, hear you, and a viewer can begin to trust you before they ever walk into your door.

I know there were comments above that talked about off-line social networking as well as online networking. The key is to use all of them to improve the chances that the people in your network will recognize you as an expert and contact you to help them solve their legal problems.

If an attorney is deciding among many different social networks, and you pose your question, the answer, in my opinion should be: video; although I suppose that does not technically fall within a “social network.”

Best regards,

Gerry

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-545 Nancy Myrland Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:38:25 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-545 Thanks for your comments Jay. Actually, I was not presupposing that social networks are only online, but just sharing with you my answer to someone who specifically asked about the best "online social network." At the time, we were not discussing face-to-face networking. I agree with you that offline social networking in the traditional sense of the word is the gold that we all strive to find. To be able to look at someone's face in person, to be able to read their body language, see what their eyes are communicating as well as their words, and to be able to talk and smile IRL, in real life, is an experience more valuable than words can express. Thanks again for stopping by, and for sharing your valuable thoughts! Thanks for your comments Jay. Actually, I was not presupposing that social networks are only online, but just sharing with you my answer to someone who specifically asked about the best “online social network.” At the time, we were not discussing face-to-face networking. I agree with you that offline social networking in the traditional sense of the word is the gold that we all strive to find. To be able to look at someone’s face in person, to be able to read their body language, see what their eyes are communicating as well as their words, and to be able to talk and smile IRL, in real life, is an experience more valuable than words can express.

Thanks again for stopping by, and for sharing your valuable thoughts!

]]> By: Jay S. Fleischman http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-541 Jay S. Fleischman Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:03:56 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-541 Nancy, you hit the nail on the head with one exception - you're presupposing that the only social networks available are online. That's a reductionist view because "social" means more than online. If you want to be social, you need to actually ... well, be social in the old-school sense of the word. Make a phone call to a client for absolutely no reason. Say hi, see how things are going, and leave it at that. Making the connection are the core ideas behind "social media," (yes, I'm using quotation marks on purpose there) and those core ideas run through our entire lives. Your clients and colleagues are your greatest mouthpieces, and maintaining a connection - be it online or offline - is critical to long-term success. Twitter may disappear tomorrow, and Facebook may go the way of MySpace (who?). The platform is just that - a platform and nothing more. The tools we use to manage our participation in those platforms are inconsequential, and a matter of taste and affinity. The goal, of course, is to connect with people with whom you have a shared interest and/or common goal. Maintain those connections in any way you see fit, but it is critical to maintain them. Nancy, you hit the nail on the head with one exception – you’re presupposing that the only social networks available are online. That’s a reductionist view because “social” means more than online. If you want to be social, you need to actually … well, be social in the old-school sense of the word. Make a phone call to a client for absolutely no reason. Say hi, see how things are going, and leave it at that. Making the connection are the core ideas behind “social media,” (yes, I’m using quotation marks on purpose there) and those core ideas run through our entire lives.

Your clients and colleagues are your greatest mouthpieces, and maintaining a connection – be it online or offline – is critical to long-term success. Twitter may disappear tomorrow, and Facebook may go the way of MySpace (who?). The platform is just that – a platform and nothing more. The tools we use to manage our participation in those platforms are inconsequential, and a matter of taste and affinity.

The goal, of course, is to connect with people with whom you have a shared interest and/or common goal. Maintain those connections in any way you see fit, but it is critical to maintain them.

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-535 Nancy Myrland Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:51:09 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-535 Thanks Maria. I, too, use Hootsuite for certain tasks. We are lucky to be living in a time when there are more tools than we have time for, meaning we can pick from those that fit our needs, or a combination of several. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks Maria. I, too, use Hootsuite for certain tasks. We are lucky to be living in a time when there are more tools than we have time for, meaning we can pick from those that fit our needs, or a combination of several. Thanks for stopping by.

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-534 Nancy Myrland Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:49:11 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-534 Thanks Paramjit. I appreciate your input. Strategy in law firms, and all businesses, should be paid attention to if serious growth and retention is the expectation. We are all working very hard in this economy, so it makes sense to be as strategic as possible so we understand the direction we are heading, as well as setting realistic expectations for ROI. Again, thanks so much for stopping by. Thanks Paramjit. I appreciate your input. Strategy in law firms, and all businesses, should be paid attention to if serious growth and retention is the expectation. We are all working very hard in this economy, so it makes sense to be as strategic as possible so we understand the direction we are heading, as well as setting realistic expectations for ROI. Again, thanks so much for stopping by.

]]> By: Jayne Navarre http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-532 Jayne Navarre Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:17:29 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-532 Before I get to "it depends," I give the lawyers I counsel an initial assessment based on potential ROI. It is a tactical assessment of each site measured by global objectives and it gets you past the touchy feely part that lawyers don't respond well to in my experience. (Thanks to @heathermilligan for the inspiration behind this strategy.) Here's what I do. I lay out a grid. I put potential sites and services that have proven some effectiveness down the left side, i.e. Twitter, FB, LI and YouTube, Open Forum, Connected, Legal OnRamp, JDSupra. I also add more geeky sites like Delicious, Yahoo buzz, reddit, Slideshare, and maybe digg or even flickr. (Which seem to drop below the radar for most legal marketing consultants and in-house folks, but can definitely add value. With the right analytics in place those sites can give you some numbers that may be meaningful.) I put global objectives across the top. The global objectives must have some general degree of ROI in the social media space. They include stuff like brand exposure, client communication, SEO, driving traffic to the firm website, or thought leadership. Then I assess each site or service's strength or weakness in relation to the objective. Then assign a ranking -- good, decent, marginal. poor, or don't waste your time -- in regard to how that site or service meets the particular objective. Volia! You have an objective, tactical road map from which you can build a working plan. Of course at that point, "it depends." My forthcoming book, social.lawyer, will be published by West Publishing in mid-summer 2010 and I will go into this strategy with more detail. Meanwhile, if you like the idea and use it and it works for you, let me know! Jayne Before I get to “it depends,” I give the lawyers I counsel an initial assessment based on potential ROI. It is a tactical assessment of each site measured by global objectives and it gets you past the touchy feely part that lawyers don’t respond well to in my experience. (Thanks to @heathermilligan for the inspiration behind this strategy.) Here’s what I do.

I lay out a grid. I put potential sites and services that have proven some effectiveness down the left side, i.e. Twitter, FB, LI and YouTube, Open Forum, Connected, Legal OnRamp, JDSupra. I also add more geeky sites like Delicious, Yahoo buzz, reddit, Slideshare, and maybe digg or even flickr. (Which seem to drop below the radar for most legal marketing consultants and in-house folks, but can definitely add value. With the right analytics in place those sites can give you some numbers that may be meaningful.) I put global objectives across the top. The global objectives must have some general degree of ROI in the social media space. They include stuff like brand exposure, client communication, SEO, driving traffic to the firm website, or thought leadership. Then I assess each site or service’s strength or weakness in relation to the objective. Then assign a ranking — good, decent, marginal. poor, or don’t waste your time — in regard to how that site or service meets the particular objective. Volia! You have an objective, tactical road map from which you can build a working plan. Of course at that point, “it depends.”

My forthcoming book, social.lawyer, will be published by West Publishing in mid-summer 2010 and I will go into this strategy with more detail. Meanwhile, if you like the idea and use it and it works for you, let me know!
Jayne

]]> By: Paramjit L. Mahli http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-530 Paramjit L. Mahli Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:26:55 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-530 Nancy your paragraph beginning with "It Depends...." is brilliant. Legal folks really do need to think about strategy rather than jumping on the latest fads. Don't get me wrong, SM has to be incorporated in business development....but, its the old story of making a carrot cake some us will like a lot more sugar, preferably organic, others will prefer a ton of icing on it. Bottom-line it all works as long the message fits the market and the right vehicles of delivery are utilized. Cheers, P Nancy your paragraph beginning with “It Depends….” is brilliant. Legal folks really do need to think about strategy rather than jumping on the latest fads. Don’t get me wrong, SM has to be incorporated in business development….but, its the old story of making a carrot cake some us will like a lot more sugar, preferably organic, others will prefer a ton of icing on it. Bottom-line it all works as long the message fits the market and the right vehicles of delivery are utilized. Cheers, P

]]> By: Maria http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-529 Maria Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:01:11 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-529 I recommend Hootsuite over Tweetdeck. It has a much better interface and its easier to use, plus it has stats on your tweets and accounts, like a mini Google Analytics for tweets. Also, it's great for people with multiple Tweeter accounts (like a personal one plus one for your blog). The search feature is much better for finding people than the one Tweetdeck uses and its a lot easier to keep track of who's following your tweets and who you're following. I recommend Hootsuite over Tweetdeck. It has a much better interface and its easier to use, plus it has stats on your tweets and accounts, like a mini Google Analytics for tweets. Also, it’s great for people with multiple Tweeter accounts (like a personal one plus one for your blog). The search feature is much better for finding people than the one Tweetdeck uses and its a lot easier to keep track of who’s following your tweets and who you’re following.

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-528 Nancy Myrland Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:43:10 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-528 Thanks Adrian. You've provided even more examples of the varied needs and solutions that are completely dependent on one's practice. I appreciate your comment! Thanks Adrian. You’ve provided even more examples of the varied needs and solutions that are completely dependent on one’s practice. I appreciate your comment!

]]> By: Adrian Dayton http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-527 Adrian Dayton Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:36:42 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-527 Great post Nancy, you are absolutely right that it always depends. For example, if you are a corporate lawyer, than a site like LinkedIN is a great fit. If you practice something more cutting edge like IP/Trademark Law, Entertainment Law, or Employment law- than a platform like Twitter makes a ton of sense. While many lawyers shy away from Facebook for business development, if you are practicing retail law: family law, personal injury law, employment law etc - than Facebook is a great place to engage with individuals talking about what you do. These are all just different communities and different tools, so you need to make sure you find the right tool for the job. Great post Nancy, you are absolutely right that it always depends.

For example, if you are a corporate lawyer, than a site like LinkedIN is a great fit. If you practice something more cutting edge like IP/Trademark Law, Entertainment Law, or Employment law- than a platform like Twitter makes a ton of sense.

While many lawyers shy away from Facebook for business development, if you are practicing retail law: family law, personal injury law, employment law etc – than Facebook is a great place to engage with individuals talking about what you do.

These are all just different communities and different tools, so you need to make sure you find the right tool for the job.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-526 uberVU - social comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:19:38 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-526 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by nancymyrland: New Myrland Marketing Blog Post: The Best Social Network for Lawyers Is... http://bit.ly/9fdcFU #LMA... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by nancymyrland: New Myrland Marketing Blog Post: The Best Social Network for Lawyers Is… http://bit.ly/9fdcFU #LMA…

]]> By: Nancy Myrland http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-525 Nancy Myrland Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:03:47 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-525 Thanks Mike! I agree with you about TweetDeck. It is a great Twitter 3rd-party application that helps all of us monitor and prioritize the discussions taking place in social media. I build columns of types of Followers so that I can watch over different groups at different times in order to make sure I don't miss their activity. Thanks again for your comment Mike! Thanks Mike! I agree with you about TweetDeck. It is a great Twitter 3rd-party application that helps all of us monitor and prioritize the discussions taking place in social media. I build columns of types of Followers so that I can watch over different groups at different times in order to make sure I don’t miss their activity. Thanks again for your comment Mike!

]]> By: Mike Reed http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/2010/04/the-best-social-network-for-lawyers-is/comment-page-1/#comment-524 Mike Reed Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:55:50 +0000 http://www.myrlandmarketing.com/?p=400#comment-524 My recommendation? Get a facebook page and a twitter address, and then use an app called "Tweetdeck" - this enables you to monitor "tweets" and facebook comments. I use it and love it. But I also have a LinkedIn page...so I would have to concur with the author...it depends! LOL Thanks, Mike My recommendation? Get a facebook page and a twitter address, and then use an app called “Tweetdeck” – this enables you to monitor “tweets” and facebook comments. I use it and love it. But I also have a LinkedIn page…so I would have to concur with the author…it depends! LOL

Thanks,
Mike

]]>