Recently, a colleague of mine, Larry Bodine of the Law Marketing Portal and Legal Marketing Listserve, wrote to ask me about my use of Twitter. Here’s what I shared with Larry:
Hi Larry:
Thanks for asking. I hope you are well.
I am looking to Twitter to help me communicate what I do, how I think, work, relate and listen….all important to the Myrland Marketing brand. My main professional focus is helping firms strengthen their relationships with clients so they become more profitable, so I view Twitter as one way to help position myself in the minds of those who choose to “follow” me. With frequency and time, those who follow me might come to know I am interested in client service via client satisfaction interviews, that I am inquisitive, that I have a passion for learning from others, that I am a serious professional with whom they will enjoy doing business, and that I am a very good listener, all qualities I have built my business and experience on these past 20 years.
My profile links to my profile on my website, www.myrlandmarketing.com, so those who are at all curious about what I have “tweeted” can click on that link. The potential strength of that link is that visitors can then read more posts written by me on a variety of topics that have to do with the services I provide my clients. If someone Tweets about something I have said or done, which Heather Milligan did yesterday when I was “Tweeting” with John Byrne, my website stats showed significant movement. She, in effect, introduced me to everyone following her Tweets on Twitter. That meant a lot, so I direct messaged her and said “thank you,” similar to what I would do with any referral or introduction.
I have also begun following news feeds, as well as some I consider to be thought leaders in business and the profession, such as entrepreneur Guy Kowasaki, Newsweek.com Editor-in-Chief John Byrne, HARO’s Peter Shankman, The Edge Group’s Gerry Riskin, and others. I choose to do this largely because I like them and want to get to know them better, but also because I want to learn from them, to stay on top of issues I should be aware of so I can be of better service to my clients, and to build relationships with them. I have replied to Tweets from some of these professionals, and have received responses from them that were directly related to my questions or comments. It is also my intent to help the people I follow on Twitter if there is ever a way I can, whether it be for personal or professional reasons. Again, it is all about building relationships with other human beings for a variety of reasons.
We are in a profession that has everything to do with building relationships. It is my job to build relationships with people who might be interested in something I have to say about a topic of interest. Twitter is but one way I can do this. The lawmarketing listserv is another, posting on my blog is another, attending industry and business events is another, volunteering for civic and business causes is another. Realizing building relationships can take a while, I feel Twitter can help.
I don’t know if I answered your question. If not, please feel free to ask me anything as I will attempt to answer!
Take care Larry.
Nancy
