Week 3: TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET?

I use to think that Twitter was for kids and just another version of MySpace where teenagers could go and chat about their favorite rock groups or latest video games. If you’re like me and thought Twitter was mostly about the mundane subject of what kind of oatmeal Bob ate for breakfast, then you have not been paying attention.
Who are the users of Twitter? Reuter’s reporter Alexei Oreskovic recently authored a blog post on Twitter demographics. In that post Alexei reported, “A recent study by comScore discovered that 18-24 year olds are actually 12 percent less likely than average to visit Twitter. The 45-54 year olds are actually 36% more likely than average to visit Twitter making them the highest age group, followed by 25-34 year olds.
What opportunities do these demographics portend? If you look at Twitter like a river of ideas with an audience that has considerable spending power then perhaps like a Doctor listening to the heartbeat of a patient there is something useful to learn. Claire Cain Miller has reported in the NY Times that companies like, Starbucks, Whole Foods and Dell can see what their customers are thinking as they use a product, and the companies can adapt their marketing accordingly. “Twitter’s most productive use has been for businesses that want to peer into the minds of their customers, reading their immediate reactions to a product.” In her article Ms. Miller makes mention of how Starbucks customers often post their complaints on Twitter. Dell listened to customer complaints on Twitter about their apostrophe and return keys being too close together on the Dell Mini 9 laptop and fixed the problem in the Dell Mini 10. Amazon has changed its classification of books in response to Twitter criticism regarding some of its adult ratings.
According to Scot Finnie of Computerworld there are 5 reasons Twitter makes sense for business and IT:
• It’s got a real business use.
• It’s ok to follow people you don’t know.
• Twitter delivers news, unique perspectives and stellar information.
• You can mark your company or personal brand.
• There are no cliques or hurt feelings.
According to Finnie, Twitter has an older demographic than other forms of social media. In Facebook and LinkedIn you need permission to befriend other people. In Twitter you can choose to follow anyone. People are followed because they have something interesting to say, not because they are a friend or connected to you in some form. Once a Twitter following reaches a large enough scale it becomes like a microblog and can be used to build out a brand for one’s business. Twitter is a great news tool and through the use of retweets (republishing another person’s tweet) the best news bubbles to the top. In this sense the collective voice on Twitter pushes the most popular ideas to the front by republishing them. The user can control the stream of the tweets on Twitter. If you “unfollow” someone it doesn’t send them a message hurting their feelings. These characteristics give Twitter strengths that are not matched by Facebook or LinkedIn.
How does the Twitter user track so much information? Ok, Twitter is not for kids, and plenty of adults are using it. Corporations are following the tweets and building out their brands. In a world of increasing demands and decreasing time how does one manage all this information?
One free software tool is called “TweetDeck.” TweetDeck works with Windows or Mac and is a quick and free download. Once downloaded you enter your Twitter account information, and then create a TweetDeck name and password. The TweetDeck provides a breakdown of your Twitter messages. For example when I installed it on my Twitter account, it categorized my Twitter information into the following categories:
• All Friends
• Mentions
• Direct Messages
• TweetDeck Recommends.
One of the more useful breakdowns is “mentions.” As a Twitter user if you have a hundred different tweets in your daily account, you really want to hone in on the tweets that mention you. Also, “direct messages” is helpful for pin pointing, among the clutter, when someone is directly tweeting you.
CONCLUSION
Twitter isn’t just for kids. Adults and older individuals are embracing Twitter. Businesses are routinely monitoring Twitter to see how well their product launches are faring and altering course if necessary. There are advanced software tools for tracking and categorizing all the messages (tweets) flowing into one’s Twitter account. The time is ripe for leveraging this fast, timely, and omnipresent communications tool for expanding business opportunities. Finally, don’t tweet about that morning’s oatmeal.

David Derrico

http://twitter.com/davidderrico

My guest writer David Derrico, esq has decided to dive in to social media. Every Monday his blog posts will illustrate what he has learned, and what he has to share. Hopefully those of you new to social media will find his posts helpful. In addition, I will be holding FREE weekly conference calls each Friday at 10:00 AM EST to help new professionals as they try to figure out social media. This Friday’s call is titled, “Pick Your Poison: Choosing the Right Social Media Site” -you can sign up for the call here.

My 1st UK Review: “a must read for all law firms”

Adrian Dayton’s timely book on Twitter for the Legal Profession: Social Media for Lawyers:Twitter Edition is a ‘must-read’ for all law  firms.

Indeed, it should be studied avidly, not only by lawyers, but also by any professional service firm that wants to grow its business fast using Web 2.0 techniques.

As a successful New York attorney turned social media guru, Dayton deals with his subject comprehensively and with an easy authority.

He begins by dismissing, with an unanswerable charm, the main excuses that the legal profession commonly gives for avoiding Twitter. Indeed, in a world where the High Court in London has recently authorised the service of formal legal proceedings by Twitter, it is difficult to understand how anyone can now fail to see the relevance of Twitter to the legal profession.

The author goes on to explain, with a kindly guiding light, how to set yourself up on Twitter, how to find people to follow and how to establish your own following. More importantly, the book bursts with practical advice and tips on lead generation and marketing and the secrets of how to turn tweeps …into clients.

The depth and power of Twitter is not immediately apparent to new tweeters. Many people just do not ‘get it’ at all. This book gives you the do’s and don’t’s upfront and shares the inside secrets that will save you weeks of trial and error.

It is both an honour and a pleasure for me to endorse this book in the week when my own firm’s Twitter following has surpassed 5000. It is also an act of great selflessness on my part that I may live to regret. In the vernacular of the Twitterstream:

@London_Law_Firm: MEMO TO UK LAWYERS. Follow @adriandayton. He rocks. His book is a gem, a veritable Twitter-piece of Web 2.0 wisdom. Read and learn.

Christopher J Sherliker
Silverman Sherliker LLP
t: @London_Law_Firm
cjs@silvermansherliker.co.uk
www.silvermansherliker.co.uk

To order your copy at the web discount of $95 simply email Daniel Smallwood dsmallwood@ark-group.com quoting code AD-WEB to order – further details on the book can be seen by clicking here.

Click here for Amazon.com to read more reviews

You Believe in Social Media, Now Convince the Managing Partner

So often on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIN I feel like I am preaching to the choir. The individuals that spend time using these platforms already believe in their power, they have seen it first hand. Unfortunately, so often the cantankerous managing partner that is just starting to buy into the hype of this whole “interweb” deal – seems a mile away from accepting social media.

You can’t create a shift in the thinking of your firm by yourself, especially if you don’t have buy-in from the highest levels. That’s not to say that everyone needs to be using Twitter, but you need to present a unified front for your firm to enter this space in a meaningful way.

Here are some of the biggest myths and misconceptions that I have heard over the last 6 months from upper level management, CMO’s, and partners in charge of marketing with regards to the use of social media for lawyers:

1. If our associates use social media they will post unsavory pictures, and get our firm in trouble.

2. Nobody we do business with is using social media.

3. We only market when there is a clear return on investment (ROI). There is no ROI for social media.

4. We don’t have time to LEARN how to use social media

5. We don’t have time to use social media

6. We can’t afford to make changes/ add blogs to our websites.

7. Our IT department handles our social media.

8. We will get in trouble for violating the solicitation rules if we market using social media.

You get the idea, maybe you have heard these same excuses and justifications for ignoring this powerful new tool.

To implement a meaningful social media strategy within your firm, you need to help your attorneys get over these issues. This Friday at 10:00 AM EST, I will be hosting a free conference call: Overcoming Common Objections to Social Media, and the “Grumpy Old Man” Syndrome Click HERE to receive details for this Friday’s conference call.

Please join us on the call for answers to these questions, and any others callers might have. The call will be just 30 minutes long.

Adrian Dayton, esq is an attorney and author of Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition published by the ARK Group and available through Amazon.com. Grab a free copy of the first chapter and intro here:

Week 2: It is not “Anti-Social” Media

by David Derrico

This weekend I bought a new bed as I moved to a new place. Before purchasing the bed I actually read reviews and tried it out. I needed to lie in different positions on a variety of different mattresses and then I didn’t buy right away. I went home and googled the different brands and even read customer reviews. Then after a period of reflection, I went back to the store with more certainty and purchased the bed. The purchase didn’t occur as a result of walking into the store, but instead some interaction with consumer review sites such as Yelp were in order before taking the leap. I thought today that I could apply this experience to social media.

You can’t simply “set it and forget it” whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or your own blog. It is called “SOCIAL” for a reason. The power in social media lies in the ability to engage in a two-way dialogue to directly connect with a potential reader, customer, or new friend. This ability is uprooting tradional one-way media where a potential buyer might be motivated by a billboard or other static advertisement. I wanted to know what other Chicagoans thought of the store I was going to purchase from and what they thought about the product. I wanted to listen to the chatter, and then jump in and make a decision.

So how do you listen to the chatter? How do you engage in a two-way conversation? I hope to explore this in more detail in the coming weeks. I do know that I am going to try to make an effort to read comments, comment on comments, explore tools for tracking the chatter, and try to better engage in the conversation. It is not anti-social media after all.

David Derrico

http://twitter.com/davidderrico

My guest writer David Derrico, esq has decided to dive in to social media. Every Monday his blog posts will illustrate what he has learned, and what he has to share. Hopefully those of you new to social media will find his posts helpful. In addition, I will be holding FREE weekly conference calls each Friday at 10:00 AM EST to help new professionals as they try to figure out social media. This Friday’s call is titled, “Overcoming Common Objections to Social Media, and the ‘Grumpy-Old-Man’ Syndrome. ” -you can sign up for the call here.

Turn off the alerts! & The 4-Hour Work Week

Is what I am doing now income producing or capacity building activity? -Paul Brown, CEO of Leadership Dynamics

We have created a world of constant distractions.  There are two types of distractions (1) distractions that make us money, and (2) distractions that cost us money.  The problem is, we waste so much time checking the #(2) type of distraction that it sucks away our time to engage in activities that actually make us money.  I’ve created a few easy steps that help those of us that use social media to cut down on the distractions. My inspiration?  The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss.

I don’t believe in the four hour work week.  While the book The 4-Hour Work Week is entertaining, the idea that you could make a difference in the world and live a fulfilling life working four hours per week is absurd.  Having said that, there are some time management tips in The 4-Hour Work Week that rocked my world (and ironically, may make a difference in my world).  I will explain the principle, and then show how you can apply it to your social media routine.

Batching:

Tim Ferriss recommends to get started we only answer emails twice per day.  It is much more efficient to handle something like email in batches.  Just like its is easier to do your laundry once per week, rather than a shirt and pair of pants each day.  This makes sense, right?  If this would cause a major problem in your business, set up an auto-response email that requests people to call you if the mater is urgent.

The unintended consequence for Tim is that people stopped sending him pointless emails- because they knew he wouldn’t respond. Tim has calculated that this practice alone saves him at least 10 hours per week, sometimes even more. He has taken this to the extreme however, now he only answers emails once per week.

I recently spoke to a senior partner at a very large law firm.  He was complaining to me about how little paying work he had.  We went through some basic principles of social media, and I think he really got the message, he could start developing valuable relationships and eventually new clients with social media and these new tools.  Then the doubt surfaced like it does with all attorneys: “How am I going to find time to do this?  I already spend three hours per day answering emails.”

I wanted to say to him right then and there, “How is that working out for you?” (He obviously needed more work).  You see when we spend time all throughout the day responding to emails, it eats away small bits of time that become huge chunks of time. This distracts us from the activities that we can bill for, or activities that can help us develop business.  This attorney needed to figure out a better SYSTEM for handling his emails.  Those of us who use social media need to put together a system as well.

Batching and Social Media

Turn off the alerts.  Ok, so @guykawasaki just followed you on Twitter, did you really need to interrupt your work to find that out?  Your neighborhood garden club is having a yard sale- better put everything on hold to read the Facebook announcement.  Even if you don’t read it, it just popped up on the bottom right corner of your screen- distracting your from real work.  Social media like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook create constant alerts that are in most cases useless and distracting.  So turn them off, or turn them down.  Here are a few “systems changes” I have implemented in the last week that are already yielding huge rewards in terms of freeing up time and keeping me more focused.

1. Opt-out of automated direct messages

This takes two seconds, just follow this link- follow the instructions, and you will stop receiving Twitter automated direct messages (at least from the major sender on Twitter).  This single change has saved me 15 minutes per day.

2. Change your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn settings

Turn all real-time alerts off.  When someone sends you a message on any social media platform, it is sitting in your inbox on those platforms.  Show the discipline to check these before lunchtime or at the end of your work day.  You can’t afford to be distracted all day by these.  Every once in a while, somebody important or valuable will want to connect with you.  Think about it, if they are that important and busy, they won’t mind if you wait until the end of the day to respond to them.  (Believe me, 99% of your new connections will NOT be that important.)  20 minutes per day saved.

3.  Turn off real-time Email Notifications

I know this is difficult for those of you with Crackberry addictions, but turn off the buzzing of your phone for every email that arrives.  If I were to think of THE MOST distracting thing I could possibly invent- it would be a buzzer in your pocket that will just go off at random times.  I understand for some attorneys they need to have a line for urgent matters, so seperate those out, and use a different email address than the one used to announce left-over donuts in the break room.  This has saved me at least 30 minutes per day since I instituted it last week.

As an added bonus, now my battery life on my Palm Pre lasts well into the next day.  This way I guarantee I have battery power left when the important calls come in.

What is the real analytic we are most interested in?  Traffic to our website?  Number of followers or connections?  Comments on our blog posts?  Give me a break!  If you want to survive in this world of social media you need to MAKE MONEY.  Even if you are a non-profit, you need to bring in money.  So instead of tracking your emails, Facebook friends, and Tweets all day, start focusing on something that really matters, the bottom line.

Just ask the question Paul Brown has staring at him on his office wall: Is what I am doing now income producing or capacity building activity?