By now you’re probably using a program to track and evaluate your social media strategy, such as Google Analytics (and if you’re not, you should be!).  But there are also tools specific to certain social media sites, like Twitter.

For example, Tweetbeep will give you hourly updates whenever you or your company is mentioned, while Tweetstats will graph your Twitter use so you can judge how effective your tweets are.  Both of these are useful tools if you’re on Twitter consistently and would like another way of measuring your Return on Influence.

If you are not actively managing your online reputation, feel free to contact us and see how we can help.

Email marketing is still hot!  I hope that you are communicating to your list on a regular basis.  It is one of the best ways to educate your community and it also allows them to get to know you.  Both of which are key to converting leads to clients.   But there is a right way and a wrong way to use email.

One of the mistakes that we see being made is when the emails are being sent.

Picture yourself sitting with your first cup of coffee as you first turn on email.  If you are like most people you are doing what we like to call, “The morning purge.”  You go through the numerous emails you received through the night and delete all but the ones that require your attention, right? I thought so.  So, why is it that so many attorneys set up their emails to be sent overnight?  I haven’t figured out the answer to that question, but you can be assured that if you do your information is much more likely to be purged.  We recommend that you set up your email to be delivered at 10:00 a.m. which is safely beyond the morning purge.

It is also best to send email on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.  This reason is a little more obvious, but Monday is typically a busy day for most and Fridays are, well, Fridays.  People are more likely to want to clean out their inbox to be able to relax for the weekend.

Having recently watched a cyber-argument between two attorney-coaching industry leaders, it occurs to me how very important managing your online reputation can be.  These particular leaders, both of whom for which I have the utmost respect, recently experienced a professional break-up and I learned a few lessons about how to handle this type of situation in today’s new ‘everything is wide open’ society.

Lesson number one:  Learn how to announce changes in your firm that aren’t exactly pleasant in an open and transparent, yet professional and courteous manner.  If, for example, you need to announce a partner’s exit, downsizing of staff, or the end of a collaborative relationship, write it just as you would if you were writing for the New York Times.  Sometimes people take the somewhat relaxed nature of social media for granted and make these announcements with veiled jabs and sarcastic comments.  You should avoid doing this for several reasons.  First, it always makes the writer appear spiteful which does not sit well with potential clients.  Who wants an attorney that may turn that not-so-well-hidden temper on you?  Second, you may just irk the other party enough to begin their own cyber-dissing campaign.  Which brings me to lesson number two…

Lesson number two:  If you have been cyber-dissed always, always respond, but do so in the most courteous manner that you can muster.  Wait 24 hours to respond if you must, but do not get into a pissing contest that will drag you both down into the mud and damage your credibility.  Absolutely nothing good can come from this!  Getting into a cat-fight online can make you look petty, mean, and even a little unstable.  This is not the picture someone wants when they think of the estate planning lawyer that is going to be there for their family if something happens to them.

The moral to this story is this: if you plan to use social media to build your brand and establish your presence as an industry leader, carefully monitor what you say online and what is being said about you (or hire a professional to do so for you).  And, If you haven’t yet set up a Google Alerts with your name and the name of your firm, do so today.

There is a new feature offered by Outlook and LinkedIn where, if you use Microsoft Outlook, you can now have more insight into the people with whom you email.  Basically, once you download the application, you will see a summary of the contact’s most recent LinkedIn activity, status updates, accepted connections and e-mails. You can sort these updates by news feed updates and RSS articles about this person; If you are not yet connected on LinkedIn, you can click “Add” to add them to your network.

This feature is a great way to keep closer tabs on your LinkedIn network, and is helpful in building your marketing lists, as well!

To learn more about this integration and to download the feature, click here.

As anyone who participates in social media knows, Twitter has a great capacity to educate and influence a large amount of people on a daily basis.  Businesses have definitely picked up on the effect Twitter can have on their bottom line, and, as an estate planning attorney, you should be tweeting regularly, reaching out to your target market.

There are some tools you can use to help maximize your Twitter use, and make sure you are following relevant people, and, more importantly, to make sure your tweets are reaching your relevant audience.  Below is a list of a few you might want to check out:

• http://www.twellow.com – Industry/keyword search directory
• http://wefollow.com/ – Find new followers based on your inputted keyword
• http://justtweetit.com/ – Find other “Tweeters” with similar interests
• http://mrtweet.com/ – Get relevant followers by recommending them and discover people relevant to your current needs
• http://www.socialwhois.com/ – helps you decide whether to follow someone or not
• http://whoshouldifollow.com/ – suggests people who are similar to those you already follow