Archive for the ‘Reputation Management’ Category

With so many professionals using social media and posting articles, blogs, and ebooks today, part of your social media strategy should be making sure that nobody else is plagiarizing the work you submit online – and, also, that the work you submit is not already out there, so that you don’t get accused of plagiarism.  If you outsource any of your social media plan, having a tool to occasionally check what is being submitted under your name is especially helpful.  Check out www.copyscape.com, where you can enter search terms or your own blog page, for example, and see whether or not others are taking credit for your work.

You could also use that site as part of your online reputation management strategy.  What if someone has a running negative commentary regarding your blog or your practice?  You’d find such a site using a tool like CopyScape.  Consider implementing a site like this into your social media strategy, to protect the content you work so hard to produce.

There’s a social media resource out there that is great for connecting with your local community: Nearbytweets!  It’s sort of a little cousin to Twitter, and very easy to use.  Just go to www.nearbytweets.com, and on the homepage, enter your location, a key word or phrase, and a radius, and you will find people near you who are discussing topics related to your market on Twitter!

As a test, I entered the phrase “estate planning” in a 200 mile radius around Los Angeles, California, and came up with several different people who were tweeting about estate planning in that area:

What better way is there for you to attract and connect with your local audience online?  Test the site out using different keywords your target market might discuss online, such as, “probate law” or “Mom’s groups,” and see what you find!

One thing that I get asked a LOT is how to gain clients through social network sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Well, the short answer is that you don’t.

Let me clarify.

You don’t go into social networking with the mindset of getting clients.  You go into social networking with the mindset of sharing, educating, getting to know people and allowing people to get to know you.

In this post, the focus will be on the social network called LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is considered to be the more “professional” of the networks.  Even so, you shouldn’t consider LinkedIn as a platform to push your estate planning services.

Just like any other social network, LinkedIn is really about developing relationships—not pushing products and services.  While it is very possible to gain clients through LinkedIn, it doesn’t necessarily happen quickly.  So, when developing your LinkedIn profile, you should treat it like your blog, your Facebook fan page, and Twitter; do what you can to increase your exposure (not push you r services) and educate people, and clients will follow along naturally!  Here are a few things to consider when using LinkedIn:

1. “Pimp out” your LinkedIn profile.  Make sure that it is written with the client in mind. A lot of people use LinkedIn as sort of an online resume. T his is great if you are a job-seeker, but if you are a business owner, you really want to be talking to clients and referral sources.  Be sure to keep in mind that everything you write should spell out the benefits of the services that you provide, not the services themselves.
2. Join Groups in LinkedIn.  For example, if one of your service areas is planning for special needs kids, then do a search on “special needs San Francisco” (or wherever you live).  Then, after you join groups, actually PARTICIPATE.  This is where many professionals lose out on the chance to educate people and build credibility.  Participation in groups is important on LinkedIn, just as it’s important on Facebook and any other niche groups you find.
3. Search LinkedIn questions on a daily basis.  LinkedIn has a great “Questions and Answers” area where people post questions.  Do a search for the keywords on which you are focusing.

Doing all of these things will result in getting really good (targeted) connections and  not just a bunch of random  people who want a large number next to their “Number of Connections” field.

When you have a really good foundation built, you will find some of the more direct promotional types of things are more effective.  Then you can:

• Post your upcoming events.
• Link your blog to your profile.
• Use LinkedIn to find referrals for YOUR clients (think reciprocity).
• Start your own LinkedIn Group – but I caution you to only do this if you plan to update it on a regular basis and keep it active. These groups are like blogs-if someone visits and notices that it hasn’t had activity in months, the chances of them returning are slim to none.

Remember to think of social media not as a sprint, but more like a marathon.  In social media, slow and steady will definitely win the race.

An avatar is any image, photo, logo, etc., that you use to represent yourself and/or your company in the virtual world.

You should get in the practice of using the same avatar across all online services, so that you become instantly recognizable through that image.  Social media sites have done a fantastic job of this; everywhere you see their avatars, you know that Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have a presence on that page, like they do here below.  As an attorney, the more your avatar pops up online, the more likely they are to remember you when they need estate planning.  It’s a great way to build recognition online!

Have you ever “Googled” yourself?

(I actually highly recommend that you do this on a regular basis, but that is another blog post.)

If you have, you were most likely unhappy with the results. Chances are that if you had the ability to determine what people saw there it would look totally different. Google is actually trying to help you do just that with “Google Profile.” Google Profile provides a simple, easy portal for your online identity. When you create a profile, a thumbnail of your information appears at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages.

Google Profiles allows you to be in control of what you share. You can enter your blog and website as well as links to your social networking sites.  Today, Google Profile is still relatively new, but I suspect that one day profiles will be listed at the top of the search listings.  So create yours today!

Note: You need to have a Google account to create the profile.  If you need a Google account you can sign up here.