Archive for the ‘social marketing’ Category

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

Facebook has a new feature that allows you to repost other users’ shared items, much like the ‘retweet’ function everyone uses on Twitter. To try it, just go to a friend’s posted item in your news feed, click “share,” and you’ll see a “via [your friend’s name]” (with an option to remove it). Once shared, the item will appear on your profile, with a ‘v’ia link that points to your friend’s profile. Your friends will also see the item in their News Feeds, creating a viral loop, much like ‘re-tweeting:’

This function has many good uses: for example, if you are a fan of a page that keeps you abreast of changing estate planning laws, you could ‘share’ a relevant post of that page with all of the friends and fans of your own page, thereby educating your audience on a matter important to them.  Or, you could just repost a review of a good book or blog post someone else shared, giving your client base a chance to get to know you on a more personal level and strengthening your relationship.  Test it out and see for yourself the response you receive!

It is now easier than ever to engage in meaningful conversations in Facebook.  The newly updated Facebook Search Feature allows you to search for topics being discussed in status updates. You can use this feature to find people who are looking for estate planning services.  See example below:

By searching for the words “estate plan” I instantly found someone looking for a “good estate attorney”  (Oh, and I was sure to recommend one to her!).
You can search through posts of your friends, or choose the more global “Posts by Everyone” feature to find people outside of your current network.
It’s quick, easy, and a really great way to increase your social networking contacts.

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!