Twitter

Should Twitter Become A Standard Tool Among Lawyers ?
Lawyers and law firms should consider making Twitter one of the standard tools of the profession. Is Twitter mainstream among non-lawyers? Although Twitter has a long way to go to catch up to Facebook, Twitter is being used more and more by non-lawyers and in popular culture. Doctors are tweeting from the operation room, jurors are tweeting, and celebrities are becoming more active on Twitter. An NBA player recently tweeted during halftime of an NBA game, revealing to his followers what his coach had told the team, and vowing that he needed to play harder during the second half of the game. Although the player was subsequently reprimanded for his in-game tweet, Twitter is increasingly becoming part of the popular consciousness. (…)

Internet Marketing for Attorneys through Jaiku and Plurk
One of the cornerstones of Internet marketing for attorneys and lawyers should be micro-blogging. The current leader among micro-blogging services is Twitter. If you are not yet on Twitter, I recommend that you set up an account as soon as possible. (…)

Social Media for Attorneys, Marketing, and Tumblr
Attorneys and lawyers using social media should consider adding Tumblr to their marketing and networking arsenal. I finally joined Tumblr today and recommend that attorneys interested in social media consider doing the same. Here is my initial effort at a Tumblr profile: http://bentleytolk.tumblr.com/. (…)

Internet Marketing for Attorneys Requires Speed
Speed is one of the keys to Internet marketing for attorneys and lawyers. In the first issue of Stompernet's The Net Effect, Brad Fallon writes about the importance of quick implementation. He emphasizes that small businesses have a strategic advantage through their ability to move quickly and decisively. In addition, he mentions that businesses can increase their speed through various means that include outsourcing, technology, and hiring free interns. (…)

Internet Marketing for Attorneys Begins with Tracking
In Internet marketing for attorneys and lawyers, tracking and testing are key. If you are not tracking and testing your results online, you are not taking full advantage of the power of the Internet. The same is true for social marketing and social networking for attorneys: tracking your efforts is the only way to know if they are having any effect. (…)

Should "Retweeting" Be One of Your Marketing Tools?
Attorneys who use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy should consider "retweeting" when it makes sense. In an excellent post from earlier this year (http://bloggingbits.com/the-art-and-science-of-retweeting-for-twitteraholics/), AJ Vaynerchuk describes the mechanics and strategy of retweeting. To "retweet," you re-post to your own followers a tweet (or post) that was broadcast by someone else. This is usually done by taking a tweet, clicking "reply" to that post (which will start a new post that begins with "@" the name of the original poster), typing "Retweet" or "RT" before or after the name of the original poster, copying the original post into the retweet, and providing some commentary on the original tweet. (…)

Is Social Media or E-Mail a Better Marketing Tool?
Social media is still in its early stages as a marketing platform for law firms. According to a recent study performed by Ball State University and ExactTarget, as reported by Digital Response Media, e-mail is still more effective than social media in influencing purchases and buying behavior of those between the ages of 18 and 34. In addition, although teenagers are the heaviest users among all age groups using social networking, teenagers are more influenced by email marketing and direct mail than any other group. (…)

Serialized Twitter "Articles" as Attorney Marketing?
While writing articles has always been a mainstay of attorney marketing, there may be a new way to publish one's articles in bite-sized chunks. A recent post (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/13/can-twitter-authors-capture-the-magic-of-lonelygirl15/#comment-2501076) at Techcrunch profiles writer Nikki Katz's use of Twitter to publish a fictional work entitled MyLifeIn140, which is the story of a 16-year-old girl who changes her world by editing photos. Rather than using traditional publishing to disseminate the story, Katz sends out bits and pieces of the story through "tweets" on Twitter, which are limited to 140 characters. Techcrunch notes that such publishing methods have been extremely popular outside of the U.S. (…)

Marketing for Attorneys and the Death of Destination Websites
The marketing for attorneys world should take note of a September 30, 2008 TechCrunch article about whether opening up their portals will save and assist Yahoo and AOL. According to the article, AOL and Yahoo changed their home pages in September 2008 to include additional links to such outside services as social networks. For example, AOL's home page now has integration with MySpace and Facebook, as well as links to Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail. The article notes that Yahoo is positioning itself to become the leading starting point on the Internet. (…)

Marketing for Attorneys and Twitter Coverage of the Debate
For the September 26, 2008 debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, Twitter set up a feed of continuous user-generated updates commenting on the proceedings. The feed is located at election.twitter.com. Thus, with 140 characters or less, would-be political pundits were able to use Twitter's micro-blogging site to comment on the debate and the presidential election. (…)