In the wake of Google+, law firms are being forced to rethink their strategy. Attorneys are already growing a decent following on Facebook and Twitter, sharing the latest in legal news (as well as showing themselves as likable people). Small communities are popping up around such topics as accident injury, food poisoning, and toy recalls. The addition of Google+ gives the legal industry something new to think about.

The early adopters of Google+ will have to work hard to gain the trust of the social community and get into their circles. The best way to do this would be by developing and sharing fresh and exciting content, as well as engaging with others in the public stream.

It doesn’t just take great content. Growing a community in social media requires the careful use of ad words, engagement, and thoughtful design. A professional looking page still goes a long way in today’s competitive market. For an attorney, it’s also important to come across as a likeable person and not just another lawyer.  The occasional non-business status update and genuinely responding to others in the stream will make a lawyer seem more personable.

Sharing content across multiple social platforms will also increase a law firm’s chances of landing a client. It’s already been proven that Facebook users aren’t as likely to be Twitter users. Although, the majority of Twitter users are found to be active on Facebook. Through the use of Twitter chats, Facebook polls, blog posts and now Google+ huddles and sparks… attorneys have multiple ways to share what they have to offer, listen to their potential clients needs, and act accordingly.

However, Google+ isn’t for the casual social media user. It seems to have attracted those who are typically early adopters of technology. So if a law firm is looking to expand its reach in the social media community, being a part of the new platform will show they’re forward thinkers. And the upcoming addition of Google+ for businesses will make the social transition even easier.

Here are some new terms coined by Google+:

Circles:

These are groups sorted according to their relationship to the user. Family, Friends, Clients, and even People Who Annoy Me all have their place in Google+ Circles. Status updates and content sharing can be done publicly or can be limited to specific circles. This comes in handy when you’re talking about that crazy weekend in Vegas.

Sparks:

Sparks are content create based on the users interests. This comes in handy when it comes to sharing relevant content.

Huddles:

A huddle is essentially a group chat messenger. It allows you to communicate with users in various circles.

Hangouts:

Just like it sounds… a hangout is a video chat room for groups. Users can participate via video, voice, or text chat. Content such as a YouTube video can also be shared in a Hangout.

Many specialized industries will be jumping into Google+ in the days and weeks to come. Not only would Law Firms benefit from being so technically savvy… but the medical field and financial divisions would also do well by updating their social media strategies. Take my word for it. Better yet… shoot me a message (KellyL@Social2B.com) or a tweet (@Social2B) and I’ll help to train you or your enterprise for the next phase of your social media marketing. *Photo Credit Aaron Wood on Google+*

I took some time to ask my Twitter audience the following question: Why do you follow your favorite brands on Twitter? It turns out that most of us just want to be informed. Follow on!

You have a new follower on Twitter! Great! You’re expanding your readership and increasing your  online influence. Now what? How do you retain  Twitter followers once they’ve clicked “follow”? Many  new followers click “follow” and that’s the end of  them. There’s no engagement… no involvement  whatsoever.

New followers bring a new relationship and like any new relationship, it will need cultivating. Developing personal relationships with your followers will create a loyal community. Of course having a one on one conversation with each of your followers everyday isn’t feasible, but it is important to set aside a portion of your day each day to converse with some of them.

First, see who’s speaking to you. Check your @’s and respond to them accordingly. Taking time to respond to those who took the time to reach out to you will go a long way in your community building efforts.

Second, be a source of knowledge. Answer questions and be a helpful member of the Twitter community. If you show knowledge on your topic, your followers will continually come to you for answers. Beyond answering questions, share your insight. Sharing insight on your products and services in a helpful way, makes you an expert in your field. I didn’t say “the” expert, but an expert. And there’s something to say for a knowledgeable representative. Use your expertise as a way to educate and your follows will appreciate it.

Give back. Showing that your company is community-minded is a great way to get the backing of your social media followers. Find a like-minded charity and throw your support behind them. Get your followers involved by doing a fundraiser. Perhaps a portion of your sales will go to charity. Design a campaign that fits your brand and implement it as you would any promotion. Giving back will create new cause-minded followers and bring existing followers in closer.

Have a giveaway! I’m not big on giveaways… but doing one every once in a while is a fun and exciting way to keep your followers engaged. The giveaway doesn’t even need to be related to your product or service, but could be the hottest new gadget. A giveaway like this will draw attention. One of the most interesting contests I’ve seen, involved a picture of a jar of coins and bills. Each day, the brand gave a clue as to how much money was in the jar. Followers tweeted in their guesses until finally, someone guessed right on the nose. They won the jar of money (which ended up being a couple thousand dollars). I thought it was such a creative way to keep readers coming back.

Lastly, don’t make it all about you. Share articles and insights from others in related fields. This might sound like you’re shooting yourself in the foot, but really, you’re saying that you respect and agree with the opinions of others. Sharing information from others in your field also shows that you’re up to date on the  latest techniques. A company this isn’t afraid to share information from others will gain the respect of their competitors. It also shows confidence to your readers.

Everyone knows that clicking the “like” button on a company’s Facebook page shows that company is increasing its fan base. But what happens after the click? For me… it’s often just that. A click. I’m sure that I’m not alone. So how do brands turn a simple click into loyal relationship with consumers?

It all starts with engagement. If a brand can engage its audience… they’re on the right track. Being able to excite the fan base and get them to act is key in building a Facebook community. In order to get them to act, there must be an exciting call to action. Contests, polls, and general questions encourage a sense of community. They’ve already acknowledged that they like the brand, now’s their chance to share their opinion.

In addition to a call to action, in order to engage the audience, a brand must also put out worthwhile content. Posts that both inform and entertain readers are a must. So many brands today are just putting out fluff pieces. Sure, these pieces of content keep their page fresh, but audiences want something more. They want something they can relate to. A well written post can be shared again and again across Facebook by loyal community members. Give them something worth sharing.

Finally, loyal community members want to be rewarded. Companies that find a way to give back to their fans have a much more activity on their pages than brands who don’t engage. A simple “thank you” to fans when a certain milestone has been reached can go a long way.

“Thank you to all our readers who helped us reach 10,000. We couldn’t have done it without you and your input.”

A message like this will prompt those who have been around from the beginning to comment and be proud of the community they helped to build. Beyond words of thanks, giveaways are a nice way to show your community you’re happy to have them around. Brands might also consider a charity drive. Giving back always builds a sense of gratitude in people. Nothing builds community more than giving.

These are just some simple ideas that could be easily implemented with a dedicated team. Without a team willing to put the time in to keep the conversations going… it’s not going to work. Facebook is about people. It’s about relationships. No relationship grows without some cultivation. If your brand is looking to step up your Facebook efforts, be sure you have the proper team in place. Soon enough, your Facebook community will be going beyond the “like”.

By Ted Rubin

Traditional customer service certainly gets its share of bad-mouthing:  endless pre-categorized “service” menu selections followed by long wait times to speak with a customer representative, plus the constant risk of getting disconnected, or the call dropping in the middle of the wait.

Social media is now giving customers an interesting alternative to telephone customer service and the lines at the in-store returns desks.  Many who are getting shunned by traditional customer service are now getting satisfaction through … Twitter.

Using Twitter as a customer service tool actually makes a lot of sense – for your customers and for your brand:

VISIBILITY

For your customer: The direct yet very public nature of tweets gives your customers a way to “keep you in line” and make you pay attention.  One customer tweet including a wisely-placed hashtag (#) and your brand name can make quite a statement.   A customer complaint over Twitter can spread like wildfire.

For your brand: No matter whether the customer tweets are positive or negative about your brand, you have the chance to show your current and potential customers the quality of your customer service.  Good or bad, your customer service is now visible to thousands, so make it GREAT.

NOVELTY

For your customer: There is still a sense of novelty to using Twitter as a Customer Service tool.  Interacting with a brand over Twitter is an interesting story to share with their networks to create a few minutes of mini-celebrity for your customer.

For your brand: Your customer service department members can enjoy knowing this is a fairly new way of working with customers.   Let your business’ customer service be “cutting edge” and that enthusiasm will go far with your customers!

SPEED

For your customer: A Tweet is practically instantaneous.  Compare that to other methods of customer service! The response time to a customer service related tweet tells an important story about your brand, and your customers ARE paying attention.

For your brand: You have a chance to notice, respond to, and resolve customer issues within minutes.  Issue turnaround time speaks volumes for brand, and Twitter gives you a place to showcase your responsiveness.   And remember, your great customer service immediately becomes positive PR — all it takes for your customers to spread the word are a few tweets to their network, and the re-tweets follow from there!

Our customers are looking to Twitter for customer satisfaction – are we there when they “call”??

July 24th, 2009

Kent Huffman is the CMO at BearCom Wireless. You can follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/KentHuffman

The Company

Greenlight360 describes itself as an “Internet television network” that will produce and air original episodic Internet TV and films. The startup is based in Boston and intends to provide a platform for emerging talent to gain exposure and monetize their art while providing great original television programming to their viewing audiences.

You may want to think of Greenlight360 as the next HBO or Showtime . . . but online.

The Challenge

With most startups, one of the main obstacles to success is the lack of brand awareness. Greenlight360 was no different.

Since it was to be primarily an online operation, Greenlight360 executives needed to create a buzz on the Internet. And they wanted to do it quickly. So they decided to focus on several hot social media platforms, including Twitter.

The Solution

Marci Reynolds, COO and VP of Sales & Marketing at Greenlight360, developed a carefully planned strategy to build a quality following on Twitter. Her approach began with creating “buyer personas”—detailed profiles of the targeted users—in order to accurately define the types of followers that Greenlight360 wanted to attract. Keeping those personas in mind, Reynolds identified a number of tweeters (using various tools such as TweepSearch.com, Twellow.com, and HootSuite.com), followed them, and read their tweets for several days.

She then began tweeting about topics that would be of interest to those same people, including publishing a variety of content written specifically for them. In addition to quality, relevant tweets, Reynolds ensured the content was sent on a regular basis: approximately 5-7 tweets each day. She also sent tweets at times where they would receive the most exposure, such as the coveted lunchtime slot: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

The Results

Within 60 days, Greenlight360 had developed a loyal following of almost 600 quality people on Twitter and experienced a lift in Web site traffic originating from the content of the tweets and the company’s Twitter profile.

“I am very excited about the success we’ve experienced using Twitter. Our follower base is very targeted and continues to grow every day. Our content is re-tweeted on a regular basis. And, this past Friday, we had our highest number of #FollowFriday recommendations — five different Twitter users recommended us to their audiences,” said Reynolds. “Twitter has been a very effective tool in launching our new brand name online!”

“We have also learned a lot about our targeted audience through reading their tweets and understanding what content they find interesting and relevant,” Reynolds added. “We will continue to use Twitter as part of our pre-launch buzz strategy and to build momentum and television viewership post Web site launch.”

Kent Huffman, Advisory Associate at Social2B, said, “The process that Marci Reynolds developed and followed at Greenlight360 is identical to the process that I wrote about in my recent Social2B blog post. It’s straightforward and effective, and it can be applied to almost any situation on Twitter.”

Follow Marci Reynoldsand Greenlight360 on Twitter.

Follow Kent Huffman and Social2B on Twitter.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… CY: wait… I: wait… YCat: wait… C: wait…