BWPrice's Marketing U

What Type of Social Media Animal Are You?

Scott Blatchley of the blog, Toothbone, challenged his readers to add to his list of eleven "social media animals."  From his blog:

"The idea is to get people using the animal descriptions to reflect their current moods/purposes or demonstrate their personality – for example sblatchley(bee). How ubiquitous can we make this if we all use our networks?"

Here are a few of my favorites from the list:

• Owls – good sources for advice and wisdom.
• Parrots – only pass on links or repeat what others say.
• Meercats – self-appointed police, they report abuse & online dangers.
• Puppy Dogs – desperate for any kind of friends or online connections.
• Otters – Swims in conversation. Jumps ashore. Observes. Jumps in again for more (the runner-up answer in the competition).
• Hummingbirds – known for their quiet energy – natural pollinators, vibrant and resourceful whilst spending adequate time at each flower they visit.
• Sloths – hangs around, watching and eats leaves. They move slowly.
• Fleas – professional networkers looking for business people to bleed.
• Kitty cats – social network on their terms, watch and playfully engage, then go back to sleep again. Occasionally engage in fights.

Take a look at the full list here.  What type of social media animal would you say you are now?  What type were you 3 months ago, 6 months ago?  And what do you aspire to be?  Currently, I am probably an Otter.  I aspire to be a Hummingbird.

On a related note, our CEO, Chris Mercer recently authored a LinkedIn primer.  In it, uses the animal metaphor as well to describe different types of LinkedIn users.  The primer is free.  You can download it here and please tell me what you think.

The Value of Helping People

Every year we exhibit at a large conference of estate planning attorneys.  Last year, I met a young man from my hometown who just recently graduated with his LLM degree.  He called me a few months later after graduation asking if I knew of anyone he might talk to regarding a job.  I put him in touch with an estate planning attorney friend who was very helpful to him.

I saw the young man again today (I am at the conference again this year) and the young man came up to thank me for helping him.  He has started his own practice with the advice of my friend.  Once he has a  need for the services my firm provides, guess who he will call? 

Moral of the story: You never know where business will come from.  Always be nice.  Always be as helpful as you can and not just for business reasons.  It's just the right thing to do.

Top 10 Mistakes of LinkedIn Users

Christine Pilch, a co-owner at Grow My Company and Marketing Director at Bacon Wilson PC, Attorneys at Law wrote a short article entitled "Top Ten Mistakes People Make on LinkedIn" for Legal Marketing Technology. 

Oops.  I see that I commit at least half of the mistakes.  Read the article while I go and clean up my LinkedIn profile, which you can access here.

ABA Launches Social Networking Site

The ABA has launched LegallyMinded, an online social networking site.  Its tag line is "Legal Professionals.  Your Community.  Your Network." 

It allows attorneys to make connections on-line.  Yet, you do not have to be a member of the ABA to join.  Take a few minutes to poke around the site and register.  It looks interesting.

From "About LegallyMinded":

LegallyMinded is an online community serving the legal profession. Our goal is to create an unparalleled resource that gathers law school students, academics, firm administrators, legal support staff, judges, paralegals, attorneys, law librarians and other professionals to contribute, network, and collaborate online.

The community fuses cutting-edge social networking features, top-notch news and articles, and user-generated content. LegallyMinded enables you to:

• Connect with Peers. Expand your professional network using member-matching features to discover like-minded professionals. Find mentors, research employers, or meet new friends.
• Share Knowledge. Exchange ideas, files, and schedules within virtual groups and engage with other members via blogs, wikis, chats, and discussion groups.
• Explore Resources. LegallyMinded editors scour the Internet for the best content on Careers, Education, Practice Management, and Diversity, among other topics.
• Schedule Meetings. Set up meetings with community members using your integrated calendar.
• Voice Your Opinions. Rate and comment on community content.

The site is presented by the American Bar Association, the world's largest voluntary professional association. However, membership to LegallyMinded is free, and you are not required to become an ABA member to participate.

Hat Tip: Larry Bodine's LawMarketing Blog

Duct Tape Marketing : Twitter for Business Live Webinar

For those of you who are interested in Twitter, John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing is joining with social media guru Chris Brogan to present a live webinar entitled "Twitter for Business."  Thursday, December 11, Noon CST.

For more information about Twitter, see the following links:

• My Twitter Experience and Some Twittequette (Michelle Golden)
• Five Part Series on Twitter (Jennifer Laylock)
• TweeterBlog (Jack Bastide)
• Automating Social Media Activity (John Jantsch)

Online social networking : is anyone doing it?

Larry Bodine has a good article on his blog entitled "Social Networking: Crowded But Silent."  He wrote it for the April 2008 edition of Law Technology News.

The article begins:

What if you gave a party, hundreds of people showed up, but almost nobody talked to each other? That describes the state of social networking for lawyers on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and the new Plaxo Pulse. The masses get the idea, but only the evangelists are using it.

Give it a read if you're interested in how people use (or don't use) social networking tools.

Where is the real networking happening?

Our firm is exhibiting at the 2006 Tennessee Tax Institute today and tomorrow.  The meeting attendance is getting smaller each year which has been the trend with these type meetings in numerous states for several years.  The declining attendance is not due to the Institute itself.  The program is first-rate as is the location and organization. 

Is the advent of so many other, less expensive CPE and CLE choices making traditional meetings such as this less attractive?  And more importantly:  where is the real networking going on?  Several clients and referral sources attend and support this meeting and we are happy to be here.  These clients and referral sources are some of the premier attorneys and CPAs in the city.  This is a prime networking opportunity so why is the meeting attendance getting smaller every year?  We are not the only ones asking this question.  The Trustees of the conference are asking it as well.

It seems to me that if a company makes a decision to opt for less expensive CPE and CLE opportunities for their professionals at the greater expense of lost networking opportunities, it is short-sighted.  But maybe I do not see the whole picture.  What are your thoughts?

The ABC's of Networking (Literally)

Thom Singer has embarked upon the ABC's of Networking.  He began with "A is for Attitude" and, as of this posting, he's currently up to "I is for Intensity."  Fun and educational.  Check it out!

Networking for the Person Who Hates Networking - Part II

In Part I of this post, I talked a bit about Thom Singer's book, Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships.  In this second post, I complete the list of those hidden jewels of advice from the book as well as discuss a recent networking seminar I attended. 

More helpful hints from Thom Singer's Some Assembly Required:

Networking for the Person Who Hates Networking - Part I

It seems as if the good Lord is telling me to pay attention to networking.  In late December, I bought Thom Singer's book, Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships.  I bought it out of curiosity because I very much enjoy Thom's blog.  The book is a fast and easy read with some hidden jewels of advice (hidden for me, at least).  After reading it on a plane ride from Memphis to Miami, I came away with a renewed commitment to be intentional about building and nurturing my network. 

In mid-January, I received an invitation to attend a "Purpose Driven Networking" seminar.  I signed up and while the information was geared more toward smaller businesses, I found it to be helpful.

Then, networking has been all over the blogs I follow so, as I said, the good Lord is speaking to me. If you've been reading this blog for any period of time, you know I hate "networking."  But with the right attitude and the right intentions, networking can be fun and rewarding.   

Here are a few truths that resonated with me and are hopefully helpful to you: