Social Media

March 8, 2012

Have You Come Across Anything Pinteresting Recently on the Internet?

Nowadays, it seems as though a new social media site pops up every couple of months or so. At one point, Liking, Tweeting, and +1ing were all the latest social media crazes. Lately though, it’s all about Pinning. But, as with all social media sites, will businesses and brands be able to incorporate pinning into their online marketing campaigns?

Pinterest, a photo sharing site that can easily be set up to work in tandem with other popular social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, works in the exact way in which its name implies. Site users essentially “pin” images that they find of “interest” to their profiles. Like other social media sites, individuals can connect with, or follow, the profiles of their friends and other people whom they share similar interests with. However, while such a site certainly has its merits for the typical Internet user, businesses can only wonder whether or not having a presence on Pinterest will benefit their marketing campaigns.
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January 3, 2012

5 Social Media Tips for Your Business in 2012

by Susan L. Sipe

Social media has quickly developed into a key asset for creating a successful business, but shifts in social media trends can often make a business feel as if it is always struggling to stay current with the times. However, there are a few simple steps that every business can take to stay current even as the world of social media seemingly changes from day to day.

Set Clear Goals for Social Media in 2012 – Most importantly, every business should understand where they want to go in the span of a year. Setting goals and creating a timeline will inform the rest of the company’s decisions in social media. While strategies may change in accordance with trends in social media, a strong focus on goals will keep a business on track.

October 12, 2011

Social Media 101: How to Act Online

by Susan L. Sipe

For companies looking to create new business opportunities on social media sites, social networking can either be a blessing or a curse, and is often a combination of the two.

In some cases, companies fail to realize what social media is all about: being social. They fail to interact with people via social media, and are merely content to have profiles/pages on the most popular social media sites. The other half of the time, businesses fail to promote their company and its services, instead relying on witty (often non-business related) banter, jokes, and other less professional interactions to help acquire fans and followers. However, this sort of behavior is typically counterproductive, and often yields few, if any, potential client interactions. The trick is to find a happy medium between the two; to be both interesting and fun, but at the same time never loosing focus that your social media presence is for business purposes. Let’s discuss how to accomplish this.
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October 5, 2011

Can Social Media Really Net You Clients?

by Susan L. Sipe

One of the most common questions we receive from clients is whether or not social media marketing can result in new clients. In short, the answer to this question is YES, but it needs to be clarified.

Social media can net you new clients, but only if it’s properly utilized. That is, social media should be used to help foster relationships with both past and potential clients, and should positively promote a company and its services. Indirectly, this positive portrayal can (and probably will) lead to new clients, but it must be allowed to do so naturally. Specifically, you shouldn’t push your services on fans, followers, or connections. Simply show that you’re an authority in your respective field, take every opportunity to interact with your audience, and be as interesting as possible.
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September 23, 2011

The Secrets of Having a Successful Facebook Fan Page

by Susan L. Sipe

In case you missed our tweetup last week, the SLS Consulting team discussed the importance of Facebook fan pages and how law firms, and businesses in general, can benefit from them.

We started off the conversation by pointing out that a Facebook fan page should be different from your personal, private Facebook page. Why have a Facebook fan page at all? It’s a great way to reach a wider audience as well as a more targeted one. Believe it or not, a lot of discussions happen online now, which is why it’s called “social networking,” and Facebook is first in the lead. If you’re not in the loop, you may miss out. Another benefit of a Facebook fan page is that it gets indexed by search engines, thus increasing your online presence and making your law firm easier to find.
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July 18, 2011

Do You Have Klout?

by Susan L. Sipe

You may have heard of Klout, a startup that measures the online influence of users of social media sites and generates a score based upon users’ connections and activities. Klout uses an algorithm to determine a user’s “real” social media reach, using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare, in addition to several other variables. In particular, Klout looks at whether a user is engaged within their respective audience (excluding spam accounts) on these platforms, as well as what happens to the content a user shares; whether its reposted/retweeted, sparks a conversation, or is simply ignored. In addition, Klout also analyzes how influential a user’s engaged audience is, as well as whether a user is influencing other important users.

Recently, Klout introduced +K (not to be confused with Google’s +1 button or the new Google+), which measures social media influence on a particular topic by permitting users to give other users authority on these topics. This initiative allows users to give other users a +K if the user influenced them on a particular topic. Users are limited to five +Ks every day that can be given to any user in any topic.
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June 30, 2011

June 30 is Social Media Day

by Susan L. Sipe

Mashable has designated June 30 as “Social Media Day,” and around the world, people are getting involved in celebrating the revolution of media becoming social. According to Mashable, the day “honors the technological and societal advancements that have allowed us to have a dialogue, to connect and to engage not only the creators of media, but perhaps more importantly, one another.”

How are people celebrating? By being social, of course! There will be 1,400 “meetups” scheduled across the world, with over 7,000 attendees in six different continents on June 30 to discuss and celebrate the technological advancements that allow everyone across the globe to connect with real-time information and communicate with one another from thousands of miles apart and have their voices heard. Tweets shared on Twitter that include the hashtag #SMday will appear on Mashable’s steam on their website for Social Media Day at http://mashable.com/smday/.
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April 21, 2011

Poll Finds Most Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Efforts in 2011

by Susan L. Sipe

Mashable recently released the results of a poll conducted in February of marketers in the United States and found that the majority of marketers view social media as an integral part of their marketing strategy for 2011, with 70 percent planning to increase their social media budget and activity by over 10 percent this year.

Overwhelmingly, the primary focus of the marketer’s social media goals was to increase Facebook fans and “Likes.” A whopping 35 percent said gaining more Facebook fans to their business page was their main goal for 2011. In response to the smartphone explosion, the second goal at 22 percent was to increase their business’ presence on mobile devices. The poll also found that 87 percent of marketers believed social media was either important, or very important, to accomplishing their biggest marketing goal for 2011.
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March 21, 2011

Happy 5th Birthday, Twitter!

by Susan L. Sipe

On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey sent the very first tweet, which simply said, “inviting coworkers.” Now, five years later, the social media “microblogging” site has become an integral part of the world’s culture.

Considered to be an experiment in microblogging since it limits users to writing no more than 140 characters at a time (called “tweets”), Twitter asks a simple, yet vital question: “What’s happening?” And on an almost daily basis, its 200 million users respond, from luminaries in the technology field, to popular celebrities, to the president of the United States.
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March 11, 2011

What’s the Benefit of LinkedIn for Attorneys?

by Susan L. Sipe

At this point, you’ve probably heard about LinkedIn, a professional social media website that serves in providing credibility, ways to acquire and give recommendations, opportunities to network, and get referrals.

LinkedIn wouldn’t be one of the “must-have” online social/professional profiles if it didn’t revamp its product and launch new strategies from time to time. The popular and useful professional site recently introduced a new social news product, LinkedIn Today. This product provides a convenient and helpful way for those with LinkedIn profiles to access top new stories and information not only within their own network but also from entire industries.
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