Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms

Expert advice on growing your professional service firm or individual practice through social media Showing professionals and their marketers how to accomplish familiar marketing tactics in newer, ways, Social Media for Professionals and Their Firms takes you step by step in putting social media to work for your professional practice. Whether you want to build your own on-line reputation, or are ready to explore new media for corporate marketing and communications, this book is the definitive guide for your strategic approach. Explores why the fastest and most leveragable way to expand relationships today is through the Internet Provides step-by-step approaches to successful professional blogging Discusses high-level strategies for effectively using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and bookmarking sites Includes pitfalls and success stories featuring notable social media trailblazers Timely and practical, this book shows you why new media is rapidly becoming the core way for professionals to reach their audiences. Whether your firm provides legal, accounting, financial planning, architecture, consultancy, or other services, Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms will show you ways to better reach and communicate with your customers.

Expert advice on growing your professional service firm orindividual practice through social mediaShowing professionals and their marketers how to accomplishfamiliar marketing tactics in newer, ways, Social Media forProfessionals and Their Firms takes you step by step in puttingsocial media to work for your professional practice. Whether youwant to build your own on-line reputation, or are ready to explorenew media for corporate marketing and communications, this book isthe definitive guide for your strategic approach.* Explores why the fastest and most leveragable way to expandrelationships today is through the Internet* Provides step-by-step approaches to successful professionalblogging* Discusses high-level strategies for effectively using TwitterLinkedIn, Facebook, and bookmarking sites* Includes pitfalls and success stories featuring notable socialmedia trailblazersTimely and practical, this book shows you why new media israpidly becoming the core way for professionals to reach theiraudiences. Whether your firm provides legal, accounting, financialplanning, architecture, consultancy, or other services, SocialMedia Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms will showyou ways to better reach and communicate with your customers.

Foreword ixIntroduction xiHow to Use this Book xvAcknowledgments xviiPart I What 1What Firms Need to Know about Social Media 1Chapter 1 Defining and Understanding "Social Media" 3Chapter 2 Social Media Policies and Guidelines: Rules of Engagement 27Chapter 3 Comparing Today's Most Popular Social Media 51Part II Why 61The "Why" behind Using Social Media 61Chapter 4 Finding Business Purpose in Social Media 63Chapter 5 Strategy Begins with "Who" 81Chapter 6 Integrated Marketing Tactics 93Chapter 7 Case Studies and Examples 117Part III How 157How to Set up and Use the Tools 157Chapter 8 LinkedIn 159Chapter 9 Twitter 185Chapter 10 Facebook 207Chapter 11 Self-Publishing with Blogs 229Part IV Tips 263Tips to Being Effective Online 263Chapter 12 Writing for the Web 265Chapter 13 Social Media Etiquette 287Chapter 14 Best Practices 295Notes 317Glossary 325About the Author 335Index 339