Melissa M. Gomez, Ph.D., is a jury consultant and owner of MMG Jury Consulting in Philadelphia. She tweets @mmgjury and blogs at The Legal Intelligencer. I want to thank her for taking the time to share her twitter experience and for not listening to her cousin.

Twhat?

About a month or so ago, I was sitting at my dining room table with my cousin (who, for his protection, will remain nameless) and he mentions something about this Twitter thing.  “I have heard of that. What is it?” I ask. His answer: “It is the ultimate tool for narcissists. Basically it is folks thinking that they need to share with the world when they drink their coffee, eat a ham sandwich and use the bathroom.”  Hmm. I don’t think I would be very interested in that.

Fast forward a week. I am chatting with my good friend and “social media stylist” (@usegraymatter). I need advice because I am going to be a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer blog, Pennsylvania’s local legal publication, and I had only written traditional (print) articles before. She brings up this Twitter thing again and I share my cousin’s perspective.

I tell her I am not sure how Twitter would be useful for a jury consultant like me. I get an earful.

In a few hours, I have a Twitter profile up and am searching around to see if there is anyone in the legal profession tweeping or tweeting or twipping or whatever they call it. I am not very hopeful. I know that none of my clients have ever set foot on twitter. They barely have time to check their email.

TwaHa!

What I find is something pretty incredible.  Folks in the profession are not only on there, but are really using Twitter as a professional tool. I see folks using Twitter as a platform to share ideas, articles, legal blogs and ask for referrals. Only the occasional ham sandwich rears its head. Pretty cool. So, I start to follow people. And they start to follow me back.

But what to tweet?

I am pretty sure no one is interested in the half-eaten granola bar sitting on my desk, so I start to tweet about what I would be interested in: good quotes, articles about courtroom psychology, blogs, things that jurors tweet about their jury duty experience. More people in the legal field follow. I follow more people.

Twa Moral of the Story…

So far, my take on using twitter professionally can be summed up in a comment I made on @lancegodard‘s  blog posting  “Aren’t you on Twitter yet?”

I think it is important to realize what social media may and may not be for legal marketers. For my business, I find that the point of marketing is to not only look at immediate gratification, but at the long term benefits.

Specifically, I am tapping into a whole new potential client base through Twitter-folks who may or may not need a jury consultant in the future, but who I know are going to be the future leaders in their industry — they are already setting themselves apart as the experts of their field through their blogs and such.

I realize that Twitter will likely not lead to immediate business, but it is getting my name out there in another form and with a new group of folks. That is never a negative for anyone as long as you put yourself out there in a meaningful way.

When I started my solo practice after years at a big litigation consulting firm, a good client advised me: “It doesn’t matter how you do it, just keep your name in front of people in a meaningful way. That way, if something comes along next week, next year or 10 years from now, your name will be the one to pop in their heads.”

I think Twitter is a great way to do that.

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• Judge ‘Friends’ Lawyer During Case, Influenced By Defendant’s Website (techdirt.com)
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• Trial by Tweet (calblogofappeal.com)
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Believe the Hype
Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, My Space, SlideShare, Flickr…it’s a lot, I know. And I keep hearing the same question: “But have you gotten any business out of it?” My answer: That’s not why I can be found at any of those places (at the moment). I’ve jumped in the water and I’m soaked through to the virtual skin with the possibilities of it all. I’m in a service business, but right now, these web-based social venues are not about “getting more business” online—they’re about “getting more out of my business network” online so I can build my business better offline.

Learn. Share. Link.
The truth is, I haven’t even scratched the surface of what any of these social media outlets can do for me. The untapped potential at my fingertips is enough to keep me awake at night, I tell you. Now, instead of going online to search for information that I’m interested in, the information I’m interested in comes directly to me. Once you find the global, national, regional and/or local leaders in your online community, you’ll have instant and consistent access to the content, thinking and innovation that may inspire you on the local level. In turn, you can then filter, frame and forward on content, thinking and innovation to (and for) the clients, peers or prospects who are interested in what you have to say. (HINT: This is the part where you actually DO “get business out of it.”)
So instead of looking at online social media outlets as “forced socialization” (which is how some real life networking functions can feel), think of it as “flexible socialization” that you can customize, alter, enhance, engage and disengage at a hard cost of $0. And as an added bonus, you don’t even have to dress up and put on your uncomfortable shoes. The only cost here is your time. And for that, I say input equals output.

Make Social Media Make Sense To You
If you STILL think you “don’t have time” for this stuff, consider finding a few (or even one!) good blogs to read that are put forth by someone who has invested the time to sift through the virtual layers of dialogues, chatter, posts, walls, comments, etc. (Obvious recommendation to subscribe to my posts here on GrayMatter Minute, as just one REALLY GOOD example.) And chances are you’re going to eventually find yourself wanting to join the conversation. When you do, be strategic and break it down:

Stop Talking Yourself Out of It and Tweet Yourself Into It, Already!
I recommend trying Twitter as a starting point if your online objectives are business oriented, as are mine. Twitter will lead you to great blogs, great thinkers, great sites, endless resources and even face-to-face meetups (or “TweetUps” as they are called) with other tweeters. Here’s a great post from Sarah Evans (a.k.a. @PRsarahevans on Twitter) that can help you get your head around the Twitter “How To’s” so you can fast track your learning curve. You’re also going to want to check out Darren Rowse‘s blog: TwiTip.

Move Yourself From A Follower to A Following
Take it from someone who was never a big fan of networking events because they felt so forced. It’s the absolute and unabashed flexibility social media offers me that has me singing…er, tweeting, posting and facebooking…its praises. You’ll be amazed at what building your own little (or big) following can do for your business. You’ll probably even find yourself no longer asking if you’re “getting any business out of” social media and focusing more on the value you’re “bringing to it.” And that, folks, is the real bottom line on social media.

Find Me and Say Hello
Get to know my business better on LinkedIn: Renee Lemley
Join the conversation I’m having on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usegraymatter

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I promise myself (and my 1 other follower…thanks, mom) that I will return to the written word in my posts very soon here on my little blogcast, but I keep stumbling upon these fantastic video links that do such a GREAT job showing some of the things I’d otherwise be trying to say in my posts.

So here’s another, for all the folks who keep asking me, “What is Twitter?” (And there are a lot of you out there. You know who you are.) This one’s for you…

You can link directly to this video presentation at TwiTip, a blog for newcomers to Twitter. Or head straight to youtube if that’s where you’re most comfortable, virtually speaking. TwiTip is edited by Darren Rowse from ProBlogger and is all about getting started on Twitter and making the most of your twitterstream. This site will be a much needed “How To and Why Should I” for newbies. So if you are a newbie, I highly recommend you signup for his RSS feed or Subscribe via email.

If you’d like to follow Darren Rowse on Twitter, just click on @problogger.

Like lists? Don’t miss: 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter by Dosh Dosh, a blog offering “internet marketing and blogging tips, alongside social media strategies. Best consumed by bloggers, entrepreneurs, web publishers, marketers, freelancers and small business owners.”

Like pulp? Leaf through some of the very handy resources on the Twitter for Business Reading List from Pistachio Consulting.

That’s all for today. Time to close out another gray matter minute, always committed to saving you time online. Well, look at that! Managed to do some actual writing along with this video post. Hope you find the links useful.