Open Road to the Horizon 2014-01-01 by Kristina D.C. Hoeppner from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
I couldn’t have asked for a better last day of The Undeniable Tour. It started with a walk by the water with Jay Thompson and then I saw some Seattle sites before hopping in the Maven Mobile (courtesy of my sponsor Web3Mavens) and drove south to speak at the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. They were an incredibly engaged audience that wanted to know more about social media marketing options for lawyers. My day ended with dinner with one of my best friends from undergrad.
Last Day in Seattle – Visiting the Troll
Now I’m sitting in my hostel reflecting on the last 14 days, everything I’ve learned, and all the wonderful people I’ve seen. My talk for The Undeniable Tour started with a quote from Yogi Berra: “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” I encouraged them to challenge themselves to keep moving forward with their professional development, but that it wasn’t my job to tell them what to do. They had to figure that out for themselves. My job was to share my story about my journey and share tips based on what’s working for me.
When it comes to being involved on social media, there are many options to choose from and you can select platforms that play to your communication strengths and puts you in contact with your audience. (Remember that the purpose of social media is to interact with people. Don’t treat it like a digital billboard.) In addition to blogging, I’m active on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn. I’m active on some platforms more than others. My favorite platform by far is Twitter; it’s the easiest way I know to start a meaningful conversation with someone I want to meet.
If you’re thinking about getting involved on a new social media platform, here’s the process I recommend that you use.
- Create an account.
- Take 1-2 weeks to watch how others are using the platform. Learn about the lingo and observe what’s working for others.
- Start using the platform yourself.
It’s ok to start slow and it’s ok to make the occasional mistake. Like all new skills, you won’t do it perfectly the first time, or every time. The point is you’re there and you’re trying. Stay open and teachable. And remember that using social media is like becoming part of a community. Relationships and connections will be built over weeks and months, not minutes. Keep the long game in mind.
My challenge to myself is to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned from planning and doing The Undeniable Tour and applying them to my professional and personal life. (There is no distinction between by professional and personal lives. It’s all me.)
If you want to talk with me about The Undeniable Tour please shoot me an email.
The Undeniable Tour would not be possible without my awesome sponsors: Web3Mavens, Enchanting Lawyer, Total Networks, and Attorney at Work.
