How Content Helps You

Posted by dscaringi on May 2, 2013

I was so pleased to have spoken at the In Practice law conference today in Hartford, CT.  My co-presenter, Kirsten Lovett, and I presented a program called: “Repurposing with Rewards: A Guide to Creating Website and Social Media Content”.  We had a fantastic room of attendees (who I hope walked away from the presentation with very applicable skills!)  I am going to highlight just one of our slides in this post:  How Content Helps You.

Creating and using informative, easy to understand content is crucial to see the results depicted in this graphic.  From one single piece of content (press release, advisory, news item, sponsorship… you name it) you can stack up multiple touchpoints. Create a teaser sentence or two and you can use the same content on your website, blog, linked in, twitter and facebook pages. When you post your content on all of these platforms, you gain better visibility and improve the likeliness that someone will find you in an internet search.  So, if you want to differentiate yourself, earn higher SEO ranking, be found easier, position yourself as a thought-leader, show you are current and be attractive to reporters as a resource…. try it.  Take one piece of content and repurpose it in multiple places.

Take 10 to Begin

Posted by dscaringi on February 19, 2013

At a recent LMA New England chapter meeting, I listened intently to David Ackert discuss motivating attorneys to consistently use business development in their practices. It was a great program and I gained lots of ideas to implement. However, one thing David said really stuck with me.  It is very similar to something I often tell my clients. Marketing and business development is a learned behavior for many of us. It doesn’t just happen naturally without any effort.  People often declare that they will make a commitment to business development once or twice a year but never act upon it.  How about this:  instead of making an annual commitment to business development activities, let’s try starting with a daily 10 minute commitment each week?  Instead of starting to market your practice or business in January or September, don’t wait.  Start Now…. yup, on February 19th.  Nothing special about today.  But it’s a good day to begin taking small steps towards your success. So, what kind of marketing can you get done in 10 minutes?  Here is a starter list:

• Update your bio.  Make any edits that add interest, value or credibility.
• Call your best referral sources and thank them for sending you business.
• Connect two people you know who may benefit from knowing each other.
• Look up the next networking event at a bar association, trade group or other business organization and sign up for the next event.  Put it in your calendar and commit to attend it.
• Email a referral source and set up a lunch date.
• Set up a time to visit a client on their location.
• Use social media.  Follow clients, post status on Linked In or Facebook and Tweet a few times.
• Walk into one of your colleague’s offices and ask them what kind of work they are doing right now.
• Start a post/article to use on the firm’s blog or website or in your social media outlets.

Whatever activity you choose to undertake isn’t really the focus.  The idea is to make a 10 minute weekly investment in developing your relationships, building marketing communication tools and giving yourself visibility.  Once you have this habit in place, build on it.  Add 10 more minutes each week, either consecutively or on an other day. By doing something routinely, you will see the cumulative effects.  Good luck!

Are You a Multi-Tasker or Single-Tasker?

Posted by dscaringi on January 22, 2013

We hear the term ‘multi-tasker’ all the time.  It is often associated with very productive and efficient people who get the most out of their time.  But what about the opposite side of the spectrum? ‘Single-taskers’ tend to be looked down upon by multi-taskers. They are often perceived as slow, or unable to keep up.

In our frenetic-paced world, how can anyone be successful if they can’t do more than one thing at a time?  I urge you to hold on for just a second and consider the research. It is compelling to rethink how we approach our busy world and take on a more methodical manner for getting things done.  As a self-professed multi-tasker who is surrounded by lovely people who are also digging into their ‘to do’ lists in hand-fulls,  I have to say that perhaps the single-taskers are onto something. I admire how these individuals focus on one thing at a time until it is complete.

I ‘get’ the appeal to the multi-tasker approach… we often feel incredible when reflecting upon the vast amount of things accomplished in a short timeframe. We tend to move ‘at the speed of light’, answering email, making appointments and talking on the phone all at the same time.  We are so effective! But are we?

According to a Harvard Business Review article, we aren’t effective as we could be if we single-tasked.  Harvard’s study shows that efficiency is reduced by as much as 40 percent when multi-tasking. 40%!!  There may be times where we can accept a decrease in efficiency, but is 40% really worth it in the end?  When you put it that way, it seems not.

But, having always thought of myself as a multi-tasker, how do I change?  It feels slow and old fashioned.  I can’t help admitting that with research showing that being a single-tasker pays off in the long run, I may just give this a whirl.  The big question…where do I begin?

Prioritizing tasks, according to Psychology Today.  Make a list of tasks and start each day with the most important one on the list. The goal isn’t necessarily to complete task #1 in one sitting, but to give it my sole attention for a brief time.  Don’t answer the phone unless it is urgent (in reality, urgent is so subjective!).  Don’t answer email (in fact, close it for now).  Don’t open another program on your computer.  Just focus on task #1 for about 20 minutes.  When twenty minutes is up, evaluate the progress  made on task #1 and reevaluate if you have done enough on that topic for the day.  If I have furthered it enough for now, or if my focus is waning, turn to task #2 for the same amount of time.  If you must, check in on your email or return phone calls (not at the same time!) for 10 minutes. If task #1 needs to make further progress, go back to it when you have completed the cycle.

This isn’t going to be easy for a hard-core multi-tasker to do, but it is good to try.  Keep track of your results and see if you are making more in depth progress on your to do list.  I think this is an interesting approach that could certainly help even the most serious multi-tasking junkie try a new take on productivity.  Stick with it and see how you do! Good luck!