Today, Costa DeVault presented “Making the Case: Social Media for Attorneys,” to the Volusia/Flagler Association for Women Lawyers. The program covers the basics of social media, and how to market oneself using this modern medium. Special thanks to Christopher G. Hill from Construction Law Musings, Susan Cartier Libel from Solo Practice University, Scott E. Greenfield from Simple Justice and Carolyn Elefant from MyShingle for their input and expertise. We hope you find this information useful, and welcome any suggestions for our next program.

If you’re a PR person working for a sales-driven organization (and aren’t most organizations nowadays tied to sales?), have you ever stopped to think about how your work fits into the sales cycle?

At its core, selling is reliant on personal and non-personal communication to convince prospects to take a specific action. The sales team will rely on personal phone calls, visits and emails – as well as direct mail, newsletters, e-marketing … and many other marketing tools.

But, where does PR come into play? Certainly, it’s part of the prospect education process — which takes place during the earliest stages of the sales cycle. However, PR’s role doesn’t just end there. Here are three overlooked ways to align PR with the sales efforts:

1. In-sync messaging. As a PR person, you need to be in constant contact with the sales team so you understand what they’re hearing “on the ground.” What messages are resonating with prospects? Then, align your story pitches appropriately. It goes without saying that the economy is the hot issue right now. How does your product or service save money, increase efficiencies or maximize resources?
2. Smart community relations. The sales team has identified the next hot prospect … but is struggling to get a meeting with the right person. If you’re taking a strategic approach to your company’s community relations, you might be able to help. Research the prospect’s involvement in causes, organizations, events, boards and committees. Is there an opportunity for your company to also be involved or supportive? That might just be enough to get on the prospect’s radar.
3. Professional online networking. By now, you’ve hopefully bought into the importance of networking online. However, unless your sales team is full of early adapters or tech-savvy folks, they may not understand the value of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or other professional networking tools As a PR person, you should help them figure out how to navigate social media and leverage online networks to boost sales. For starters, are they actively participating in LinkedIn discussions? Have they asessed connections available through their network?

As PR people, we become that much more valuable to a company if we can demonstrate how our efforts are tied to the bottom line. What do you think — how else can we enhance (and accelerate) the sales cycle?

By now, you know about Facebook and MySpace. But did you know that there are a whole host of social networking platforms that may be better tools to help companies reach key audiences? Sound like targeting? That tried and true marketing principle is even more important in today’s online world.

Mashable compiled a list of 350 social networks — ranging from connecting families … to shopaholics.  Here’s just a sample of some targeted networks that you shouldn’t overlook:

• Ning — create your own social network
• CarGurus — connecting car lovers
• Shelfari — where booklovers gather
• CafeMom — uniting moms and mothers-to-be
• Flickr — sharing photos
• LinkedIn — professional networking

Bottom line: Don’t just create a page on Facebook because you think it’s “the place to be.” Instead, do a little research. You might be surprised to learn that you can engage a network that provides direct access to your target market.