Originally published in Technolawyer on July 07, 2011
The prevailing wisdom among law firms regarding social media goes a little like this: “LinkedIn is a great professional network so we should have as many of our lawyers on there as possible. Twitter has only minor relevance, and Facebook we should avoid altogether.” I hate these broad sweeping statements because they show little thought for how people clients and prospective clients in particular use these tools on a daily basis.
Facebook Is a Dinner Party, Not a Billboard
Facebook is extremely useful to help build existing relationships. Is it too personal? Absolutely. But that’s the point. When you have worked with a client for years don’t the relationships tend to get a little more personal? Don’t you want to know when your biggest client’s children graduate from high school or perform in the school play? These types of relationships are incredibly valuable and go beyond business. It is likely these people send work to you in part because they sincerely like you and you sincerely enjoy working with them.
Is Facebook the ideal place to link to your latest thought leadership blog post on the area of law in which you specialize? No. Facebook is like is a dinner party where we have invited only people we know, like, and trust. If a door-to-door salesperson rings the doorbell during a dinner party, we aren’t just annoyed, we are completely turned off by his timing. Don’t be that guy on Facebook unless you want to be defriended, or worse, hidden from your friends’ feed.
1 Comment. Leave new
Timely as I have recently been bombarded by random lawyer requests to “Like”… I think most logical people and those know the industry know that you go with word of mouth attorneys and not ones who campaign for work through advertising and media… Great advice!