Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 15 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will focus on interactions that you will have on social networking platforms.

As a member of any social network, you’ll see that the interactions that you have with other people across that network are the most important part of creating and driving new business.  Clearly defined goals (ie. increased traffic or new clients) are helpful in determining how to conduct yourself on these networks.

For starters, with any social network account, it is very difficult to mix business with pleasure.  If you are using Facebook with any type of professional  focus, for example, do not also use that account for casual correspondence with family and friends.  Keep it professional.

Also, in conversations on various social networks, you never want to come off as doing too much self-promotion.  Many people that do this get “called out” for it by the community and lose their influence to connect and converse with people.  Be genuine, be interesting, help others, and help yourself a little bit in the meantime.

Here are some quick do’s and don’ts for Facebook and Twitter interactions that should help you…

Do: Reply to people on Twitter if they ask a question that you know the answer to.

Don’t: Reply to everyone saying “I agree”, no one cares.

Do: Send direct messages to Twitter followers after interacting with them to keep the conversation going.

Don’t: Automatically send direct messages to everyone who follows you saying “Thanks for the follow, check out my website”.

Do: Link your Facebook account to your blog and website.

Don’t: Send constant messages to people in your network with your most recent blog post.

Do: Reach out to people/companies in your network that you are interested in partnering or working with.

Don’t: Write on walls and comment on status updates with mindless dribble.

Facebook and Twitter, along with other social networks, are a great source of future business leads/partnerships.  Companies have found that using them to connect with customers and other businesses have lead to increase productivity, creativity, and customer satisfaction.  In law, it is clear that there is the potential to give your practice a boost using social media.  So use these tools to their greatest potential, and don’t exploit them with self-promotion.

Past Installments of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs