Whether law firms like it or not, social networking is important to law firm marketing these days.  This is especially true in service law industries where repetitive business is critical.  As referenced in the previous blog entry about bulletin mailers being a marketing method of the past, social networking sites are a great way for a law firm to share information.  It’s a great place to post announcements, job openings, and keep current clients, past clients, and potential clients engaged.

By definition, a critical goal of social networking sites is to “network.”  If you are networking as you should, your law firm should naturally get followers.  Followers are people who follow your blog posts, read them, and like them.  This is the “networking” in social networking.  Just like somebody who frequents a news webpage, you want followers who frequent your social networking sites.  You want these people engaged.  You want them to like your posts.

But you can’t like your own social networking posts.  Liking your own social networking posts sends all the wrong messages.  If you are doing that, you are not networking (at least not well).  Instead, you are doing something that appears almost hedonistic.  It’s akin to patting yourself on the back or going to a social networking happy hour and high-fiving yourself in the corner.  Instead, it would be best if you got up, walked around, mingle, and meet some new people.

Versus making posts and announcements, and then liking your own posts, you have to find a way to network.  You have to find a way to spread your message to those who don’t know you and your law firm.  A good sign that you are networking, as you should, is by obtaining followers.  And these followers really shouldn’t be your own family and friends or people you already know.  They need to e new people.  They need to be strangers.  They need to be people who you literally met (that you didn’t know before) by networking.

It’s one thing if a law firm makes a social media post and the firm’s employees like the post.  That’s not great networking, but it’s somewhat understandable.

But if you are an attorney or law firm, please do not have the law firm account liking the very posts the same law firm account made.  If you do that, you are missing the entire point of having a law firm social networking page in the first place.

If you have any comments, feel free to share them below.