Lawyer’s Guide for Engaging in Social Media
Dec 29th, 2008 | By Rex Gradeless | Category: Featured, Lead Article, Social Media10 Tips for Blogs and Twitter
1. Thou shall not steal. Violating this rule while using social media is the fastest way to lose your creditability and authority online.
2. Copying and pasting someone’s blog post onto your blog then adding one or two comments is not a blog post. This is called a comment. They make comment pages for this. (see below).
3. When using Twitter, cite your sources. It is impossible for someone to find your same article at approximately the same time as you everyday. (We see you doing it!) Once or twice is ok but more than that? Come on!
4. If you cannot think of something original for your blog post then wait until tomorrow. You’ll thank me for it.
5. Consistency is key. Being a consistent blogger does not necessarily mean posting every single day. You can post a few times a week and still be consistent. A safe bet = your audience wants quality over quantity.
6. To help think of a new post, just think of something that happened to you during the day that relates your blog’s topic. Making posts personal helps build a following and keep things original.
7. Read 20 blog posts before you write your own. Then read 20 posts every time in between.
8. Embrace criticism. You’ll learn something. 99.9% of the things you blog or tweet about will be taken, at some point, the wrong way. I met what turned out to be my closest acquaintance on Twitter after they cursed at me!
9. Don’t discuss a client’s confidential information to anyone via Twitter or Blog. (This should be self-explanatory)
10. Twitter: Give as much credit to others as possible. Link to others when possible. DM old acquaintances to just say hello.
Bonus Tip: read books too!
Have more? Send a comment and I’ll update this post giving you credit!
Related posts:
- How Lawyers Avoid The Social Media Fail Whale
- 10 Tips For Starting Your Law Blog
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2008-12-27
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2009-01-03
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2009-01-17
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links: Weekly Round-up
- How to Ease Your Law Firm into Social Media: Yammer
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2009-01-10
- Social Media Law Student Microblog Posts and Links for 2008-12-20
- What Career Service Office Advisors Should be Telling Students About Social Media [Part 2/2]
Rex,
Great tips! Embracing criticism is important for this field since we are ALL new to it. Yes, there are some methods that work better than others, but if somebody offers a viewpoint, respect it. After all, that’s what being social is all about!
Your #4 and #5 go hand in hand.
As an addition to #5, when you choose to blog on a schedule (ie – once a day, three times a day, three times a week, etc.), make sure to stick to that schedule. Let it be apparent to your readers when the blog will be updated, and stick to your schedule. Your readers will come to expect updates during those times. If they do not get the updates, it will reflect negatively on your site, and could have negative consequences to your readership.
As a bit of an addendum to #4, if it is time to make a post, and you cannot think of something original, I would recommend blogging anyway. Just start typing. Even if you do not have anything original to say, say something anyway, and give credit to the source. This will keep your content up to date, provide link love to your source, and let your readers know that you are alive and keeping up to date on happenings.
#7 is a good one. Just make sure to cite your sources if the content from those 20 posts is where you are getting your post idea.
Nice work!
BP
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