Posts Tagged ‘business networking’

Having recently watched a cyber-argument between two attorney-coaching industry leaders, it occurs to me how very important managing your online reputation can be.  These particular leaders, both of whom for which I have the utmost respect, recently experienced a professional break-up and I learned a few lessons about how to handle this type of situation in today’s new ‘everything is wide open’ society.

Lesson number one:  Learn how to announce changes in your firm that aren’t exactly pleasant in an open and transparent, yet professional and courteous manner.  If, for example, you need to announce a partner’s exit, downsizing of staff, or the end of a collaborative relationship, write it just as you would if you were writing for the New York Times.  Sometimes people take the somewhat relaxed nature of social media for granted and make these announcements with veiled jabs and sarcastic comments.  You should avoid doing this for several reasons.  First, it always makes the writer appear spiteful which does not sit well with potential clients.  Who wants an attorney that may turn that not-so-well-hidden temper on you?  Second, you may just irk the other party enough to begin their own cyber-dissing campaign.  Which brings me to lesson number two…

Lesson number two:  If you have been cyber-dissed always, always respond, but do so in the most courteous manner that you can muster.  Wait 24 hours to respond if you must, but do not get into a pissing contest that will drag you both down into the mud and damage your credibility.  Absolutely nothing good can come from this!  Getting into a cat-fight online can make you look petty, mean, and even a little unstable.  This is not the picture someone wants when they think of the estate planning lawyer that is going to be there for their family if something happens to them.

The moral to this story is this: if you plan to use social media to build your brand and establish your presence as an industry leader, carefully monitor what you say online and what is being said about you (or hire a professional to do so for you).  And, If you haven’t yet set up a Google Alerts with your name and the name of your firm, do so today.

A ‘Tweetup’ is an offline meeting of people who have met and organized on Twitter.  This is a great way to find other Twitter users in your area, who share your common interests.  Here’s an HR related tweetup I found in the San Diego area on http://twtvite.com/:

http://tweetup.meetup.com/ is another good site, because it draws users from the already popular meetup.com.  These sites can be a great tool to take your networking strategies to the next level.  You could organize a Tweetup with local financial advisors to establish a referral relationship, or hold a tweetup with local parent publications for marketing purposes, for example.  The possibilities are endless!