Bankruptcy lawyers and consumer protection lawyers who are using tools such as Facebook and Twitter are finding that their clients are there, too. That’s good, right?
To some, not so much. Some of my lawyer friends have commented lately that they don’t want to connect with their clients on these sites because doing so will show the client a side of the lawyer that isn’t congruent with the lawyer’s “office personality.” In other words, the lawyer’s kind of uncomfortable with the client seeing pictures of their attorney on a catamaran in the Caribbean.
To those lawyers I say – you’ve got two options. Either get your hair wet or stay out of the pool.
Look, it’s pretty simple. If you’ve got a social networking profile it’s out there. Google can find it, so searchers can find it. Period.
If you don’t want someone to find the profile, don’t have one. Because once you do, it’s out there.
What If You Don’t Want Clients To Connect With You On Social Networking Sites?
You run a very real risk of being perceived as an elitist snob, that’s what. By declining to allow a client to friend you on Facebook you’re telling that person, “Look, you’re good enough to give me money and allow me to live my life. But you stay on the other side of the red velvet rope with the riff-raff while I hang out over here with the cool kids.”
Imagine this. You’re walking down the street and see your dentist with his wife. This is a guy who has stuck his hand in your mouth, has seen your gums, and has watched you spit into a basin. You’re pretty intimate.
So you stop, smile at your dentist and put out your hand to shake his. Pleasantries and what not.
Your dentist, barely breaking stride, looks at you briefly and shakes his head. As he continues on his way you hear his wife say, “Who was that?”
“Nobody important,” comes the reply.
How do you feel? Are you going back to that dentist anytime soon?
How about using Fan Pages on Facebook? Can’t you just use those and tell clients they can connect with you there?
Again, it’s like shuttling the client to the back of the bus. They’re left with the feeling that they’re somehow inferior. And they get justifiably angry at that.
So here’s the solution – radical, but it works.
Don’t put stuff on your social networking sites unless you’re comfortable with the world seeing it. No naked pictures, no dancing on bars, no driving fast without a seatbelt. My rule of thumb is this – if I don’t want my mom to see it, I don’t put it up there.
As to the stuff that’s on there, remember that your clients need to know who you are as a person. Your dog, your cat, your life. Doing so makes you more than just a lawyer in a suit, it makes you a person. Someone with a life, who has things they think are cool and fun. Someone who is just like them, separated only by circumstance and some specialized knowledge (and perhaps some student loans to show for it). Doing so allows you to maintain rapport and bonding, create empathy and maintain your positive influence over clients.
Because deep down, we are not too different from our clients. It’s not too far to fall into bill problems, nor is it too far to climb to the top of the ladder.
Jay –
I am going to disagree with you on this one. At least to some extent.
I completely agree with not putting content out that you would not be comfortable with the world seeing. My mom is now on Facebook so that is no longer a fictional rule.
I have come to the conclusion that different social networking sites should be used for different purposes. After all, you will have different audiences in those sites. I used to open on Facebook, but have clawed back to make my Facebook friends only those people that I have a more personal and closer relationship with. Not that could not be not clients or potential clients. But being a client alone is not the type of relationship that I foster in that platform.
I would be happy to connect with a client or potential client in Twitter. It is open that way. Subscribe to my blog if you want professional information: http://www.compliancebuilding.com. Become a connection on LinkedIn. Those are sites targeted to the professional relationship.
For everyone it is different. But I think it is important to decide what audience you want in each of your social network sites.
Jay –
I am going to disagree with you on this one. At least to some extent.
I completely agree with not putting content out that you would not be comfortable with the world seeing. My mom is now on Facebook so that is no longer a fictional rule.
I have come to the conclusion that different social networking sites should be used for different purposes. After all, you will have different audiences in those sites. I used to open on Facebook, but have clawed back to make my Facebook friends only those people that I have a more personal and closer relationship with. Not that could not be not clients or potential clients. But being a client alone is not the type of relationship that I foster in that platform.
I would be happy to connect with a client or potential client in Twitter. It is open that way. Subscribe to my blog if you want professional information: http://www.compliancebuilding.com. Become a connection on LinkedIn. Those are sites targeted to the professional relationship.
For everyone it is different. But I think it is important to decide what audience you want in each of your social network sites.
Actually there is a good solution to this. Facebook has the option of adding someone as a "friend" or not and you can limit who sees your page to your "friends". I have many professional associations in numerous fields (some have become personal friends-others are strictly business). As far as Facebook, what the people I know are doing is having one "personal" profile and then one "professional" profile for their business. If a client puts in a "friend" request, the best thing to do is simply connect them to your professional profile. When I have put in these requests, it is because that professional usually has info that is updated on a Facebook page, a website or blog where they write etc. for which I would like to have the updates-not because I feel the need to know about that person's personal life-I personally would not be offended to be routed to the person's "professional" profile only if he or she is uncomfortable with me seeing their "personal" page. Just an idea for those who find this to be an issue…
Actually there is a good solution to this. Facebook has the option of adding someone as a “friend” or not and you can limit who sees your page to your “friends”. I have many professional associations in numerous fields (some have become personal friends-others are strictly business). As far as Facebook, what the people I know are doing is having one “personal” profile and then one “professional” profile for their business. If a client puts in a “friend” request, the best thing to do is simply connect them to your professional profile. When I have put in these requests, it is because that professional usually has info that is updated on a Facebook page, a website or blog where they write etc. for which I would like to have the updates-not because I feel the need to know about that person’s personal life-I personally would not be offended to be routed to the person’s “professional” profile only if he or she is uncomfortable with me seeing their “personal” page. Just an idea for those who find this to be an issue…