Establishing Yourself on Social Media
There is a place for lawyers and intellectual property experts on social media, which is why establishing a presence is so important. Not only establishing a presence, but establishing yourself as a helpful expert, or someone who keeps on top of things, can be invaluable. So, how do you go about turning yourself into a social media maven?
Follow the Right People
After following friends, family and those you are interested in, start following people within your industry. This should be the process whether you are on Twitter, Facebook, Google + or any of your other preferred social networks. Start by looking for names you are familiar with—IP lawyers of note, or business leaders, and so on. Look at their accounts and see how often they post and, most importantly, how often they interact with their readers. If there is little or no interaction, then move them toward the bottom of your list.
Interact With Your Own Readers
Social media networks are all about creating and maintaining connections. Posting on your social media fairly frequently is an important part of the process, but that’s only one part. Answering your readers when they comment, reposting/retweeting things they’ve posted, interacting with people who follow you and who you follow—these are the actions that help make someone an “influencer” on the social networks.
Be an Expert, When You Can
As an intellectual property lawyer or expert, you have the opportunity to establish your expertise online. Though you can’t take on specifics of a particular follower’s case, if you know the general law or the ins and outs about a case reported in the news, comment on it. Or on general copyright or other IP issues. Answer questions put to you by your readers (if you can) and be helpful—readers will remember, and you might be surprised at the business referrals and recommendations you get.
