Social Media: effective if you know your “friends”

By J. Nick Augustine, J.D., Social Media Strategist

Professionals have been learning how to engage and audience through social networks for a few years and the people who measure success are interacting with their audience. Engagement is the key to business. There are people behind tweets and posts, and if we do not engage them, there is no opportunity for others to know, like, and trust you.

I spend a good deal of time managing Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts for myself and for clients, and I cannot stress enough how important it is to comment, like, or otherwise reach out and get to know the people sharing their ideas and content.

You would not attend a networking event and simply sit in a corner and smile at people – would you? If not, then why not? The same rules apply to social network engagement. Our social media friends are pre-selected, by all of us, based on like interests or common connections. Take the next step and reach out to say hello.

If I have interacted with someone on Facebook enough to know a little about him or her, and we have a common interest, then I might send a private message and ask to continue a conversation offline sometime. People who are into Facebook really enjoy their online communities and I find many people open to putting a voice to the profile picture and sets of status updates.

Next time you are on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, think of the experience as attending a bunch of small cocktail parties at the same time. If you like, make your own cocktail or a enjoy a glass of wine while you chat about the day’s events and, where appropriate; take it to the next level – actually scheduling a phone call to say hello.

Last week I had a scheduled call with a very friendly and passionate attorney in New York. I invited her to be a guest on LawTalkRadio because she cares about some interesting constitutional issues we have not yet discussed on the program. All I had to do was send her a message and connect – it is that easy.

Do you have any good stories about networking and connecting on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn?

Feel free to say hello on my Facebook page – reach out anytime: https://www.facebook.com/JNickAugustineJD