Remember my blog where I compared legal marketing to dating?
I stand by my previous metaphor and I add yet more: social networking is true test of your commitment to your law firm. Yes, the big “C” word: commitment.
For social networking to truly sing, you can’t just be friends with your social networking sites. You can’t just drop by when you feel like spending time with them. Sending them make-up flowers won’t work. And big, glorious, dramatic scenes will get you nowhere.
Just like marriage, social networking is hard. You have to be present every single day with a commitment to add something of value. Your words may fall on deaf ears. The objects of your affection may spurn you or take no notice.
But it doesn’t matter whether anyone notices your efforts to demonstrate your commitment, nay, your love for your law firm. It doesn’t matter whether anyone re-tweets you. It doesn’t matter whether your blog gets picked up by some national blog-monger.
Because at the end of the day, you just have to be committed and true to who you love and to who you are.
What can I say? Nice guys do finish last. And marriages can last a lifetime.
Look around. There are lots of happy bloggers, Twitterers, Facebookers and LinkedInners. They are just doing their thing, making copy, meeting folks and enjoying their days. And hardly any of them are famous.
But they all seem to be pretty darned happy.
See? Sometimes commitments do pay off.