Social Media and Professionalism

Social media has become part of everyday life for most people young and old. Keeping up on the news, staying in touch with friends and family and the ever-growing platforms for business and personal ventures. The downside of having these platforms at the fingertips of us all, is that it is easy to “say the wrong thing.”

Whether on your personal page, business page, another person’s page, or news article post it is important to guard your personal and professional reputation online.

Some things to remember when posting on social media:

1. Don’t post or share anything inappropriate, harassing, or offensive. Anything shared online, even if deleted later, has likely been screenshot by someone and will inevitably pop back up somewhere
2. Maintain respect and positivity
3. Be cautious when vocalizing opinions or comments
4. Don’t respond to negativity or controversy publicly
5. Always make proper and appropriate grammar a priority

Social media can be a great platform for advertisement, connection, and fun. Just don’t fall into the traps of the negative side of social media.

Finally, not only can a lack of professionalism in social media posts lead to missed opportunities for your law firm, but ALPS has also seen instances in which improper social media actions have generated attorney ethics complaints with state professional conduct boards.