1. Post your office updates. Instead of letting all of our government secrets out online, post about some fun office happenings. This can make politics fun and add a personal element to the government office you represent. Remember you are actually representing you, not just the government so post respectfully. Get creative and post video updates or office party clips.

2. Post your standards for comments on your blog or social site. You can post this on your info tab area or bio section. Posting your standards doesn’t necessarily mean people will read them, but it still makes it public and helps keep you and your team members in check if you review and delete content according to your standards.

3. Set up a group in Facebook. Government can bring people together who are employees with those who are interested in a facet of an agency’s work and information. Doing so expands the government’s outreach capabilities and ability to interact. You can also use these groups for recruitment. Employees could form groups on social networking sites to overcome road blocks within organizations. For example, if an organization does not allow the employees to post publicly on social profiles about anything work related or direct conversation about that organization, private groups are a great way to connect with other people in the industry or in that specific organization.

4. Use social sites to engage the public in discussions. You can start conversations and provide news and tips about government service. You can recruit through posting, as well. The CIA has used Facebook to invite students to apply to work at the agency.

5. Allow comments on photos. The Library of Congress’ Photostream in Flickr is a good example of posting the government’s public domain photos on a social networking site where the public can comment on the photos. This is a great way to get people involved, commenting and connecting.

Attorneys/legal

In this industry, there is great caution regarding what is posted due to client-attorney privilege as well as establishing a client-attorney relationship. Because most legal professionals know what they can and can’t post as far as messaging, we’ll skip over that and head straight to a few tips on how to build a legal brand online.

1. Turn laws into light conversation. Without giving legal advice, of course, this is an excellent way to get people to connect with you on a deeper level. So many people get overwhelmed by the legal talk that they tend to shut down because they are confused. Remember that confusion equals “no” in most situations. So post explanations of legal terms, approaches, and laws in plain English. You can be the legal translator. Make sure that you include your legal disclosures in a sidebar.

2. Produce legal videos and updates. This is a great way to provide an overview on a legal topic without giving legal advice. Keep these brief and to the point, under one minute. Make sure at the end of the video to add your website URL and always end by asking the viewer a question. For example: “Have you checked your will lately to make sure that you are covered in this area?” or “Does your house title have the proper ownership noted and legally documented?”

No matter what industry you are in, there is always something of concern when it comes to online marketing and being social. Just do what you would do in person: Be professional, have fun, be respectful, and you will be just fine. Think about the online networking just as you would in-person networking. The only difference is that it is done through a computer or mobile device, not in person. It is still somewhat face-to-face if you consider video and pictures are faces. Well, they are, aren’t they? In addition, “do the different” to stand out. Different separates brands and individuals no matter what industry you are in. It is also important that you reinvent your brand every six months. If you start getting bored with you, so will your clients and target market. Whenever you find youself sleeping in a little bit, ask yourself if you are getting bored with your branding and offerings. If the answer is yes, excite yourself, reinvent! Add new energy, new offerings, an updated brand image, and voilà, you are connected with your market, ongoing.

WIPEOUT

I have been online now for three months and I have not seen much of a return.

How long does it take before I start to see some results in sales and website traffic from my efforts online?

WAVE TIP

It depends on what actions you are taking online and how consistent you are.

It takes a minimum of three months, with consistent posting and engaging as well as reaching out five to six days per week. It can often take another three months before you can start to see social conversion to revenue or website traffic increase. Every business is different, but out of any situation you get what you put into it.