I recently had a sit-down with a lobbyist to discuss the potential to increase his company brand through strategic publishing opportunities. When I was explaining how being published online can create a pull strategy to his company's website and social media accounts, his response was something like, "Why should I do the whole social media thing?" I replied with an astounded "What?!" I have dealt with a lot of lobbyists who are extremely bright, and some who are ridiculously dumb. Some are lobbyists for the right reasons, and there are others who are immoral to the core.

In the first ten minutes, I could see that this was a guy who was in it for the right reasons and was intelligent. So why would he shy away from one of the best resources available to mankind? He explained that he has seen some lobbyists or politicians cause more harm than good when they have embraced social media outlets. (Keeping half-naked pictures of yourself in your phone is a bad idea, regardless of whether you use social media, but I digress.) This idea has clouded his vision and prevented him from seeing the true benefits that social media can offer. We didn't have much time to talk, but I responded with the following points:

1. Think before you tweet.

If you are worried about how people are going to perceive you as a professional while you are tweeting at the Snoop Dogg concert, then don't do it. I don't have any issues with Snoop Dogg and I even like a song or two, but I may pause before tweeting "Bow wow wow" with a beer in my hand at a concert.

You can use Twitter to receive recent news updates, spread a quality message, learn from industry experts, engage with interesting people, and reach a large audience of followers in seconds.

2. Really...no, really...you aren't on LinkedIn?

Out of all the social media outlets, I thought, at a minimum, he was on LinkedIn. It's about as professional as you can get with social media, so you almost have to try to get in trouble. (Writing a bad recommendation for "that guy" at the Christmas party would probably do it. If you don't know who "he" is, it's probably you) Before I meet or take a call with anyone, I usually check them out on LinkedIn. In one view, I can see who they are connected to and verify that they are the real deal. I'm able to capitalize on similar interests during conversations so that things go smoothly. I can even get intros to people who would be great business partners, just by seeing a close friend has a connection to them.

LinkedIn is a great resource to prepare for meetings, connect to people via friendly intros, and even gain some solid clients.

3. The only outfit I could understand his apprehension with is Facebook, but it still has benefits.

With people having the ability to share photos of you on Facebook with limited control on your part, issues can arise. You can continuously untag them, but all it takes is one person to get it downloaded and shared. (And let's be honest, you don't want anyone seeing your 1999 spring break photos.) You also have that uncomfortable denial for friendship when a client or colleague tries to friend you. I know it sounds crazy, but I shook hands with a guy the other day and he immediately sent a friend request from his phone as he was walking away. Facebook can be a great platform to share your message, and a company page can certainly attract business. Possibly the most beneficial part of Facebook for business is the ability to advertise on Facebook. You can target ads to extremely targeted demographics and track your analytics. Facebook can be a good resource, but keep an eye on it and control your preferences so that you aren't having unwanted events occurring on your page.

My company is very successful at creating pull strategies back to a company or an individual through online publishing. However; we need a variety of landing places for an audience to find. Company websites are the number-one goal, but after that, the places people head to are social networks. Using your social media channels also helps us to get the word out about your published articles. If you're scared of the social networks, just use the quick tips that I mentioned above and you should be covered.

I encourage any comments to help with advice to my lobbyist friend. He's one of the good ones, so let's keep it positive.