Is Twitter your law firm's friend? 10 easy ways and reasons to start tweeting.
Perhaps your law firm is finally on LinkedIn. You may even have a social media policy in place, and some lawyers have started expressing an interest in blogging.
OR
Perhaps your firm is still wary and skeptical of social media and all those new-fangled tools, and not quite sure how Twitter can help bring in business.
Either way, your firm can and should benefit from Twitter, an easy-to-use social network of 140-character-or-less messages that is quickly gaining traction in the corporate world. Here’s how you can easily start to use it to complement your other marketing and business development efforts:
1. Distributing firm news – New hire announcement, a major litigation victory; you name it. Twitter is yet another media platform to use in disseminating firm news.
2. Connecting with key industry organizations or companies – By searching for and “following” those in the industry you want to get to know, you can see what they post, share it and comment on it, increasing your level of interaction and opening up ways to continue the conversation on a more personal level.
3. Tweeting conversation-starters as questions – If you see an open-ended question on an interesting topic, you want to know the answer, right? So do your followers. Post Tweets as questions if possible, and include links to the answer (i.e., the article, client alert, etc.).
4. Sharing timely client alerts – Research Twitter handles and send (preferably in question form) links to target contacts, whether potential clients, reporters or others in your practice area to informative alerts hosted on your website that may affect their business. It may be really useful to them, which will then bring them to your website to learn more.
5. Engaging with target reporters – Most reporters these days are on Twitter, searching for news tips, breaking news, sources and more. Find the reporters who cover your area, and follow them. Engage with them. Comment on their tweets. Twitter makes it easier than ever to engage and interact.
6. Posting photos of firm events – Does your law firm host events? Does someone ever take photos at the events? Yes and yes. Post a photo of the event on Twitter. Instagram it for added effect. Photos are an easy way to humanize a law firm, and you’d be surprised at how many Twitter users click on photo links.
7. Sharing great articles – Twitter is about sharing and interacting. Share a relevant article with followers and key contacts that you think they should be aware of.Similarly to #4, use the article as a way to start a conversation with the reporter. Let the reporter know you enjoyed the piece and provide other feedback you may have.
8. Giving shout-outs – You may follow a great organization that others would benefit from following. If you are in need of Tweet material, give some love to others. It will come back to you later, in a good way.
9. Discovering and using key words – Use the “Discover” bar to find others with common interests and make sure you are using the right hashtags to get your Tweets noticed by others who follow your industry. Try to use common or timely phrases in the tweet or hashtag for maximum visibility, such as #SCOTUS, #tortreform, #patentlaw, #Barclays, etc.
10. Just keep Tweeting – Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you don’t hear feedback from your Twitter contacts right away, or don’t gain Twitter stardom success overnight, well, that is … perfectly normal. Twitter is often about interaction and longevity. The more you interact, and the longer you do it, the more followers and success you will have.
For even more pro Twitter tips, check out Ragan’s top 20 tips.
Michelle Samuels is a vice president with Jaffe PR. She can be reached at msamuels@jaffepr.com.