Quit Fretting About Twitter!

So what's the big deal with Twitter? For the past month or so, numerous articles have been written in the legal business and marketing media about how Twitter is only a passing fad, how Twitter is losing users on a daily basis, how Twitter doesn’t work for lawyers, can cause swine flu, be dangerous for your Internet health, and on and on. I find it all so very silly. Let’s just grow up out there and stop asking the same foolish questions that have been asked for the past three decades that law firm marketing has been out of the legal closet. Asking if Twitter works for lawyer marketing is about as inane as asking if PR is better than advertising or if brochures are more important than giving speeches. I’ll say it again … IT ALL WORKS if it is precise, well targeted, and communicated in a quality manner. If it is poorly targeted, poorly written, and poorly communicated, NONE OF IT WORKS. I’m sorry to report that there is still no silver bullet available when it comes to any kind of marketing, public relations, or branding communications. Twitter, along with every other new, or old, communications media, will be effective if the strategy is right, the plan is well thought out, and the execution is flawless. So please quit fretting about Twitter, LinkedIn, and every other social network or new technology that has come down the pike in recent times. Just recognize that there will be more “Twitters” for sure and that the critics will be saying the same negative things about them as we continue moving forward in the 2.0 world.  The media that survives the ongoing and accelerating technology shakeout will be the media that best delivers the messages … and the marketplace will figure it all out and will take care of the rest. (If you want to learn more about Twitter read the new Jaffe White Paper, Twittering For Lawyers Part 1)