Lawyers and Twitter -

3 Years ago when someone would have said a Social Media platform with 140 characters or less would overtake the world you would have said WHAT? haha.  Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

The Basics of Twitter

Setting up your twitter profile is a very simple process but yet the most important. Simply enter your full name, choose a username, and select a password. Use your real name some people can connect with you. In choosing your username, keep it short. You may want to consider using keywords relevant to your law practice like FloridaPIlawyer or something similar to your area of expertise. That way, when people search for those terms, your profile will appear. You should also decide whether this will be a personal profile, a professional profile, or both. To start, I recommend using it for both. Properly maintaining one Twitter account can effectively serve both interests.

Next, think about what you would like to do with your profile. Upload a picture of yourself or your brand. Remember, social media is a conversation. People like to see with whom they are talking so a picture of yourself might serve as a better choice. You should also set up an extended profile. Twitter is very restrictive with regard to the length of your online bio. Using an extended profile will allow you to share much more information about yourself and your firm. You may also want to include a disclaimer on your profile (i.e. this does not constitute legal advice, blah, blah, blah). Also be sure to include a link to your website. I encourage you to leave the “Protect my updates” box unchecked. Protecting your updates will take your “tweets” off the public feed and make it difficult for you to be found.

Remember, social media is about getting found. Check out this primer on more Twitter basics. On following: Once you’re up and running, you will want to seek out other tweeters to follow. Don’t be tempted to follow for the sake of following. Follow those who post tweets that are interesting to you. To get you started, you should, obviously, follow me: @Jesse_Guthrie.

On tweeting: Never, never, never, spam through twitter. No markety, advertisey speak at all! Don’t talk about how long you have been in practice. Don’t talk about how hard you fight for your clients. Tweet interesting things you read on the web. Retweet interesting tweets. Reply to interesting tweets. Think of twitter somewhat like an instant messenger. As with all social media, it is not the forum for advertisements. Build relationships. Talk about what interests you.

Enhanced Tips for Lawyers on Twitter

First, you’ll want to download a twitter desktop client. I use TweetDeck, but there are a host of other options. Once installed, click the magnifying glass to set up search columns. This is a great way to view tweets about specific topics. Always remember that you are limited to 140 characters, so keep your tweets short and shorten your links with a service like tinyurl.

Follow the following blog: http://www.twitip.com/. It’s a great twitter resource. Also, check out Qwitter (which tells you when someone unfollows you), Twitter Grader, and Twitalyzer (to monitor the health of your twitter account). If you prefer not to use a twitter desktop client, make sure you at least use http://search.twitter.com. Check out this resource for a comprehensive list of Twitter tools.

Finally, check out the following resources for finding new legal birds to follow:

http://legalbirds.justia.com/ and http://www.lextweet.com/

Pit-Falls

Don’t let Twitter run your day! Be efficient and deliberate with your twitter time. If you catch yourself staring at your feed, close it! Use the search function to find interesting tweets.

Don’t follow for the sake of following. Make tweeters earn your follows. You will have better twitter health if you are somewhat selective of whom you follow.

Don’t spam. Don’t spam. Don’t spam. I think I have made my point.

Don’t solicit on twitter. Remember, the ethics rules still apply in web 2.0. Check your bar rules.

Don’t use mass follower tools. I am intentionally leaving them nameless.

Great Article at AttorneySync.

With all said above, be sure to update your twitter account now and follow me!