Excellent post on lawyers using TWITTER from Steve Matthews Twitter is undeniably the social media darling of 2009. From celebrity stalking to Oprah coverage, the monopoly of micro-blogging is now pushing 10 million active users. The legal profession is equally aboard this bandwagon, with adoption numbers rising fast. Where tools such as LinkedIn and Facebook have traditionally helped to create value from existing relationships, Twitter is fast gaining its reputation as a tool to help generate new relationships.  So Twitter gets your foot in the door? A great tool for business development, right? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is a very lawyeresque ‘it depends’. While deriving business value from of Twitter is indeed possible, that value is often indirect in nature and depends greatly on personal approach. Similar to all forms of the online participation, there’s no room for the Injured? Call now! lawyer. Those that can’t drop the advertising and solicitation approach are inviting failure.  It’s these types of lessons that I hope to address in the list below – which tactics will put you offside, and which will add value. The following practices (I’m hesitant to call them ‘best practices’) are tips that either work for me, or methods that seem to consistently work for others.  Enjoy!  The Dos Do start by replicating your offline network on Twitter. There’s a much greater likelihood that people you already know in real life will follow you back. Do be strategic, geography-wise, about who you follow. Consider whether you stand a realistic chance of future networking, referrals, friendship, or other value before clicking “follow”.  In the same vein, do understand professional demographics. If you’re a tax lawyer and you know that a good deal of your work comes from accountants or other financial services professionals, seek out those people. Just as you would in real life, use Twitter to embed yourself in your chosen industry — show that you are in tune with the industries that relate to and intersect with your own. Do exchange content and opinions. Do be thought-provoking. Read the full list of do's and don't for lawyers using Twitter.

Twitter is the latest rage right now and you hear about it all the time, everyone seems to be twittering or tweeting if you will. WHAT IS TWITTER? It is a way to tell the world what you are doing at that moment. You can follow other people and see what they are doing and people will follow you.  It's a good way to keep people updated as to what you are doing and a way to get your message out and develop a loyal following.  It's not for everyone but one thing is for sure, it's here to stay and it's a very good idea to secure your Twitter account name now. Otherwise someone else might take it, either someone else with your name, or someone who is trying to pretend they are you. It's FREE, so just goto the twitter signup page and fill out the simple form below including your username to secure that name.  As you type in your name, it will automatically check to see if it's available. GET YOUR TWITTER NAME NOW Buying your domain name for you law firm name is no longer enough to secure your business brand on the web. You also need to secure your Twitter name. You don't want someone else to start twittering under your personal or firm name. The last thing you want is someone out there twittering in your law firms name. Maybe they have good intentions, but maybe not. In either case, an "unauthorized" individual is out there actively engaging with the community in your name. Go secure your twitter name NOW. Even if you're not ready to engage the community, secure your name before someone else does. Its a good idea to do other social media marketing things as well such as setting up a LinkedIN Profile, Facebook, Myspace and Digg. If your a lawyer and need assistance with social media marketing for lawyers, contact us for further information. We can assist your law firm in setting up a social media mareting campaign, including a Twitter account.