If you are having difficulty deciding how you can use Twitter for your practice, here are a list of ideas that you can put into place to start to understand Twitter a little better. I believe that you should be using Twitter, but at most for 10 minutes a day, (possibly five minutes late morning and afternoon – after your productive time has been spent marketing your law firm of course). So I do not see it as the marketing fix, but it is useful in proving to Google that you are a real business, and links back to your website are useful for Google and human visitors alike…
Before I start, the important point to remember is that whether you are using Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, ultimately you are just ‘networking’. It is only the platform that has changed, but the focus always has to be the same; it is about helping and providing assistance/useful advice. Don’t be a ‘Networking Norman’, the one we have all met at networking events who runs around butting into conversations telling everyone what they can do for his business but never listening to how he can help others…
So here are 8 ways to use twitter for lawyers and anyone else in the legal services market place.
1. Retweet others’ posts.
If you see something you like, tell others about it by clicking the ‘retweet’ button. This is great for you as you are spreading good content without having to do all of the writing, great for your followers who find some more interesting information and shows the person you are retweeting for that you are a useful ally. Three birds; one stone!
2. Pose generic questions.
Maybe ask a question along the lines of “have you ever had issues with noisy neighbours? If so, Tweet me – I may be able to offer advice” Other question ideas could include:
- “Do you know your rights when it comes to unfair dismissal?”
- “What are your rights if you buy a defective product?”
- “What are the legal requirements for starting a new business?”
- “Why do you need a Will?”
3. Start conversations with people.
Tweet people, maybe commenting on something topical or even responding to something they’ve tweeted. You could also search #tags for ‘law’/ ‘legal’ / ‘solicitors’ etc. to find people talking about similar topics and start talking to them on Twitter. This is likely to start useful conversations and will also help to increase your followers.
4. Tweet relevant news stories
Perhaps post links to stories posing generic questions asking for people’s opinions.
Link to legal stories asking if this has happened to anyone and saying you can help.
5. Funny legal stories.
If you find a ridiculous or unbelievable legal story, share it to show you have a fun side. Solicitors are often seen as too serious.
6. Create Lists.
People love lists, so create top 10 lists such as “10 Questions To Ask A Conveyancing Solicitor”, 10 Reasons Never To Divorce At Christmas, “10 Ways To Save Money When Starting A Business”. Don’t be tied in to thinking everything has to be legal but instead talk about issues around your specialist area of law.
Break each of the 10 items into one tweet!
7. Use # tags.
Use #tags on your tweets for particular topics that you’re discussing e.g. #compensation, #moving house, #wills. This way, your Tweets will become more visible to others and you can start conversations more easily as all hash tags are put together in a thread.
8. Tweet people who are influential in relevant industries.
Find legal journalists in the Guardian, Times etc and start following them. When you have something interesting to say of your own making or in response to a news story, tweet them and mention their username in your Tweet to get their attention.
Summary of Twitter For Lawyers
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, twitter can be a useful tool, but if you want more clients, my guide below has some much more effective marketing tools for you:
6 Fastest Ways To Win New Law Firm Clients – Click to download now:>>
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