Twitter -- holy cats. What is this thing? It seems like everywhere I go lawyers are asking me about Twitter. They hear their kids mention it -- they know the technology savvy lawyers are using it. They think it sounds cool. Whatever the attraction, they wonder whether they can some how use it to their professional advantage.
My answer is always “absolutely,” with a stern caveat that it can have greater pull than Gollum’s precious "Ring of Power." But allow me to first provide a bit of background:
Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows users to post messages of 140 characters or fewer. Just like a blog, you are free to talk about whatever tickles your fancy; but, with limited commenting space, you are forced into more of a blogging “conversation” rather than an eloquent blog "post." You "tweet" about something that is interesting to you, someone replies to your tweet and the conversation is on. You find a tweet that is interesting and then "retweet" it to your network. As others in your network similarly retweet (and so on and so on) the viral effect of the interconnecting networks is awe-inspiring. It is socializing at hyper-speed.
And that is why I tell lawyers that they should think of Twitter as a big party. As I was building my law practice, I often found myself targeting big social events where I might run into a client or two or even pick-up a couple of new ones. The problem was that researching and attending these events took a ton of time. And considering that I was always on the billable clock, the time I had for this type of networking was truly limited.
Twitter is bigger than any social event you could ever attend in person (bigger than the biggest legal conference, cocktail party or charity event). But instead of having to don your best suit with an anvil-grade stack of business cards, you can join the Twitter party from anyplace at anytime (most often your desk, but it could also be the breakfast table or even a ski lift). You can share interesting ideas with your clients and more importantly potential clients, and they can do the same with you. You can interact with thought-leaders in the legal industry or any industry relevant to your practice. You can drive traffic to your blog, website or whatever your core web presence may be. Moreover, because of Twitter’s word limit, no one is expecting you to be eloquent -- just interesting.
Still, I always caution lawyers about the distraction of Twitter (hence the “Lord of the Rings” reference). Because the Twitter conversation happens in real time, you may feel compelled to be on it all the time. In the name of a sound online marketing strategy, you cannot allow this to happen. You must have a “core web presence” and cannot allow Twitter -- or any other social networking tool -- to take over that presence ... or your life.
In upcoming posts, I will write more about the strategy of a “core web presence” and how it can help prioritize where you spend your online marketing time and money. I will also write more about Twitter and how it can serve to either promote or cannibalize this core web presence. Stay Tuned!
Mark Britton is the Founder and CEO of Avvo. He is a 17-year lawyer with deep experience in the legal and e-commerce industries. Mark is the former General Counsel of Expedia.com and has worked as an attorney in large, medium, and small law firms. In 2007, Mark was named one of Seattle’s “Top 25 Innovators” by Seattle Business Monthly Magazine. He is also a frequent commentator on financial, legal, and other business issues, regularly appearing on programs such as ABC’s "Good Morning America," Fox Business’s “America’s Nightly Scoreboard,” CNN "Money," and Dow Jones "MarketWatch."
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