Why Every Attorney Should Consider Joining Twitter
In the modern world, social media marketing is essential for any business, including attorneys. Several platforms are especially well-suited to lawyers, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google My Business.
However, one platform may not seem as useful at first glance: Twitter. After all, Twitter is only good for attracting pesky internet trolls, right? And surely the 280-character limit for tweets makes it impossible to say anything of value.
But before you write Twitter out of your online marketing plans, you should consider the unique benefits it has to offer attorneys. When used properly, Twitter can be the perfect channel for reaching your target audience and networking with your peers.
Here are 6 reasons every attorney should consider joining Twitter.
1. Establishing Credibility
When people need legal representation, they want to know that they’re going to have expert help in their corner. Likewise, professionals looking for a referral partner want someone they can trust to take care of their clients and contacts.
Twitter is a great way to demonstrate expertise in your field. You can use your tweets to provide valuable content, such as:
- Handy tips
- Answers to common questions
- Interesting or useful statistics
- Infographics or other catchy visuals
- Links to studies, blog posts, and educational materials
- Noteworthy quotes
You’ll be establishing yourself as a go-to source of knowledge in your legal niche one tweet at a time.
Twitter’s 280-character limit will help you cut out the fluff and get right to the point, too. In a world with ever-shorter attention spans, that can make all the difference.
2. Engaging With Your Audience
Twitter isn’t just about standing on a stage and shouting into the void. It’s a conversation.
Twitter provides endless opportunities to get involved in the social circles relevant to your practice, such as:
- Joining ongoing conversations
- Replying to tweets
- Sending direct messages
- Retweeting useful content from other users
- Following relevant hashtags (more on this below)
By interacting with other users, you can learn more about your target audience, strengthen relationships with fellow professionals, and stay top-of-mind with potential clients and referrers.
3. Creating Twitter Videos
On Twitter, short videos are a particularly useful way to connect with prospects and peers.
A vast majority of Twitter users—82%—regularly watch videos that show up on their timelines. And posts with videos receive 10x more engagement than posts without.
By creating Twitter videos dealing with niche-specific topics, you could tap into a valuable market. For example, if you specialize in workers’ compensation law, you could make a video listing some of the most common myths about workers’ comp.
Better still, creating a brief doesn’t require much of an investment. A 30-second clip filmed from your smartphone will do the trick, and it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes out of your day.
With Twitter, less is always more.
4. Using Hashtags
If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, you might be surprised how many users use hashtags to find content relevant to their needs and interests.
A hashtag is created by putting a pound symbol in front of a word or phrase, like this: #example. That tweet hashtag will then appear in the results of anyone searching for that hashtag or in the timelines of users who follow that topic.
For example, if you add the hashtag #attorney to your tweets, users who have opted to follow the topic “attorney” will see it on their timelines.
Then, you can follow certain topics yourself in order to grow your professional network and keep up with industry insights, trends, and newsd the hashtag #attorney to your tweets, users who have opted to follow the topic “attorney” will see it on their timelines.
Other possible hashtags for lawyers include:
- #law
- #legal
- #personalinjury
- #familylaw
- #bankruptcylaw
- #legaltips
5. Humanizing Your Practice
Attorneys often struggle with the public perception that they are distant, cold, and intimidating. Yes, potential clients want an expert—but they want an expert they feel comfortable working with.
Fortunately, Twitter’s inherently casual atmosphere is ideal for humanizing yourself and earning your audience’s trust. No one will be put off if you post about personal matters, such as your:
- Hobbies
- Interests
- Favorite movies and music
- Pets
- Personal thoughts and musings
In fact, on Twitter, they’ll expect it.
And by revealing a bit more of your personal side, you’ll make it much easier for your peers and prospects to reach out to you. Maybe another attorney shares your love of biking. That could easily become the icebreaker that leads to a new referral partner.
6. Livestreaming
Pre-recorded videos are great, but there’s something special about a livestream. It lets you open a dialogue with viewers and forge deeper connections.
Twitter’s livestreaming feature makes this a breeze, letting you set up live video feeds for other users to tune into. You can use this platform to:
- Provide insights
- Answer questions
- Introduce yourself on a more personal level
- Get to know your audience better
Think of it like a webinar, right from your tablet or smartphone. Then, once you’re finished, you can save the recording and repurpose it in your broader content strategy.
And since most of your competitors probably aren’t taking advantage of this unique marketing tool, it’s an excellent opportunity to help your practice stand out from the crowd.
Put Twitter to Work for Your Practice
Twitter may not be the most obvious social media platform for attorneys, but with the right approach, it can become a priceless tool in your internet marketing strategy.
Of course, operating a Twitter account takes time, energy, and patience. And as a busy professional, you probably already have your hands full managing your practice and taking care of clients.
If you’d rather let someone else handle the hassles of running your social media accounts, we’d be happy to lend a hand.
At Let America Know, we help lawyers get the most out of their social media and email campaigns. Just contact us, and we’ll give you the support you need to kick your online outreach into overdrive.
Click here to learn more about our done-for-you social media program for trial attorneys.