Why Lawyers Should Embrace Twitter
Are you on Twitter or thinking about opening a Twitter account? If your only reasons for using Twitter are to tweet about your blog posts or newsletters and garner a large following, you are missing out on two important reasons to be on Twitter.
Take a few minutes each day (or every other day or so) to log into your Twitter account to:
1. Listen
An important part of practising law, and carrying out legal marketing and business development, is to listen. For example, you need to listen to:
- hear about proposed changes to the law, decisions or commentaries on the law, and legal innovations;
- gather information about the interests and concerns of your target audience to provide relevant content that resonates with them; and
- learn about the trends and other activities and news occurring in your clients’ industries and the world generally.
One way to listen is to follow others. They can be individuals, businesses, the media, industry associations, etc.
Twitter’s search bar allows you to search for people to follow. Just enter a keyword relating to an area of interest or the name of someone you would like to follow.
If you want to segment the tweets you receive so they’re easier to review, you can set up lists. For example, you may want to set up a list for tweets from governmental agencies and tweets related to client industry news.
Only by listening can you start to be social effectively.
2. Be social
It’s important to be social to show your interest and be engaged to start building or nurture a relationship with others.
There are a number of ways to be social on Twitter, such as by replying to someone who has tweeted something you wish to respond to.
Another way is to retweet. For example, if someone tweets something you think your followers would find interesting, such as a blog post, retweet it. To show a higher level of engagement, add a comment before you hit “Retweet”, but it’s not required.
If you are following someone who follows you, you can send him or her a direct message to enter into a conversation or set up a meeting. When was the last time you had coffee or a call with one of your followers?
These are just some ways to be engaged and help expand your network.
Lawyers who tweet
Here are some lawyers who shared with me why they use Twitter:
Jason Leung (@JasonLeung3) is the principal of LeungLaw. He practises in the areas of business and intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyright and designs. Here are Jason’s reasons for using Twitter:
Whenever I come across a key development in IP law, I like to share it on social media. Twitter is an integral part of my social media strategy. My posts reach not only my followers but also anyone who is searching under the hashtags that I use such as #IP, #trademark and #patent. Through Twitter, I have met other IP professionals around the world and engaged in some interesting discussions.
Camille Labchuk (@CamilleLabchuk) is a sole practitioner. Her practice is focused on assisting individuals and organizations with animal law matters. Camille is a long-time Twitter user and says:
Twitter has long been my favourite form of social media. For anyone engaged in law, politics, advocacy, or current affairs, it’s the fastest way to stay on top of breaking news. I also use it as a news aggregator. If there’s an article I should read, chances are that someone I follow will be tweeting about it.
David Lizerbram (@davidlizerbram) is a business law strategist and the founder of David Lizerbram & Associates. His practice focuses on corporate, commercial and intellectual property law matters. David shares the following on why he uses Twitter:
I’ve been using Twitter for years to share new developments in the law with my clients and contacts, and to connect and develop relationships with other attorneys in my field. Twitter is my primary source of up to date legal news and opinions.
Sandra Nishikawa (@nishikawasandra) is counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General – Crown Law Office Civil. She ran and was elected bencher in The Law Society of Upper Canada’s 2015 Bencher Election. In sharing her reasons for embracing Twitter, Sandra says:
Despite some initial reservations, I joined Twitter during the bencher election campaign, and have kept tweeting since then. I find it is a great way to communicate with more people than I could otherwise, and with people that I might not otherwise be able to reach or hear. I see the communication as going both ways: tweeting about issues that interest me, but also keeping up with issues and concerns that are animating others. As a result, I follow a large number of lawyers and organizations. For me, one amazing and unexpected outcome was the collegiality that emerged among bencher candidates through Twitter — so it is possible to create and foster relationships on social media.
Victoria Prince (@VPrinceLaw) is a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, where she is also the National Leader of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Group and Toronto Regional Leader of the Advertising, Marketing and Sponsorship Group. Victoria lists these reasons for why she uses Twitter:
To help me stay current — so I can tweet about it;
To reach out to people who might not otherwise know much about me; and
To stay connected — because I then look at tweets from others in my area.
Are you a lawyer who uses Twitter for other reasons? Please feel free to share your reasons.
Whether you’re already on Twitter, it’s time for you to fully embrace Twitter. Happy listening, tweeting and socializing!
