Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Twitter is the newest tech sensation in legal marketing. Lawyer Robert Ambrogi explains how to use the microblogging tool to mold your image, distribute news and attract new clients:

So I strapped on some wings and gave it a try. In no time at all, Twitter turned me into a songbird ready to sing its praises.

First, a few words about how it works. After you sign up and create a user name, you can post short messages, called "tweets," of no more than 140 characters. These messages appear on Twitter's Web site and can also be tracked through mobile phones and other applications.

Once you are a member, you can follow other members' messages. When you come across someone you know or find interesting, click the "follow" button to add their messages to your feed. (Find mine at http://twitter.com/bobambrogi, Law Technology News's at http://twitter.com/LTNmagazine.) Others can do the same to receive your messages.

If you prefer to be less public, you can limit the visibility of your messages to people you approve. It is simple in concept, yet surprisingly versatile in potential uses. Here are 16 that stand out for me.

1. Expand your network. With blogging, writing, speaking and various bar committees, I consider myself pretty well networked. So I was surprised upon joining Twitter at how many new contacts I made, how quickly I made them, and their potential value to me as a professional.

2. Discover new blogs. Everyone on Twitter has a profile page where they can link to their Web site or blog. As interesting tweets catch my attention, I sometimes click through to find equally interesting -- and previously unknown to me -- blogs.

3. Mold your image. Those who post regularly to Twitter provide others a glimpse of their daily lives. That glimpse can help shape your public image. Do your posts paint you as a high-powered professional -- now writing an appellate brief, now preparing for a deposition -- or as a trivia-obsessed slacker, now breaking for lunch, now off for drinks? By thinking before you post, you can shape how others see you.

4. Distribute your news. Lawyers and law firms already use Twitter as a vehicle to distribute news and press releases. Even though Twitter limits posts to 140 characters, posts can include Web links. Thus, post the headline or a brief description together with the link to the full item.

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