Twitter is a micro-blogging application which allows users to update a list of “followers” on various topics and happenings. The popularity of this ever changing exchange of information has even prompted Bing and Google to integrate Twitter feeds into their web search results when searching for popular topics.

The goal of SEOLawFirm.com is finding new ways to help our legal clients grow their law firms online, and Twitter certainly is one of those ways.

The key to successfully using Twitter doesn’t actually start on Twitter.com but rather your law firm’s website. In order to make Twitter a traffic source for your firm’s site, you need to have an onsite blog that is updated a few times a month at a minimum. A couple times a week is ideal but realistically, that is a time commitment that most firms cannot make.

Once you have an onsite blog with regular updates, it’s time to set up an account on Twitter. Once your account is activated, start following other users you know.

Look for:

1) Professional acquaintances and colleagues
2) Vendors
3) Popular news outlets
4) Organizations your firm supports
5) Local governments

Municipalities are starting to use Twitter to update the public on dockets. This is a great way to tap into a potential group of followers. Following random users is considered Twitter spam so start with the above list of relevant individuals.

After you have followed a group of people, you will start attracting followers to your account. This when your Twitter account is ready to work for you.

As you post new items to your law firm’s blog, copy the long URL and go to http://lawurl.com and paste the URL into the URL shortener. This will generate a shorter URL that is compatible with Twitter’s character limit of 140. Then, go into Twitter and type a message with the shortened lawurl.com link.

To keep things interesting, also Tweet relevant articles from other sources to avoid looking like a self promoter. Popular websites like CNN, NPR, and the ABAJournal have “Tweet” icons on their articles. This is an easy way to keep your followers up-to -date on news that is relevant to your practice area.

Developing a viable community of followers may take a little time, but as it grows and you have more followers, a snowball effect will begin and Twitter will become a powerful traffic driving machine for your law firm’s website.

To learn more about legal marketing, law firm marketing, and attorney websites visit SEOLawFirm.com or call 1.800.728.5306.

Other Resources: Find a Lawyer | Law Firm Social Network