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Will Twitter ever be mainstream? Does it matter?

October 12, 2013

20131012-151727.jpg A business development professional in a large law firm queried whether the firm or its lawyers needed to worry that much about Twitter. After all she said, Greentarget’s survey of in-house counsel’s use of social media found their use of Twitter dramatically less than their reading of law blogs.

Twitter’s admissions in its IPO filing could be looked as adding credence to the view that Twitter’s not mainstream so one need not worry about it.

From Mashable’s Seth Fiegerman (@sfiegerman) reporting on Twitter’s limited reach.

Twitter had just 49 million monthly active users in the U.S. for the three months ending in June, a number that may be slightly higher now, but probably not too much so, considering it only increased by about one million from the previous quarter. To put that in context, there are an estimated 244 million Internet users in the U.S., meaning roughly a fifth of the country actually uses Twitter at least once a month.

However, Brian Wiesner, a senior analyst with Pivotal Research Group, points out to Fiegerman that it’s not necessary for Twitter to be ubiquitous to be an important media outlet. The Wall Street Journal is viewed as an important media vehicle because it is the most widely circulated newspaper in the country, but has a circulation of only 2 million.

Wiesner hits on just one point lawyers and law firms need to keep in mind as to Twitter.

  • Some clients and prospective clients will never use Twitter. It may even be the majority of them. So what, a significant number of them do. Twitter represents a tremendous way to connect with these folks in a meaningful and intimate way. So much the better for you if other lawyers are not competing in the space, you’ll have your target audience to yourself.
  • Twitter is used by the amplifiers. Reporters, bloggers, conference directors, executive directors of industry associations, and the like. Connect with those folks and you’ll be quoted in the publications read by clients and speaking at conferences attended by clients.
  • The news and info you share on Twitter will be re-shared by others. Not only will you be become trusted as a knowledgeable authority, but you’ll improve the search rankings of your own content as it is widely shared on Twitter.

I’ll be the first to concede that most in-house counsel, and even many in the legal media and publishing business have no clue what Twitter is all about. They may never use it.

I just don’t see that as mattering – at all. Twitter is all too powerful as both a media and relationship tool for lawyers and law firms to take a pass on it.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Andreas Eldh.

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