Daily Twitter use of Americans doubles in last year
Pursuant to a recent survey on Twitter usage from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project the number of adults who use Twitter every day has doubled since May, 20011.
Some 15% of online adults use Twitter as of February 2012, and 8% do so on a typical day. Although overall Twitter usage has nearly doubled since the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project first asked a stand-alone Twitter question in November 2010, the 15% of online adults who use Twitter as of early 2012 is similar to the 13% of such adults who did so in May 2011. At the same time, the proportion of online adults who use Twitter on a typical day has doubled since May 2011 and has quadrupled since late 2010—at that point just 2% of online adults used Twitter on a typical day. The rise of smartphones might account for some of the uptick in usage because smartphone users are particularly likely to be using Twitter.
Do not for a second think that you as a lawyer or law firm would not benefit from the smart use of Twitter for business development because 85% of people do not use Twitter.
It doesn’t matter if your clients and prospective clients use Twitter at all for your use of Twitter to grow your reputation and network of relationships (lifeblood of business development for law firms).
The influencers and amplifiers (reporters, well followed bloggers, association leaders, editors, publishers, public relations professionals in businesses and corporations, and a very vocal and growing group of average Americans) all user Twitter daily.
It’s these influencers and amplifiers who play a significant role in shaping your online identity. They influence where and you are seen in search as well as where what you are saying is seen not only on Twitter, but also on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and other social networks.
Remember, when using Twitter, it’s about you personally using Twitter in your own name and about you sharing more of what others are saying and writing than you pushing your own ‘stuff’ onto Twitter. That way you build social media equity and trust so others share what you are writing and saying with the result being an enhanced reputation as a trusted authority and a growing network of relationships.