Two legal companies doing Twitter the right away

If I see a Tweet like the above, I feel pretty good.

And why not? LexisNexis (@LexisNexis) is a multi-billion dollar company with over 20,000 Twitter followers — including executives in their parent company, Reed Elsevier, most LexisNexis employees, and a who’s who in the legal profession.

We all have a little ego. We all want a little social media love. Me included.

LexisNexis is not alone in using Twitter effectively to build relationships and enhance their reputation.

Cloud based case and client management solution provider, Clio (@goclio), does a heck of a job sharing relevant Tweets with the legal profession.

Perhaps without the reach of LexisNexis, but Clio has Twitter relationships with thousands of small and medium sized law firms across the country, bar associations from coast to coast, and legal technology company leaders.

Clio is also thought of as one of the up and coming legal technology companies. Who doesn’t want a shout out from them via their sharing a blog post of yours on Twitter?

How do I feel about these guys now that they regularly share my blog posts on Twitter and retweet some of the things I share on Twitter?

• I feel an enhanced relationship with the companies and their executives. I am more apt to speak positively about the companies and their work – when deserved. In the case of LexisNexis, there’s been a bit of bad blood between us and Twitter is just one, among other ways, to break the ice and move things to where they ought to be.
• I begin to tweet things they blog or share on Twitter. I am not the be all and end of all of influencers, but people in the legal and social media space do follow me. The companies derive some benefit from that.
• I am more apt to reach out to the companies on ideas – and when I do there is a cordial response.
• I view these companies as more innovative and social. While most of the people in the legal profession, including law firms and companies serving the legal profession are slow to adapt to a real social presence, these companies are proving they understand the future of social.

Clio and LexisNexis aren’t just hitting the retweet button and running. They have dedicated employees working on social. What they do on Twitter shows.

• They re-title blog posts for sharing on Twitter. Catchier titles grab people’s attention. Short ones also allow for better retweeting by their followers.
• They add images to their tweets of my blog posts. Not images from my blog post or tweet. In the case of at least LexisNexis, they’re going out and finding images to include in their Tweet. Tweets with Images get read and shared significantly more than those which do not.
• Personal engagement ensues when I respond. I’ll get responses from both their corporate Twitter accounts and the personal Twitter accounts from the folks doing the tweeting at these companies. The people doing the tweeting don’t cop out by making themselves available personally on Twitter.
• They’re strategically listening to what influential bloggers, reporters, and industry leaders are saying via organized RSS readers and Twitter lists. They know sharing what they these folks are saying is not only going to be of value to their audience, but it will also get the message of the respective companies shared via these influencers.

Shout outs go to Derek Bolen (@hurrrdurr), social media and communications manager at Clio, Frank Strong (@frank_strong), communications director at LexisNexis, who tweets for the business solutions products group via((@Business_of_Law), and Tracie Morris (@jtraciemorris), director of social media and communities at LexisNexis, who tweets from the flagship account.

Shout outs also go to LexisNexis and Clio for having a more progressive and innovative approach to social media. They’re not tying the hands of their team with an inflexible approach which strikes fear of reprimand or firing. The companies are empowering and encouraging social engagement – on a corporate and personal level.

Clio and LexisNexis are not the only the organizations engaging me and others via social. Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, Rocket Matter, MyCase and countless bar organizations are among the many who do so.

I’m just calling these two out as models for other companies and organizations (including law firms) to follow and learn from.