Networking is an important practice for those in the legal profession, so it is no surprise that many lawyers find social networking and social media sites very useful. Microblogging is a fairly new concept and may be a little confusing at first, but once you learn a few tricks you’ll be able to get out there and make new and valuable contacts with ease.

We’ve included a list of tips below for you to follow which serve as an introduction to microblogging; and if you’re already a seasoned pro, you might find something new and useful here as well.

“Hashtags”

These are keywords established for specific groups of information. Simply use the # sign before a key word or phrase in your post, and that post will show up for other users searching for information on the same subject. For example, you can use the #law tag for any general law-related posts. A quick search online can reveal already established hashtags that you can utilize in your posts.

These tags can be likened to the keywords you enter into the “tags” section of your law blog posts.

Following and Followers

When following other posters and considering your own followers, include people you already know and try to facilitate new, geographically local relationships. While it is nice to have a group of international professional contacts, concentrating on more local interactions can yield more positive results in terms of client leads and professionally beneficial communication.

Avoid Spamming

The purpose of blogging and microblogging is not to directly sell – this will damage your community credibility with many contacts. Attempting to sell your legal services in this manner will turn off many of your peers and potential clients. You can, however, provide a link to your firm’s website in your profile information, for example.

Use your microblog posts to share pertinent legal news and information, details of useful professional conferences, and encourage discussion by asking questions and sharing concerns with your peers. It is also acceptable etiquette to provide a link to a new and relevant blog post you have written in your microblog feed.

A Learning Opportunity

While you may be tempted to just focus on putting out your own content, there are many useful resources available through popular microblogging sites that allow you to keep up with various topics relevant to your interests. Engage in conversation with the other professionals you follow, and use the many features available to stay up-to-date with government and court sources. You might learn something!