The original version of this article was published at www.susankostal.com  on November 15, 2017.

I’ve been immersed in social media lately (beyond my typical compulsion), and thinking a lot about how best to teach both concepts and practical skills to lawyers who want to engage online to promote their practices.

Part of that work has been editing Attorney At Work’s latest social media e-book. This free download is topical, easy to skim, and very actionable. Whether you want to improve your LinkedIn game, do more with Twitter, or get into video, this guide is for you.

Take a break from spreadsheet and client conversation stress and learn Twitter. Compared to receivables, Twitter is your dream date.

Here is an abbreviated version of my seven-step process. You can find more details and evidence-based reasoning about why you should be on Twitter in the e-book.

1. Lurk
Establish your account and find 20 regular users to follow. By regular I mean those that tweet daily. See what they tweet, who they follow, and who follows them.

2. Retweet
Begin retweeting thoughtful, interesting content from your followers once a day.

3. Add news stories
Tweet (without comment) relevant news stories from your industry and practice area. General legal news, such as rumors of SCOTUS retirements or squabbles (Ginsburg v Gorsuch!) is fine, too.

4. Retweet with comments
Use the “quote tweet” option to add your commentary to a retweet. It could be as simple as “smart piece,” or “important read.” Eventually, after watching others, move to more sophisticated comments on what others post.

5. Focus on followers
Now that you’ve built up a body of work, begin to increase your follows, in the hope that these folks will reciprocate and follow you.

6. Original content
Now that you’ve got more than 20 followers, you can begin tweeting your own content and alerts, such as blog posts, client newsletters, notice of new regulations going into effect, etc.

7. Engage in conversations
Use “quote tweet” or “reply” to speak specifically to what someone else has said on Twitter. This more personal engagement grows relationships and followers.

I continue to believe that Twitter is the hidden gem for lawyers who want to distinguish themselves in the social media market and more broadly as current, connected practitioners.

Make the time. Take the effort. You may find, as I have, that your practice is enriched. Plus there are all those cute animal pics, and a few of @COMMSdog (he’s my service dog, CMO, and inspiration for my newsletter cartoons).

About the author
Susan Kostal is a legal marketing consultant and content strategist located in San Francisco Bay Area. Find her monthly column on Attorney at Work and check out more great content at susankostal.com.