Twitter Tip: Keep Separate Accounts for Work and Play
An angry rage tweet by a BigLaw partner, dispatched in response to a popular law blog's sarcasm, made blog headlines, embarrassing both himself and his firm.
A P.R. professional made an insensitive and racist joke about AIDS and Africa. She actually trended globally on Twitter, while her flight was in-air, and was fired when she landed.
How do you avoid a similar snafu?
Keep 'Em Separated
It may seem excessive or burdensome to keep multiple Twitter accounts, but do you really want your clients to see you tweeting back-and-forth with @Keshasuxx? Heck, should they even know that you like Ke$ha?
Like many other realms of life, the best practice is to keep work and play separate. Have a lawyer account, to promote your firm, or to publish your law-blogging. Keep a personal account for family, friends, and hobbies. (And if you're prone to rage-tweeting, you might want to keep that second account anonymous.)
Managing Multiple Accounts
Twitter, unfortunately, doesn't have a way to switch back-and-forth through their regular interface.
They do, however, have a free tool called TweetDeck, which allows you to post to multiple accounts, manage lists, and to tame the unorganized mess of tweets that come from the hundreds of accounts that you follow.
(Another tip: try creating separate lists for different interests, such as sports, law-related, family, etc. Each can become its own column in TweetDeck.)
There's a bit of a learning curve, but it shouldn't take more than an hour or two to get your accounts set up and a few lists started.
Check and Recheck
Of course, you do need to be careful with multiple accounts. A prime example was the Red Cross employee that accidently tweeted from the company account about beer and "#gettngslizzerd," a reference to a Far East Movement song. Her employer handled it with aplomb and it actually turned in to a fundraising campaign, but imagine the embarrassment that would ensue if that tweet was dispatched by, say, a DUI defense attorney.
Think twice, and check twice, before you tweet.
Have a preferred method for dealing with multiple accounts? Or other Twitter tips? Tweet us @FindLawLP.
Related Resources:
- Top 5 Social Media Mishaps by Lawyers and Law Students of 2013 (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
- Small Firm Tech To-Do List for 2014 (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
- Social Media Overload? These 4 Tools Can Help (FindLaw's Strategist Blog)
