Should "Retweeting" Be One of Your Marketing Tools?

Attorneys who use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy should consider "retweeting" when it makes sense.  In an excellent post from earlier this year (http://bloggingbits.com/the-art-and-science-of-retweeting-for-twitteraholics/), AJ Vaynerchuk describes the mechanics and strategy of retweeting.  To "retweet," you re-post to your own followers a tweet (or post) that was broadcast by someone else.  This is usually done by taking a tweet, clicking "reply" to that post (which will start a new post that begins with "@" the name of the original poster), typing "Retweet" or "RT" before or after the name of the original poster, copying the original post into the retweet, and providing some commentary on the original tweet.

When should you retweet?  I recommend doing so when you think there is an exceptionally good Twitter post that will benefit your followers.  Don't overdo it on retweeting too many posts, but occasionally retweet excellent links that your followers will find interesting or that will help them in some way.

Why should you retweet?  Social media is all about serving others and contributing to the conversation.  In the world of social networking, constant self-promotion doesn't cut it.  Sharing a tweet that will save your followers time, make your followers money, or provide practical tips to your followers, is a big part of how Twitter fits into the world of new media.

What is the real reason for retweeting?  To provide value to your followers - really.  However, as my friend Alex Mandossian would say, you can also retweet out of selfish benevolence.  In other words, in dialoguing with your followers in a meaningful way, you also benefit yourself.  Your followers will come to see you as more of an authority as you provide excellent content - both your own and from others.  Retweeting, when done successfully, also engenders action from your followers.  As your followers take action in clicking on links for helpful posts from third parties (through you), they will be more prone to take action by responding to an offer, request, or link you may post in the future for your own blog or products.

One of the goldmines in Twitter is to have your content retweeted by other Twitterers with large followings!  As you benevolently retweet quality content from others, the law of reciprocity is in your favor that others may retweet your content in the future.  But the key is to retweet with no expectation of reciprocal retweeting from the original poster.  In social media and social networking, an abundance mindset is key.  If you are not on Twitter solely to benefit yourself, you will naturally find benefits flowing back to you.