This is the final post in the series, Twitter Law U Gameday: Where's the Band? So far, we have examined what law schools are on Twitter http://blog.lawwriter.com/2010/05/ , why all law schools need to have a Twitter presence http://blog.lawwriter.com/2010/06/, and the law schools that are doing a marvelous job http://blog.lawwriter.com/2010/06/.
This post examines the law schools that really need a lot of help in implementing their Twitter campaign. Notice I didn't call it "Twitter strategy" because "strategy", according to Webster's Dictionary, implies a "plan of action designed to achieve a major or overall aim." That these schools lack a plan is evident. These schools think that because they have signed up for Twitter, their job is done. Their comprehensive social media strategy consists of signing up and sending out a few tweets every now and then.
Instead, a comprehensive social media strategy should be a well-thought out plan orchestrated to fire on all cylinders. The plan must take into account who the target audience is, different ways to reach that target audience, strategies to attract new audiences, and the accounts should be updated almost daily. To see the difference between the Good, and the Bad and the Ugly, compare the Twitter accounts of the schools listed on my previous post at http://blog.lawwriter.com/2010/06/ with the schools listed below. It's a no brainer.
The following schools, while valiant for trying, have failed to make the grade and should devote the necessary resources toward developing a social media strategy:
No News is Good News
drakelaw 0 Tweets
BoydSchoolofLaw 0 Tweets
First Impressions are the Most Lasting
Can't you tell from their Twitter handles what law schools these are? Of course interested people will be able to find these schools on Twitter:
875Summit William Mitchell College of Law
LawandHistory Massachusetts School of Law
FaulknerLaw Jones School of Law
dpulaw DePaul Law School. Why not choose DePaulLaw?
A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
St.ThomasLawMiam They tweet once every 6 months or so.
FaulknerLaw Tweets are protected because they don't want anyone to see that which should be made public.
Alphabet Soup
auwcl American University College of Law
CUALaw Catholic University Columbus School of Law
CWRU_Law Case Western
So, that's the end of the series, Twitter Law U Gameday: Where's the Band? The great news is that more law schools than ever have joined Twitter and other forms of social media. A few schools have really have figured out a great strategy. UChicagoLaw's "Tweet Chicago", the Snapshot of the Law School, has left an indelible impression on me. These schools will be the ones that benefit by having a better pool of admissions candidates and more alumni gift-giving because they are getting their message out. Hopefully, the schools that aren't on social media, as well as the ones that are on it in name only, will wise up lest they miss the social media stream (which is now a tidal wave) and fall even further behind.