LinkedIn--The Professional Networking Tool in Your Toolbox

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the professional networking tool in your marketing toolbox. It is a business oriented social networking service. Think of it as a tool to help you organize all the networks of fellow lawyers and clients who refer work to you. And it does so in a way you can understand with results you can see.

To be effective on LinkedIn, you need a marketing plan for its use.

Start by asking yourself “What do I want to accomplish with LinkedIn?” 

Do you want to:
• Build your client base
• Cultivate relationships with particular businesses
• Search for a position
• Create your own web presence outside that of your firm or
• Establish your expertise?

Whom do I want to attract?

If you’re searching for a position in a law firm, you want to attract the attention of law firm managers, recruiters or human resource departments. On the other hand, if you want to build your client base, your profile and publications should address potential clients’ needs. Tailor your message to fit your intended goal.

Your Profile:

Now you know why you’re on LinkedIn, you can create an effective profile, one that uses some of the keywords that your reader uses to search for a lawyer such as “Traverse City Elder Law Lawyer.” Write your profile in first person (“I”) as if you were talking to that client in your office. Add to your profile using LinkedIn sections. Upload your video, write a short blog for the publications section, and, if you volunteer, add volunteer organizations. Remember to include a picture, your skills in the skills section and make sure your title states clearly the type of law you practice.

Marketing Toolbox

Build a network
Remember that LinkedIn is a professional networking site. Its purpose is to build relationships. Start by connecting with people you know. Send invitations to connect on LinkedIn as part of your follow-up after you meet new people at an event. Add something personal to the standard invitation such as reminding them where you met.

Use LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn offers groups for every situation one can imagine and while some may be of little value, some are helpful. If you search the profiles of the people you want to meet, you will find the groups they belong to. You can join the group and follow the discussions, commenting and adding articles or links.

Updates

Updates are short messages you share with your network. You can send an update directly from your home page using the update box. Experts say that 80% of updates should be news or information for your readers and 20% about you. Review the updates posted to your home page and comment when appropriate.

LinkedIn is about networking and building relationships. Check your homepage or read the update e-mails for news about others in your network. Respond with a congratulatory note or information that can help them further a project. Taking a few minutes to scan your home page, respond to updates and send comments can bring good results when done with your goals in mind. And, remember to include a link to your LinkedIn home page on your SBM enhanced Profile page in the Member Directory and your website.

Build a Better Blog, Readers Will Come

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Ralph Waldo Emerson

     The phrase, attributed to Emerson in the late nineteenth century, is actually a misquotation of a much longer statement that has morphed into a metaphor about the power of innovation. It means that if you develop something superior to a device that is widely used, you will succeed.
     The same is true of Blogs. Create a blog that offers quick and useful information your clients and potential clients can use, written in a format they can understand, is fresh and interesting and gives them a reason to return and you will have built a better blog and consumers will beat a path to your door.

How to build a better blog:

A Better Blog=More Readers

     Understand why you’re writing it. Do you want to be seen as an expert, build an awareness about your firm or simply add fresh content to your website? Maybe it’s all three. A well-defined strategy will keep you and your reader interested.
     Decide what you want to say. Think about the clients you have. What type of problems are they experiencing? Perhaps, there has been a surge in questions about the Health Care Law or the change in the formula for child support. Define your subject matter clearly and the post will be easier to write.
     Start with an engaging title. Effective titles are short. Titles that ask a question, use numbers such as ‘6 ways to peal an orange’ or solve a problem such as ‘how to peal an orange’ are attention grabbers.
     Compose compelling copy. A story with facts that set up your topic will get the reader’s attention. Write clearly using plain English and keep it short. A 300 to 500-word blog is sufficient. Blocks of text are tiring. To keep the reader on the page, break up text:

• Use bullets to emphasize key points,
• Add images, videos and graphics, and 
• Bold or underline material.

     Review and revise. Write it, set it aside and come back in a few hours or the next day. You’ll be surprised at what needs changing.

Now you’ve built a better blog. What next?

     First, publish it on your website’s blog page and your blog hosting site. Second, let the social world know it exists. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and an e-mail blast to announce its posting. Third, market it on Social Media; let your followers know of the new publication. Soon fellow lawyers and clients looking for the information offered will beat a path to your door.