Most professionals view LinkedIn as a platform for connecting with people they’ve met or with whom they’ve done business. Imagine LinkedIn’s potential if used to the same degree and with the same regularity as other social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook.
For lawyers, the possibilities could be endless.
Instead of shying away from adding unfamiliar connections to your profile, consider expanding your network in new, creative ways. By engaging in expansion, you can increase your visibility among those who don’t already know you or your law firm. This also increases the likelihood of an individual endorsing your key strengths or recommending you or your law firm.
Below are some tips to maintain a strong presence on LinkedIn:
- Embrace the opportunity to update your profile regularly. Make sure your headline is descriptive and compelling, explaining what kind of lawyer you are and your area of expertise.
- Avoid unprofessional profile photos of you lounging on the beach. Save those for your personal Facebook account, where you can control the privacy levels of uploaded images. For consistency and branding purposes, it helps to use the same professional profile picture on all public social media accounts. It will be easier for others to recognize and remember you.
- Use your profile to brand yourself and your firm. LinkedIn is a great marketing tool for law firms. It would be wise to select a high-resolution, color image of your firm’s logo or a professional shot of your firm’s team.
- Do not forget to update any expertise your firm may possess. Be sure that current contact information is displayed clearly on your profile. This will allow any interested parties to reach you with ease.
Another LinkedIn tip lawyers may find exceptionally helpful is publishing content directly to your profile, similar to the way you would update a Facebook status or create a new tweet. Rather than linking new content to your page, publishing directly in your update box allows you to create a record of everything you’ve written. Make sure you share updates with everyone, not just your current connections. If your published content reaches enough connections in your network, LinkedIn Pulse will feature your legal update or law advice and extend it to other professionals using LinkedIn.
Lawyers, like most LinkedIn users, fail to use the networking site to its utmost potential. By captivating the 300 million professionals currently in the network, your law firm can harness LinkedIn’s potential by tapping into a larger audience and generating new inquiries, business and in-person meetings.