LinkedIn For Lawyers

This chapter will provide tips on how to use LinkedIn. You’ll learn why it will benefit your law firm to use this social media platform and how to create a LinkedIn profile that will help with referrals and reach new potential clients.

Many attorneys use LinkedIn. Having a profile on this social media platform provides a range of benefits.

• Builds brand authority: People want to know if the attorney they hire is qualified to do the job. A professional LinkedIn profile helps you establish and build your personal brand and law firm brand.
• Potential clients use LinkedIn: The target audience for LinkedIn may be directly applicable to your practice area. The people you want to connect with to serve are likely well-versed in using this social media platform to connect with other professionals.
• It’s for professional networking: People have different reasons for using this site than other social media. Unlike other digital marketing platforms, LinkedIn is for developing a professional network. That’s far different than the “for fun” social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Your LinkedIn audience is more likely to be looking for professional connections than your Twitter audience.

Effectiveness of LinkedIn

The bottom line for many people is whether having a company page and an established lawyer profile on LinkedIn is actually going to produce new clients.

A report from HubSpot shows that’s exactly what you can expect. The report found that LinkedIn is 277 percent more effective for businesses than Facebook or Twitter. What other legal marketing strategy stands out at such a level as this?

However, as with all forms of law firm marketing, you must know your target audience. If your legal practice serves people who would not use the platform, it may not be a beneficial tool for you to use (or at least invest time into it for now). If your likely clients will be on this site — or they will use LinkedIn to research a law firm to find out how well it meets their needs— you need a profile here.

Engage with your community

LinkedIn is an incredible platform that many people use for business development and marketing. However, its real value in some cases comes in the form of creating connections. To make sure you benefit from this, you must put the time into using the site, building your lawyer profile and network, and being active users (both your law practice and your individual attorneys).

If your law firm focuses on a specific practice area, you can find several other attorneys who share that same passion on the site. Some may be in your area, but others are not. In all cases, connecting, sharing ideas, and communicating with others helps to establish your lawyer profile on the site.

Many LinkedIn users share your passion for your legal practice. When you join the community, share content, and connect with others, you expand your network and eventually reach more prospective clients. Though it may not seem like it, this type of networking is a valuable component of your marketing strategy.

You may be wondering why you should use LinkedIn as an attorney, especially if you are putting time and money into your firm’s website, building out your search engine optimization (SEO), and connecting with other referral sources. There are several reasons to incorporate LinkedIn marketing into your existing strategy. Besides engaging with your colleagues and experts in the community, there are a few other ways LinkedIn makes a big difference in today’s legal industry marketing. Let’s break them down here.

Build brand awareness

We touched on this a bit, but consider what LinkedIn is like for you. Let’s say you establish yourself on the platform as a legal professional and share content about new laws or new topics within your practice area. The content you post is valuable and appreciated by your peers and others in your network and community.

They share and comment on it, and the post goes viral. Even if you don’t score a record-breaking level of shares, the more people see and benefit from that post, the more you build your brand awareness. That means the number of people who know about you and your law practice grows.

The core goal is to use LinkedIn to establish your law firm’s brand. Once established, you can share and connect with others, helping people learn about your firm through every post you create.

Attract clients

Is someone who was just in a car accident really using LinkedIn to find a personal injury attorney to help them go after the insurance company? You may not think so, but that is what they do.

Consider why. If that person has accumulated thousands of dollars in medical debt and their insurance company isn’t working with them, they need help. They don’t just want any attorney, but one they know has the professional experience to help them take on the insurance company.

An established profile page helps them not just to find you but to learn about you. That gives them more of the encouragement they need to choose your legal services over someone else.

Establish credibility

Other clients may want an attorney they can believe in, who offers the type of information and guidance they need, but is also a person they feel comfortable with on multiple levels. LinkedIn can help you with this.

• Your personal profile on the site helps them get to know you. You’re a real person, not just a law firm.
• Your thought leadership content on the site helps them understand complex topics. That means they can feel more at ease talking to you because you have demonstrated your knowledge and ability to explain complicated topics.
• Your skills & endorsement section shows you know what you’re doing. It’s like giving your clients your resume instead of just a business card.

Ultimately, LinkedIn helps you to establish credibility in your niche in the legal industry. That can help you build a stronger future for your law firm.

Increase your professional network

Don’t underestimate the value of professional connections. Your professional experience could prove valuable to another attorney, or they may be able to send you referrals if your practice is more in line with their prospective client’s needs.

More so, you’re not just building a network of other attorneys but business leaders, community members, and professionals who may need your services at some time in the future. A professional network on LinkedIn allows you to gain that attention.

Don’t feel you have to spend hours a day interacting with LinkedIn groups or crafting the perfect elevator pitch for someone who reaches out to you on the platform. Instead, focus on these specific areas to help you utilize all this platform offers. It’s easier than you think.

#1. Budgeting and goals

First, create a budget for LinkedIn marketing for your law firm. We recommend that you use a professional service to establish your LinkedIn profile and work to build your presence on the site. Determine how much you’re willing to put into it now.

It might be daunting to look at your competitors and imagine the work it will take to rival their online presence. However, every company starts somewhere. It might seem impossible to start right now when your competition has already established a strong presence. However, with steady investment, you’ll see the growth you need and want. Just be realistic about your timelines. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your online reputation won’t be either.

#2. SEO exists outside of Google

Your LinkedIn profile needs to be optimized to stand out. You want your visitors’ first impression to be highly professional and focused on their needs. However, you also need to get those visitors to your profile. That’s where optimization can help.

Make sure your profile is externally and internally optimized. When you optimize your profile, it’s more likely to show up in Google search results. It’s also more likely to be relevant and show up for those searching for attorneys to connect with on LinkedIn itself.

First, you’ll want to invest in keyword research, just as you would for other SEO efforts. You should learn more about what words people use to search for your legal practice area, the services you offer, and the area you serve. If you’re a business attorney in Pittsburgh, you want people searching for “Pittsburgh business attorney for mergers and acquisition” to find you.

Next, be sure you include essential contact information. That may seem obvious, but mistakes happen. Sometimes an attorney sets up a great summary section and a fantastic profile photo but fails to include their phone number, address, and website. You want to be sure any potential leads that find you on LinkedIn have an easy way of connecting with you off of social media.

#3. Headshots impact business

Let’s talk about your profile photo for a minute. It matters.

You’ve heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” What does your profile picture say about you?

A low-quality, poor headshot with grainy pixels doesn’t entice clients to view your profile or learn more about your practice. They don’t value what you have to say, even if it’s valuable information.

That’s because a poor headshot looks unprofessional, and if a client is looking for the best in their field, they want somebody who looks like they know what they are doing. A professional headshot will make a marked difference here. A polished image indicates professional competence, which can attract clients to your firm.

Tip: Get good angles for your headshot

There are a few tips we recommend at Array Digital for choosing your professional headshot. That includes creating a crisp look, finding your best angles, and removing distractions in the background. You also want to ensure you have the right look for your industry.

Do you want some help? We’ve helped several attorneys identify issues with their current headshots. Give us a call to get answers on how to take a proper headshot.

#4. What makes you unique?

When creating your LinkedIn profile, you need to be unique and detailed. Ask yourself what sets your business apart from firms that offer the same services you do. Your company name is just one component of this. What else do you bring to the table that can help you stand out?

• Do you offer services others do not?
• What value can you add to a client’s life?
• How can you perform better than the next firm?
• Are you on top of legal trends in your area? How so?
• Do you have any area of specialization that you focus on? Why?

Your “about” section needs to be detailed and impactful. Don’t waste that space! You only have about 2600 characters (not words) to express everything that makes you different. Each word matters to a prospective lead reading your profile. Even a colleague will take those words into account.

Many law firms fail to set themselves apart on LinkedIn. Having a well-thought-out value proposition is critical to being successful online. Ensure your profile has all the basic information — your law school, your ABA certifications, and your job title. Then find one or two factors that help you stand out from your competitors. If you’re unsure of what strengths set you apart, try getting to know your competitors’ weaknesses first.

#5: Inject content with originality

One way to stand out is to incorporate content that helps you to become a thought leader in your legal sector. Thought leadership means offering insightful, highly valuable information that people will want to read and use.

When creating content to share on LinkedIn, ask yourself what makes it unique, interesting, and valuable beyond anything else on the platform. For example, as a criminal defense attorney, writing out the step-by-step process the client will likely go through during questioning will be valuable to the reader who is scared about what they don’t know.

If you are in a field where new topics and changes in the law are constantly evolving, make sure that you address those legal trends. Explain the drug laws in your state as they change, for example, or provide insight into financial regulations that are changing due to digital currency.

If you say what your competitors are already saying, that’s not thought leadership. That’s not being you nor being unique. Be the first or find a way to stand out when creating content for your profile. Ideally, you want to be both unique and the first to make the point instead of simply reacting to what others post.

Here’s a quick rundown of how to publish a blog for LinkedIn:

• Create a unique title that incorporates important keywords about what you’re talking about in the piece. Be concise.
• Create content that’s thorough but not an exhausting read. People are going to give you maybe five minutes to read your content.
• Skip the legal jargon. You’re talking to clients here, not law professors. Keep your language accessible to the average person.
• Incorporate visual tools into the content, like headings and bulleted lists. That makes it easy to read.
• Use appropriate keyword placement without jeopardizing the quality of the content. Don’t stuff so many keywords in that it feels unnatural.
• Incorporate a call to action, which tells people what they can do to get help.
• Publish your post on the platform and share it within your groups.

#6: Network, network, network

Who you know can, and often does, get you ahead. Make sure you’re connecting with others. Join the LinkedIn groups that interest you, connect with local businesses and leaders on the platform, and talk to people on their posts. Make introductions. Stay active on the site by interacting with your network. Remember that through this all, you’re building your brand.

There are many ways to connect and network. For example, you can use live streaming to help you make connections and get people to interact with your business. It’s much like using TikTok but with a very different audience. Another option may be to host a poll on the site to get people talking about current legal industry changes impacting clients.

You have reached the end of this chapter, but this is not all we have to say about the importance of LinkedIn and social media marketing! Check out some of our blogs on social media if you have read through this guide and are ready to seek out even more knowledge. 

How to use LinkedIn in your law firm’s marketing strategy 

Read this piece to see how you can make your posts relevant. It also provides some helpful information on why you should not procrastinate on building your online presence. We want you to keep up the momentum and move forward because the rest of the world will not wait for you. Apply these strategies to your efforts to see results.

Seven deadly sins on social media

In case you have not read this piece, do so now. The mistakes listed in this article also apply to LinkedIn. Avoid these pitfalls to ensure you have the best results on the platform.

If you’re tired of reading and ready for action, schedule a consultation with us.

Link in or get left out

LinkedIn is a formidable player in the race to build a strong brand as an attorney. Let Array Digital guide you through that process. Call us now at 757-333-3021 or fill out a contact form to learn more about how we can help you grow your practice on the platform.