LinkedIn has 175 million users so far. All of whom are looking to network with business professionals specifically. For an attorney, this is an untapped market for potential clients. And, of course, in terms of employment-seekers, it’s a potential opportunity to find (or become) a new hire. So, more than with other social networks, it’s important to maintain a professional presence on LinkedIn with a well-curated profile. Let’s put the emphasis on “well-curated.”
Five Ways to Put Your Best Foot Forward
Since you can’t be there in person, it’s important that your LinkedIn profile page does a superb job of representing you. Here are some of my favorite ways to brush things up and make a difference.
1. Brand your URL.
What’s better? A URL with a thousand numbers or a URL branded with your name or law firm? Users are more likely to click on a profile that is specific rather than on a jumble of digits. Branding your URL also helps other LinkedIn users find you easier, whether through Google or LinkedIn’s search results. There is no downside to making yourself easier to find.
2. SEO your Profile.
There’s nothing better than coming up first for certain keywords in Google search results. Add the keywords you want to rank for in your profile. The best places are the heading, summary and resume sections. Don’t over-optimize the actual links on your profile page, though. You want your links to be clickable. Change the link’s anchor text to something attention grabbing. Instead of “Click for law firm,” change it, for example, to “Click for client-first law firm.”
3. Create a Profile Badge.
If your law firm has a website, which it very much should, you’ll want to promote it on LinkedIn with a clickable badge. There are quite a few badge designs to choose from. They are a great way to make your website recognizable and clickable; more clicks equals more clients.
4. Don’t forget the applications.
There are a variety of underutilized applications available on LinkedIn. They allow a user to showcase blog articles, presentations, stories or other web content attractively. The Event application might be my favorite: It allows users to see what events their connections are attending in the law firm industry.
5. Don’t over-network.
It’s great to join a lot of groups, but you don’t want to join so many that you cannot possibly get to know your fellow group members. Join no more than 50 relevant groups, and then weed out the less helpful ones as time goes on. Once you’ve got some hyper-relevant groups that you’re a part of, start engaging in discussions, forums, content sharing, answers, pools, news and ads.
There you go, five easy tips for creating a successful LinkedIn page. They are simple, but extremely effective.
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