1. Be you.
LinkedIn is all about the brand You (see tompeters.com). Highlight your skills; develop a persona that is authentic; and most of all make sure that you don’t look and feel like every other lawyer. If you have a USP then flaunt it.
2. Spend at least 30 minutes a day on LinkedIn.
Sounds prescriptive but if you don’t religiously commit to it then don’t expect to get much out of it.
3. Don’t just join to your contacts on Outlook, Facebook or Gmail but look for your raving fans.
Identify those people that are in the habbit of talking about you and referring work to you and consider how you can use LinkedIn to continue to develop the relationship.
4. Make your profile stand out from the crowd.
Don’t cut and paste your profile from your firm’s website. Think what a buyer would be interested in reading about. If you are not sure whether you look and sound interesting then ask a non lawyer for an honest opinion.
5. Join relevant groups.
Relevant in this context doesn’t mean the groups where the conversation is industry specific but more likely will contain your clients or referrers.
6. Offer something of value to your contacts.
Don’t broadcast but do share remarkable information which adds value to your potential clients’ business.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask for something – preferably work.
LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for networking but don’t forget to ask for the meeting, introduction or better still the opportunity to pitch for the work.
Like all social media platforms it is important that you think of the outcomes prior to engaging but to make the most of your time and investment you need to engage.