Numbers from a 2012 American Bar Association survey show that fully 95 percent of ABA members report having a LinkedIn profile, and 70 percent of corporate counsel report that they use the site to find and vet outside lawyers.
While the basics about LinkedIn have been fairly well covered elsewhere, what has not been made clear is why the site is so important for lawyers. The first and most basic reason is size. On sheer numbers the site is one of the most visited on the planet. For lawyers as for many professionals, how one’s online profile presents can be as important as the networking one does in person. The bios on firms’ websites have in the past served this purpose. Today one’s online profile matters far more.
LinkedIn went live in May 2003, and from day one it was about business and hiring, says Phil Nugent.
Nugent, the principal of NCG Strategic Marketing and a non-practicing lawyer, spoke about LinkedIn to the Legal Marketing Association’s Rocky Mountain Chapter July 9 at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Denver’s LoDo district.
Nugent went through the three basic steps to getting business off LinkedIn. Step one is a strong profile, and many lawyers make the mistake of leaving it at that. According to Nugent, the problem is that having a good profile on LinkedIn, while necessary, isn’t enough.
After you build a strong profile, the next step is to build a network. Here size and quality are equally important. The third step is to put the network to work to find people, be found, and research markets.
Profile Strength
You won’t get much out of LinkedIn unless you start with a strong profile. Resist the urge to copy-and-paste from your firm’s website. This is your chance to write to the algorithm.
LinkedIn’s algorithm scores profile strength. The higher your score, the better you rank in its searches. Each section carries a different weight. To get as close as you can to the highest score (100 percent), which LinkedIn calls all-star, fill out every field.
Here are some of Nugent’s top tips.
The name and title you choose gets you 25 percent of the strength that puts you in front of more people. One of the biggest mistakes people make is in the title. The temptation is to put a bland job title, but this is a lost opportunity. Use as many keywords as you can in a description that makes sense. You have eighteen words, so make them count.
On LinkedIn, a photograph counts for five percent of your profile strength, so don’t be a gray silhouette. All else being equal, profiles with a photo get viewed seven times more often than profiles without a photo. You want a current, professional photo.
The summary gets you ten percent of your profile strength. The summary section is your big chance to tell a compelling story about how you solve clients’ legal problems. Put as many keywords in the summary as you can. You have up to 2,000 characters, roughly 350 words. Spell-check!
Fifteen percent of your profile strength comes from the education section.
The two jobs you had before your current job make up 30 percent of your profile strength.
Get at least three recommendations. Recommendations also count toward 15 percent of your profile strength.
LinkedIn assigns you a random URL when you sign up, but you can change it. You want to customize your public profile’s URL. Add in your full name and remove the extra characters. Adding links to your website and blog helps you get found more easily.
The Edit Profile page lets you add information about your publications, projects, patents, honors and awards, languages, and certifications.
Focus on content. If you fill your profile with the words your clients would use to find you, the algorithm can match you to them. As for style, keep it simple. Legalese might be fine for briefs and contracts, but unless your clients talk that way, leave it out.
A great profile doesn’t help much if nobody can find you. Go to the Privacy Controls page and set to Everyone. Set your photo and profile to visible to everyone.
Build a LinkedIn Network
Without a network, your profile is like the business card you leave on the table at the end of a meeting. LinkedIn is like baseball. You throw the ball as well as catch it. Of course you want to accept the invitations that you get, but if that’s all you do, you won’t play a very good game. If you want a good network you have to get out there and send invitations.
Think of your network as a big circle. You’re in the center. First-degree connections are the people you accepted and who accepted you. Your second-degree connections are their contacts. The third degree is the contacts of the second degree, and they are partly visible, and reached only through the second-degree connection.
When you build your network, remember that quality matters as much as quantity. If you accept every invitation from every stranger, you’ll have a huge network but poor results. But if you turn down every invitation that doesn’t come from a client, coworker, or friend, you’ll have a small but unproductive network.
When deciding whether to accept a new connection, ask yourself: is it likely this person would have a reason to send a client or referral my way? Strike a balance.
When you get a connection request from an unknown stranger, look at the person’s profile. Does it look real? How many and how good are their contacts? Did they write a personal note? You’re more likely to accept a request if it’s personal. Avoid people who send out mass invitations.
The most effective way to get started is to send invitations to people you already know. This is your first circle, where you’ll find the folks you want to start with: your firm’s partners, associates and staff; members of your groups and organizations; and referral sources, clients and friends.
If you want to turn LinkedIn into a new business development tool, you have to keep watering and feeding your network. When you meet a new person at a meeting, make a point to send out the invitation soon, preferably within 48 hours. Also add your LinkedIn address to your business card.
Get as Much Out of the Network
You want to get as much out of the network as you can. You put so much work into getting the connections. What’s the point of a Ferrari sitting in a garage? The more you drive it, the more pleasure you get. The third and final step is where the real value comes from.
Before you walk into a meeting, do your homework. You won’t get much out of a meeting if you don’t prepare. Get in the habit of checking LinkedIn before you go. The results are only as good as the quality and size of your network.
What questions can LinkedIn help you answer? Who is the right person at this organization? What can I find out about this person and their team before we meet? Find someone who can give you an introduction.
LinkedIn’s premium membership gives you added search power. The site offers you the chance to buy the premium membership one month at a time. However, most people should find that the free version is enough.
Over the past few years, LinkedIn went from tech curiosity to essential marketing tool for competitive professionals in almost every field. Only if you get to know and use the tools available to you to get the results you want do you get the benefits of LinkedIn.
About Delancey Street
Delancey Street is a premier, and award winning, business debt settlement company that helps business owners nationwide. Our goal is simple: help you escape debt in a safe and legal manner. Based out of New York, we can help in 49 of 50 states. We tell you how it is; because your business and future is on the line.
