Why Lawyers Need Social Media

Social Media, by flickr user laura pasquini, licensed by Creative Commons.Social media. It’s familiar territory for some lawyers, and a foreign world for others. Whether you are a social media veteran or have yet to test the waters, having a social media presence can benefit your firm in many ways. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like help you connect with people, keep up with current events, build a name and reputation for you and/or your firm, and reach an audience beyond your geographical range. Read more

5 Ways for Lawyers to Get the Most from LinkedIn

Tie, Tie Knot, Shirt, Suit, Knot by pixabay user Hans, licensed by Creative Commons

Be Professional & Stand Out

As a legal marketing expert, I receive a lot of questions about the importance of social media, especially LinkedIn. Many lawyers are already up and running on this business-centric platform, featuring a detailed profile and professional headshot. LinkedIn can be a fantastic resource for your law firm and is a great tool to add instant credibility. If potential clients can see that you have a strong LinkedIn presence, you may generate new business as people feel more comfortable working with a vetted, authoritative brand. Below are some tips on how legal professionals and practicing lawyers can benefit from being active on LinkedIn. Read more

LinkedIn for Lawyers (Part 2)

We have already established the benefits the necessity of making full use of a free LinkedIn profile here. Clients can learn more about your firm and you are establishing yourself as an authority.

Are there other benefits? Of course, maintaining a comprehensive LinkedIn presence has SEO benefits. Should a Lawyer have an existing name brand, LinkedIn profiles can take up valuable real estate in first page of organic results in Google.

Why Is This Important?

Your personal brand is extremely valuable once established. If there are potential clients typing your name as a keyword in Google, the last thing you want is to have a competitor’s listing take up first page real estate.

When executed properly, your LinkedIn profile should rank well. Take a look at what happens when you search for Lawyer.com’s CEO, Gerald Gorman. Right below his website bio is his LinkedIn.

linkedinSERPWhat should a Lawyer do on LinkedIn?

Besides filling out all of your biographical information, it may make sense to create a page for your firm. This is dependent on the size of your firm. Check out an example of the Lawyer.com company page.

LinkedIn also serves as a great tool to network. Join the Lawyer.com Legal Marketing Group and connect with Lawyer.com’s CEO, Gerald Gorman.

If you have any questions about how to best optimize your LinkedIn profile, feel free to contact support@corp.lawyer.com or call 800-820-0900.

 

LinkedIn For Lawyers (Part 1)

With 200 million users and counting, LinkedIn is one of the most prolific social media networks. What makes LinkedIn so unique is its focus on career and professional development.  This feature makes a LinkedIn presence a key component of a Lawyer’s overall marketing campaign.

LinkedIn is primarily composed of professionals across all industries. These are all prospective clients with resources to support your practice. This is especially true for Business, Employment, & Corporate lawyers. The client likely has a presence on LinkedIn and having a comprehensive profile will increase the likelihood that relevant clients contact your practice.

Understanding the importance of LinkedIn, here are few tips for lawyers:

linkedin info

By default, LinkedIn users have a long URL for their profile. This is not very SEO Friendly. Follow the above steps to change your URL to something along the lines of LinkedIn.com/ln/johndoe. I recommend that the custom url be the same as your Twitter handle. In the case the lawyers Twitter handle should be @johndoe

Add As Much Content As Possible

Lawyers should enter as much information as they can on their profile. This includes their past employment and links to their website and other social media profiles.

Share Your LinkedIn Profile

At the same time, it’s important to share your LinkedIn profile on your website (along with your other social media profiles). One can even include these links in their email signature.

Signature

This establishes your brand as a market leader. Lawyers should look for as many ways as possible to remain connected to their clients and have a presence where new clients can be found.

Social media is still fairly new when it comes to its applications in business, especially for its use in the legal marketing space. As this technology becomes more mainstream, lawyers who embrace its benefits will be uniquely positioned to grow their practice.

Stay tuned next week for the conclusion of LinkedIn best practices for lawyers. We’ll discuss what to do on LinkedIn and how to create a firm profile for your practice.