Fix up your LinkedIn Profile, make big bucks.
According to an ABA Journal story, attorney Mark Poniatowski beefed up his LinkedIn profile and quickly got referrals worth $12,000 by connecting with colleagues, friends, and new clients. How important is LinkedIn for networking? Try a Google search on your own name, and you’ll probably find that your LinkedIn Profile ranks high in the results.
Here are a few tips to get more out of your LinkedIn page in just minutes.
Personalize Your Page
To update your page, click on the “Edit” button and customize links to reflect your company, renaming all of the provided links to include your homepage, or your practice area pages.
SEO for LinkedIn
LinkedIn get great search results on Google, but to make sure the right people find you, optimize your profile with keywords that potential that clients will be searching for.
Note: Don’t use jargon and legalese unless you’re sure that your clients will understand and appreciate it.Update Your Skills and Endorsements
The Skills section makes it easier to search for professionals with particular skills or expertise. It might also help you appear as a top result when someone is searching for a specific skill.
Warning! If your friends and colleagues send an endorsement that you feel is not accurate, do not accept it, or you may be accused of false advertising. For example I don’t know why “court reporting” is on my list of skills.
Don’t Use LinkedIn’s Default Message
To get the best results on LinkedIn you have to add to and build out your list of connections. Don’t be shy about inviting people to connect to you. But when you invite people to connect on LinkedIn, don’t use the bland automatic messages provided- get personal.
Bonus Tips
- Update Regularly to Stay in Front of Contacts
- Join Relevant Groups and Participate
- Demonstrate your expertise through Group discussions and posts
Lastly, to fully take advantage of LinkedIn, set up a social media management widget like HootSuite to make updating your content easier and your activity easy to track. LinkedIn can be a powerful networking tool, yet many lawyers use only a tiny fraction of its features and obtain a tiny portion of its potential benefits. Fortunately, it does not take much time or effort to enhance the value of your LinkedIn account.