Brand-building is important to any business, and it should be important to you, too, even if you’re a solo practitioner.
Why?
Because YOU are a brand. You have an online presence, whether you realize it or not. So, why not take charge of that and use it to your full advantage?
In today’s digital world, your professional online presence is key, especially if your goals are to establish credibility, build professional relationships, amp up your professional networking game, and reach your target audience, and there’s no better social network on which to do that than LinkedIn.
When it comes to professional opportunities and increasing your marketing efforts, LinkedIn is where you want your company page and personal profile to really shine, and we’re not just saying that because digital marketing is our bread and butter.
Because we’re digital marketers, you may think we’re just biased and unnecessarily hype the importance of your online presence, but you don’t have to take our word for it.
Over half of employers check LinkedIn profiles of candidates to learn more about them, and that includes your prospective client base. Despite all that, we understand that LinkedIn is still foreign to many people, and the general pushback we hear from clients who are skeptical of building their brand awareness on LinkedIn centers on three myths that we’re here to debunk.
Myth #1: My Clients Aren’t on LinkedIn.
“It’s social media, and working folks don’t have time for that.”
“No way I’m going to make headway in my business development efforts on social networks.”
“Is LinkedIn for Lawyers?”
“People don’t care about my personal brand or my legal practice.”
Truth
LinkedIn has almost 740 million members with over 55 million registered companies, and LinkedIn is one of the professional social media platforms where professionals actually show up to work, in the legal industry and all others.
Still think your clients, potential clients, and target audience aren’t logging in to check out your LinkedIn profile, or have you seen the light? Yes? Ok, good. Let’s bust some more myths about digital marketing on LinkedIn.
Myth #2: LinkedIn is No Place to Regurgitate Everything on your Bio.
We all know how critical it is to keep CVs and recent appearances and speaking engagements up-to-date, no? Most law firms and lawyers dedicate an entire business development team to boost their presence and make sure prospective clients know who you are and why you’re valuable. Why would a professional social media platform differ from law firms’ websites and newsletters?
Truth
The truth is that your professional brand is just as important on social media platforms as it is on your law firm employee directory.
Your bio on LinkedIn is the first introduction you have to your potential clients and referral sources, and it should make a good first impression on your target audience. Your online résumé shouldn’t be written in the third person, and it shouldn’t be a bunch of standard language about how you’re experienced and knowledgeable.
What your online résumé on LinkedIn should be is a means for you to personably connect with professional contacts in a way that highlights your skills and values.
If building an engaging profile page seems overwhelming, fear not. Your favorite digital marketing gurus have you covered. You can download for free our LinkedIn for Client Development Cheat Sheet that will teach you all about differentiators and best practices for standing out, promoting your law firm and practice areas, and increasing success in your marketing efforts through your LinkedIn profile page.
MYTH #3: LinkedIn is a State Bar Disciplinary Action Waiting to Happen
Most lawyers have a deep understanding of their public image and are careful not to tarnish it in any way, which is completely logical and understandable. So, wouldn’t it stand to good reason that you would put tp use those same safe practices while using LinkedIn?
Truth
The truth is that LinkedIn, like anything intended for positive use, has the capability to become problematic… but only if you are. Your personal brand, company profile, and overall digital presence are your responsibility.
It may be tempting to share the hilarious meme your friends sent in the group chat, but it’s probably not the impression you want to give potential clients and new clients when they peruse your profile page.
You don’t need sound legal advice to know what not to share online, but you might need more information and structure for what to share and how to share it so you can make LinkedIn one of your prime social media platforms for law firm marketing.
Lucky for you, our LinkedIn for Client Development Program is easily assessable and custom-tailored to suit every size law firm, growing law firms, niche practice areas, and really any professional service industry looking to boost their marketing efforts.
Reach out to your resident gurus for help in perfecting your digital presence, and let us know any other roadblocks you may have on your journey to boosting your LinkedIn profile and LinkedIn company page. We’d love to bust more myths!
