In-House Counsel

3 Strategies To Maximize The Value Of LinkedIn For Your Online Personal Brand

Being active on LinkedIn doesn’t mean you have to be a content creator to get seen and noticed.

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linkedin-logoLinkedIn has become a fixture for lawyers who are in job search mode, yet there’s ample opportunity to leverage the platform as a whole for overall professional brand value, including networking, relationship building, as well as pursuing board seats and other long-term community- and industry-based leadership opportunities.

I’m often asked by lawyer clients, “Do I really need to be active on LinkedIn to see results?” For some, that question is a double-edged sword. “Active on LinkedIn” is subject to various interpretations, and no, it doesn’t mean you have to be a content creator or influencer with hundreds of thousands of connections to get seen and noticed.

It’s easy to get reeled into LinkedIn and lost in the shuffle of lawyers pontificating seemingly unrealistic career battles, daily musings, and other parody videos that echo Lady Gaga’s words: “I live for the applause, applause, applause […] live for the way that you cheer and scream for me.”

As you and I have seen, there are lawyers who post on the platform seven days a week (and continue engaging tit-for-tat, hour after hour, minute after minute) ad nauseam, leaving many readers wondering, and often commenting in jest: do they actually have any real legal work to do?

There are various strategies you can undertake to maximize the value of LinkedIn without showing up on the platform every single day.

You Don’t Need To Post Daily Content On LinkedIn For Strong Brand Positioning

Unless you’re the law firm’s designated marketer, chances are you have better things to do than sit on LinkedIn all day long creating, publishing, and engaging on content. I can also tell you with complete certainty, LinkedIn is a huge time suck, as is social media in general. This is why content creators with large followings on any given platform make it their full-time job or often hire social media managers to respond to comments and messages.

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Sure, the dopamine hit is nice, but let’s face it, you’re busy and have a mountain (or mountains) of work awaiting you. So, if you’re not monetizing content or getting clients from it, there’s no inherent purpose or need for incessant, daily posting.

If you’re interested in sharing content, you can do so three to four times a month with zero pressure and still grow your visibility. Here are some ideas for posts: a photo of you speaking at or an attending an event, a post sharing a recent case development or decision, a career or leadership lesson you’ve learned along the way that can help other peers or younger lawyers grow their own careers, or an interesting article that’s on topic for your industry or sector that you want to share with your audience.

Select three to five targeted and relevant hashtags that would draw more attention to the post (I’m a proponent of rotating hashtags). That first half-hour to 45 minutes after publication, engage with others who comment so that your post gains more traction. Within 24 hours of the post, be sure to at least “like” the comment of the person engaging on your post. This will continue to push your content into LinkedIn’s algorithm for enhanced viewing. Slow growth is strong, long-term growth.

It’s important to note that engagement on a post is not an indicator of its success or yours. I have many silent readers of my content who will often inbox me or reach out and connect, but never engage on the content. What I pay attention to are the analytics of my post — is it reaching my intended audience of lawyers, general counsels, and C-suite executives?

Focus On Your Profile’s Contents

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When a general counsel or CLO client comes to me at ground zero with their LinkedIn profile, the first thing I point out is the value of a keyword-optimized profile that makes them populate over and over again in search results. The majority of my general counsel or CLO clients have zero desire (or time) to invest in writing their own LinkedIn profile or generating a content marketing strategy. They are not on LinkedIn to be the next LinkedIn guru or influencer. They just want to increase their network and searchability for other C-suite and board leadership opportunities.

There are five areas of LinkedIn that matter most for ranking you in search results: headline, about/summary section, location, job titles, and skills. Ramping up these sections of your LinkedIn will pay off in dividends. Clients (and readers of my ATL articles focused on LinkedIn tips) have seen dramatic improvement in visibility and outreach from targeted audiences just by enhancing these areas.

Your LinkedIn headline should build in targeted keywords focused on areas of expertise in addition to your current job title. The about/summary section of your LinkedIn profile should give insights into your career story and work with a focus on listing areas of expertise and targeted words such as “Fortune 500 company expertise,” “private equity firm experience,” or “Am Law 100 experience.” If you’ve worked across various industries, include those (e.g., manufacturing, healthcare, CPG). These are specific keywords that executive search firms are looking for when searching for candidates.

For your experience section on LinkedIn, focus on spelling out the job titles, not dumping your resume into the details section. If a recruiter wants your resume, they’ll ask for it. LinkedIn is just the appetizer to the entrée.

Don’t overlook the skills section of LinkedIn — pin your three most relevant skills to the top.

Your LinkedIn profile should always be updated and current.

Network With Real Circles Of Influence 

Being active on LinkedIn is not about posting content, but using it to build that trusted network. Your follower count is not an accurate measure of how robust your network is.

I often joke with clients that I was just as well-known when I had 2,000 followers on LinkedIn as I am now with over 20,000 followers. The reason is not the number of followers but the fact that I’m highly searchable — all of which is due to my profile’s optimization and strong brand positioning — as well as having the right audience in my network.

If you’re a GC or CLO, or approaching the C-suite, you want a robust network of GCs and CLOs at industry-specific or geographically-centric companies. If you’re targeting a pivot into a new industry, connect with leaders in that industry or targeted company of interest. Look at former law school alumni who might be at that company you’ve been eyeing. If you’re a tech-focused GC, you’ll want to also connect with CTOs, CISOs, and CIOs at SaaS, fintech, or high-tech companies. Think about the various business units you touch and collaborate with in your daily work — those are your target audience members. The key is to grow your network with relevant and targeted members that you personally curate.

There’s nothing more important than a robust network. Make your time and connections on LinkedIn worthwhile. Test out these strategies and then report back to me on LinkedIn.

Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at wendi@writingguru.net, connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.  

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