How to standout on LinkedIn
(Much) more than just a way to share your CV with the world, LinkedIn is a key tool for freelance lawyers and paralegals. Sharing content on LinkedIn is a great way to connect with opportunities, stay in touch with your network, reinforce your expertise and maintain your professional reputation.
If you’re brand-new to LinkedIn, read our guest post from Martin Thomas to take you through the basics. If you’re already using the platform but want to do more, read on for our pointers on some of best the content and features for 2022.
Remember, content is king
LinkedIn is a great way to showcase your expertise by writing or sharing articles, posts, videos and more.
It’s best to post a mixture of content, here’s a recap on formats that work well:
- Longer articles. And we mean long – 1,500 to 2,000 words. Best shared either on your website if you have one or published on LinkedIn’s own platform – just choose “Write Article” at the top of your home page.
- Text-based posts. Build a list with emojis as bullet points to help it catch your readers’ attention
- Video. It doesn’t need to be fancy, you can record yourself on your phone or laptop. Don’t make it long though – 20 to 30 seconds is enough. And most people won’t watch with the sound on, so add some sub-titles. You can download an app for your phone to do this. If you really enjoy creating videos, LinkedIn are adding a “Stories” feature for premium users in 2022, so you can add enhanced videos that will last for just 24 hours.
Tailor the format you choose to what you want to talk about:
- Longer articles might share your opinion on an area of law you are specialist in, or a case study of a project you’ve worked on (with your client’s permission of course!)
- Shorter posts are ideal for starting a conversation, sharing news like a new job or reacting to news in your practice area
- Videos are a great way of adding a more personal touch, so you might want to share top tips or an insight into your working week (especially once in-person events resume!)
LinkedIn now lets you choose which of your posts you want to give priority to on your profile. Using the edit tools at the top of the Featured section, you can choose to add or remove posts as you wish.
Of course, you don’t only want to share your own content. If there’s an article or video you find thought-provoking, post a comment with your thoughts and add a link, so others can join the conversation.
Keep your connections alive
LinkedIn is a professional network, and in these recent times of restricted opportunities to meet in person, it’s an important tool for keeping professional relationships alive. As well as making sure you connect on LinkedIn with every new contact you work with, tap into other ways to connect.
Joining professional groups, and being an active participant, is a simple way to meet new people who could go on to be useful collaborators or future clients.
Using LinkedIn Reactions helps to keep your name in front of people that you know less well or may’ve lost touch with. LinkedIn frequently adds new reaction options, so keep an eye on what’s available and vary how you respond.
Messaging using LinkedIn is easy, and again, there are improvements being added all the time. One of the newest features is the ability to video meet with a connection 1:1 through the LinkedIn Messaging service. That said, it’s generally considered good practice to move conversations with a new contact over to your email or mobile once you’ve established a relationship, so that you strengthen the connection.
Get into good habits
LinkedIn rewards users who share new content regularly by giving their content greater prominence. So if you want to stand out, make a commitment to contributing regularly. To make this happen, experiment with the following approaches to see what works best for you:
- Check your feed once or twice a day, adding a comment or new post each time
- Set yourself a goal of contributing something new at least once each week
- Plan a longer blog-style post once or twice a month.
Whatever your approach, make sure that the time is booked in your diary as any other professional commitment would be. And remember to keep your core profile up to date with new experiences and recent engagements.
LinkedIn tends to launch new features gradually, so some of the tools we mention may reach you later in 2022. Enjoy experimenting!
