If you’re a family lawyer looking to reach prospective business-owner clients or referral sources, LinkedIn is your best option. Here’s how to ensure you’re doing things right when establishing your family law firm’s brand on Linked In.
By Ryan B. Bormaster, Catastrophic Injury Attorney
LinkedIn might not be as much of a runaway success as Facebook or Twitter, but as far as business networks go, it’s the king of the hill. That means that if you’re a family lawyer looking to reach out to prospective business-owner clients or referral sources, there’s really no better option. But how do you ensure you’re doing things right when you’re trying to establish your family law firm’s brand on Linked In?
It’s no exaggeration to say that LinkedIn has become synonymous with the modern digital professional. Sure, it’s no Facebook – but if you work in legal services, it’s arguably just as important (if not more so). To give just one example, nearly every executive worth their salt has a LinkedIn profile, and 80% of B2B leads on social media stem from the network.
Especially if your firm targets professional clients (and even if it doesn’t), it’s essential that you establish a presence on the site. After all, law is an industry built on trust. Ask yourself honestly: would you trust a business if it wasn’t on LinkedIn? Probably not.
Establishing Your Law Firm’s Brand on LinkedIn: What To Do First?
Your first step is to figure out your niche.
Since you are reading this on Family Lawyer Magazine, you’re probably a family lawyer, mediator, or divorce financial expert. However, you need to drill down deeper than that. What core services does your firm offer, and what demographics are those services targeted to? Who is your ideal client and/or source of referral business (e.g., business owners, high-asset/high-income individuals, divorcing couples with children, grey divorcées, business valuators, accountants, lawyers in other fields, therapists, etc.). Who will be searching for you on LinkedIn, and why? What clients, colleagues, and referral business partners are you hoping to connect with here? What keywords will people use to search for your firm?
Answer those questions before you go any further because they will serve as the foundation of your marketing efforts.
How Do I Create an Effective Profile on LinkedIn?
Once you’ve figured out who you’re looking for on LinkedIn, your next steps are to create a company page for your business and profiles for your attorneys. For the latter, don’t treat it like a digital resume. Instead, focus on how you help your audience: on what you have done for them in the past and what you can do for them in the future.
Avoid using legal jargon or sterile, mechanical language. Type how your audience speaks, communicate with them in a way that they’ll understand. Make it readily clear who you are, what you do, what types of cases you are known for (or wish to be known for, if you’re shifting your main focus to other areas of family law), and why you’re a good choice for a particular prospective client.
For the former, do the same: craft a thorough description of your law firm. Focus on the core values of the organization and the services you provide. Lastly (and most importantly), provide several means by which clients can contact you, including a website, phone number, video conference, and physical address (once physical distancing ends, of course).
When establishing your family law firm’s brand on LinkedIn, the more information you can provide about your firm, the better. Additionally, make sure you have a logo, and make sure that your logo is attractive and gives people a “feel” for what kind of firm you have. If possible, work with a branding expert on font choice, color(s), and tagline for your logo. From there, it’s just a matter of inviting clients, colleagues, employees, and partners to follow the page.
How Do I Build Up My LinkedIn Network?
With your company page and attorney profiles established, your next step is to start building your network. There are a few tactics you should use here. Note that if your firm employs multiple attorneys, each attorney should be following this advice:
- Share compelling content. This could be thought leadership pieces you’ve published through LinkedIn Publisher, content you’ve posted elsewhere, or valuable third-party information you think your clients might find interesting. Ideally, you want to aim for a mix of the three – too much of your own stuff, and you sound too self-promotional, too little and it seems like you’ve nothing important to say.
- Join LinkedIn Groups. Track down groups relevant to your industry using LinkedIn’s search feature, and engage in conversation within those groups. If it helps, think of these groups as digital networking events – you’re here to meet new people and build relationships. You might also consider creating a few LinkedIn groups of your own, as well.
- Engage with your audience. Give recommendations to colleagues and business partners you’ve worked with. Make light requests to satisfied clients about recommendations and referrals they might give you. Talk to people – answer questions on LinkedIn Answers, reach out to prospects to whom you can offer something of value, and just be social.
- Analyze the results. Use a tool like Google Analytics to track your progress. Are you getting a ton of referrals? Are people engaging with your content or ignoring it?
What Should I Do Next?
Like any other social network, LinkedIn is about building relationships. By establishing your family law firm’s brand on LinkedIn, you can build credibility for yourself and your firm, stay abreast of industry trends, and demonstrate to clients that you’re a leader in your field. Follow the advice we’ve laid out here, and remember that LinkedIn isn’t a marketing campaign that’s ever “completed” – it’s an ongoing effort and one that can pay off in a very big way. [Ed. Consider joining the Marketing for Divorce Professionals LinkedIn group, where you’ll find tips and marketing ideas for business development, such as: how to generate referrals online and offline, what makes a good website, how you can improve your website, what will help your website be found on search engines, and how to market yourself online.]
Ryan B. Bormaster is the managing attorney at Bormaster Law in Houston. The law firm practices in a number of areas but specializes in 18 wheeler accidents, accidents with commercial vehicles such as work trucks, and catastrophic injuries of all kinds. www.bormasterlaw.com
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