Legal Marketing 101: Three LinkedIn Tips for Attorneys

Few people enter law school with the intention of becoming a marketing professional. The conventional wisdom of legal practitioners is: do good work, and success will follow. Over the last two decades, however, advancements in technology and communication have made client acquisition, development, and retention strategies nearly as important as good legal work to the success of a law firm, whether AmLaw 100 or solo practitioner.

Social media is the first topic that comes to mind for many attorneys when they are told they should be marketing. From my previous work as Director of Client Relations at Tyson & Mendes, overseeing the firm’s marketing and business development efforts nationwide, I have learned the value of social media marketing for attorneys. Social media can be a useful tool for keeping up with existing connections and updating your network about your successes. However, not all social media platforms make sense for lawyers in all industries.

While specific strategies may vary by practice area and industry, there are two questions a lawyer considering using social media for business should ask themselves: “Who are my potential clients?” and “Where are my potential clients most likely to spend time in their capacities as clients?” For example, a personal injury lawyer’s potential client base is largely individuals who would hire a lawyer in their capacities as individuals. That lawyer may benefit from using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as those are apps used by individuals in their free time. However, for a lawyer whose clients are primarily businesses, the individuals responsible for sending that lawyer work do so in their professional capacity. Claims adjusters and corporate counsel are generally not (supposed to be) scrolling Instagram, so LinkedIn may be the better choice.

While LinkedIn can be a useful marketing tool, using LinkedIn to build a brand can be daunting. For one, the algorithm seems mysterious and arbitrary — those who have spent any time on LinkedIn may have noticed posts from three weeks ago popping up on the top of your feed because one of your connections “liked” it. For another, it seems time-consuming and cumbersome for little return — building followers and fostering engagement are not intuitive and can lead to frustration. With all of that said, here are some simple tips to help attorneys build a brand on LinkedIn:

1. Early Engagement is Essential — Understanding the basics of the algorithm can save an attorney a great deal of stress. The LinkedIn algorithm favors early engagement. This means the earlier a post receives likes and comments, the likelier it is to be shown to the networks of everyone liking and commenting. For solo practitioners, for example, interacting with the LinkedIn post through that attorney’s personal LinkedIn page can provide some of the early engagement necessary to get more eyes on it.

• You Get What You Give — Engagement begets engagement. This probably sounds facile, but it remains true: the best way for attorneys to foster engagement with others is to initiate the engagement themselves. If an attorney comments on posts by clients, other attorneys, law firms, and professional associations, that increases the likelihood those people and organizations will engage with the attorney’s account. More engagement means further reach, which could mean greater exposure to potential new clients.

• Don’t Just Advertise — Attorneys marketing their services on LinkedIn should aim to be a resource. If the only content an attorney’s network sees is promotional, that attorney’s connections will begin to tune out their posts, as they are not providing any value from the viewer’s perspective. One of the best ways to counteract this problem is to mix in educational and informative content alongside promotional content. This can include sharing articles written by someone at the firm, publications from news sources and journals that are relevant to the attorney’s audience, or events that might be of interest to the attorney’s client base. Just make sure to avoid giving legal advice outside of the context of a formal attorney-client relationship.

Before you can achieve successful results for clients, you have to get clients in the door in the first place. Attorneys face the challenge of not only providing excellent client service and results, but also implementing successful client acquisition, development, and retention strategies. Social media can be useful in this effort, but attorneys should be sure to use the right platforms and use them strategically.