In the current climate, physical networking opportunities are limited so it is important to take advantage of social media channels such as LinkedIn to develop strong business networks with key opinion leaders and relevant business contacts in your industry.

Following these guidelines can help you to enjoy better networking success on the platform.

• Set up an account on LinkedIn and complete your profile. Check out what other people in your industry are adding to their profiles. Monitor other LinkedIn accounts to see what people post, what content you like, and what is relevant for your own profile.
• Seek endorsements from people to whom you have provided a great service. Add testimonials and endorsements to profiles of people.
• Your profile picture needs to look professional, so imagine you're going to a meeting with an important client. Use a headshot that is clear and of professional quality.
• Give feedback on other people’s posts, as commenting on posts will get you noticed by a wider audience.
• Use hashtags in posts and add relevant hashtags to your posts, as people use hashtags to filter the content relevant to them. Always add them to the bottom of the post, and avoid overusing them.
• Connect with a message: if you are sending a request to a contact to connect, add a message. Let the person know why you are interested in their profile and why you consider the connection to be a good fit.
• Avoid trying to sell on LinkedIn: try to explain what you do and your great knowledge in your chosen field rather than selling on the platform. Try to build relationships with people.
• Share content relevant to the platform, as people go on to LinkedIn to be informed and educated. You can share content in many ways: through images, short articles, short updates, videos and presentations. LinkedIn has also recently introduced live video. Three examples of quality content might include:
  1. Short video snippets. Keep these below two minutes and talk about a subject relevant to your industry.
  2. An article that you think would be of interest or helpful to your customers and connections.
  3. Your own short article on something relevant to your industry.

Remember: LinkedIn is the more professional social media networking platform. Content suitable for Facebook is not appropriate on LinkedIn

So get started now on starting or developing your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to connect to the Law Society LinkedIn page.

eNewsletters

This article originally appeared in the October 2020 Law Society eZine. For more information, and to subscribe, visit eNewsletters.