16 LinkedIn Marketing Best Practices for Law Firms

With over 875 million users worldwide, LinkedIn’s social network reigns supreme for professional networking.  It’s essentially the only social media platform that combines thought leadership with a mostly professional audience, which makes it a great place for law firms. But success on LinkedIn isn’t guaranteed. To see success on the platform, law firms need to post regularly and proactively engage with their network. For some law firms, it even makes sense to leverage LinkedIn’s paid advertising platform.

For those law firms just learning to navigate LinkedIn, or legal marketers wanting to improve their results, there are a lot of best practices to keep in mind. Follow along below as we cover the most important LinkedIn marketing best practices for both organic LinkedIn marketing and paid LinkedIn advertising.

Tips for Personal Profiles

1. Use the summary portion as an elevator pitch

You’ve likely perfected your professional “elevator pitch” over the years. LinkedIn offers a place for you to share this information on your profile. Crafting a compelling LinkedIn summary that serves as an elevator pitch involves concisely expressing your professional identity, value proposition, and career goals. You can also add other content to create a more robust summary. Be creative and consider including a brief video or presentation, along with photos and links to other sites.

2. Connect strategically

Connections are a key part of LinkedIn, but that doesn’t mean they are all created equal. Throwing out connection requests to everyone will make you look spammy and can actually deter people from connecting with you. There should be a reason why you’re asking to connect with people. If you want to connect with individuals you don’t know, make sure to explain why in the message you send. 

3. Ask colleagues to optimize their profiles too

Having other staff engaged in LinkedIn marketing can benefit you as well as your law firm in general. Encouraging your colleagues to optimize their LinkedIn profiles can contribute to a more polished and professional online presence for your team. People who are active on LinkedIn can contribute to discussions, publish thought leadership, and promote your firm at a higher level. A rising tide lifts all ships!

4. Understand LinkedIn Articles

Previously known as LinkedIn Pulse, the blogging platform is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader, which will boost your connections and overall marketing efforts. Hopefully, you’re already blogging, but consider diverting one or two each month to LinkedIn Articles. Don’t forget to include relevant links in the posts to increase web traffic. 

5. Leverage LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn groups remain the best way to expand industry knowledge, make connections, or get ahead in your legal career. Keep a high profile in your professional network by finding and joining the right groups. Be particular about which groups you join, and then be even more particular about what you share. Search for groups that are local to your area, or pertain to your areas of expertise. Then, offer insights that are relevant and valuable, and once in a while share some branded content. 

Tips for Your Law Firm’s Company Pages

6. Optimize your page for visibility

Just like with personal pages, your firm needs to optimize its company page in order to get noticed. Fill in every section of your Company Page, such as the Headline and Summary. Add keywords, branded images, and a profile photo that incorporates your logo. Use your page to promote job openings, news, and other updates. 

7. Share educational and newsworthy content

Firm staff should be publishing thought leadership on their own, but the firm page should also consistently share the latest blog posts, eBooks, white papers, podcast appearances, webinars, etc. The more followers that see and engage with your posts, the wider your audience and the better your chances of driving traffic and new leads. 

Good content can be highly targeted and should accomplish two goals. First, it should teach others how to solve a problem or how to do their job better, and it then establishes your law firm as a thought leader in that space. Don’t forget to add hashtags for increased visibility!

8. Develop showcase pages for different offices or practice areas

LinkedIn showcase pages are extensions of your LinkedIn page that are used to spotlight brands, initiatives, and business units. You can add subset pages to highlight the different areas of your firm. This is helpful for directing visitors to the right place where they can get the most relevant information. Showcase pages complement marketing by increasing brand awareness and highlighting a portfolio of business solutions and capabilities.

Tips for LinkedIn Groups

9. Make note of the description and rules

Joining LinkedIn groups can be a valuable way to network, share insights, and stay updated within your industry or field. However, it’s crucial to be strategic in your choices and adhere to group rules. Some groups have strict policies against promotional content, and violating these rules can lead to removal from the group. It’s also unwise to join every group that you come across. Choose groups strategically and make sure they’re aligned with your firm goals. It’s better to actively engage in a few relevant groups rather than passively participating in many. This allows you to focus your efforts and build meaningful connections.

10. Share promotional content sparsely

As we mentioned above, you want to promote your own content sparingly. When sharing promotional content, focus on educating and informing your network rather than just advertising. Explain how your product or service solves a problem or meets a need. There’s a fine line between helpful and annoying – and you want to remain on the “helpful” side. Target content to groups that will really be interested in what you’re sharing. Post rarely and only when you can add value. It’s crucial to avoid looking spammy. 

11. Encourage discussion

LinkedIn groups offer a rare glimpse into what your target audience thinks, feels, and needs. Ask about content ideas, opinions, and what they’d like to see more of. Generate questions often and then respond to commenters who reply. 

Tips for LinkedIn Paid Advertising

Paid LinkedIn Advertising is sponsored content that is used to increase your firm’s presence. At its core, paid social media allows you to reach people who may not follow your social accounts directly but fall within your target demographic. This allows law firms to expand their content’s reach and generate new clients. 

12. Write compelling copy

When it comes to LinkedIn advertising, it’s important to write copy that is compelling and personalized to your audience so that they stop scrolling, pay attention, and take action. Make sure any ad that you’re paying for explains what value the viewer will get by clicking on it. We suggest post copy to be at least 150 characters.

13. Make sure to include a call-to-action (CTA)

This is second nature to most legal marketers, but it can be easy to forget sometimes. A CTA helps you achieve your communication objectives. Whether your goal is to expand your network, drive traffic to a website, or encourage collaboration, a specific call to action moves your audience toward that goal.

No matter what you’re offering in the advertisement, explain the value that readers will get by clicking the included link. 

14. Choose images carefully

Include a clear and interesting image for previewing your ads. We suggested high-res images and avoiding pictures with text on them or graphics that are too busy. Aim for bright, eye-catching colors that match your brand aesthetic. 

15. Test targeting 

LinkedIn offers a lot of options for targeting criteria, so it may take a few tries to get it right. You can add filters such as location, job title, company name, job function, industry, etc. When you just begin advertising on LinkedIn, it’s ok to start with a wide net and narrow down. You don’t want to miss out on valuable audience members, and you also don’t want to waste your ad spend on low-quality clicks. Experiment with different audiences to see what works best. 

16. Optimize regularly

Review campaigns and performance often and test, update, and optimize after these reviews. Try switching up the copy, CTA, images, etc. to see how elements are affecting performance and get better results. A/B test advertisements and campaigns to see what works best for your firm. 

Takeaway

Like any form of marketing, LinkedIn has many facets – but following these best practices is a good place to start. If you take care to optimize your profile and leverage the features LinkedIn offers, your firm can generate a strong following which will help with brand awareness and obtaining leads. For more tips on social media success, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn, where we share thought leadership, updates, and advice from our marketing specialists daily.

Do you need help driving real business results through social media? Our social media offerings can be customized to your law firm’s needs and realities. In addition to social media management, we offer social media consulting and training for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.