How to Build a LinkedIn Strategy for Your Law Firm
Law firms have several online tools that can help them market and acquire new business. One of the most important is LinkedIn. Not only does it help develop brand awareness for your firm, but it can connect you to clients, prospects, and key business relationships. As with any form of digital marketing, a proactive and thoughtful approach is important for law firms. That’s why we put together this brief guide.
Your company page is the foundation.
Your law firm’s LinkedIn company page should be set up to focus on firm business, culture, job openings, and thought leadership. It should also speak to your attorneys’ expertise and passion for helping clients achieve results. Since this page is ultimately the face of your law firm’s presence on LinkedIn, it’s important to add thorough and purpose-driven content. Don’t just copy from your website. Answer the question, “Why should someone pick your firm?”.
Don’t forget to focus on SEO just like you would for website copy. We also recommend building out Showcase pages to highlight specific practice areas.
Define your goals and set the proper KPIs.
Every platform offers different benefits, and LinkedIn is no exception. The main actions that LinkedIn drives are lead generation, brand awareness, and establishing authority. Decide which areas you want to focus on, keeping in mind that a cohesive strategy will offer some overlap. From there, narrow down the metrics that will help you measure success in each area. These will be things like new leads, followers, or numbers that measure engagement such as comments or video views. We recommend starting small and choosing a few areas of focus, keeping a careful eye on the appropriate metrics. You can expand as your law firm’s LinkedIn strategy develops.
Create an “always-on” content strategy.
When people come to LinkedIn, they expect to learn. Whether about new industry happenings, general news, or advice from top experts, individuals turn to LinkedIn for content. To be a part of the conversation, your firm’s content needs to encourage engagement and build a dialogue with your specific targets. Don’t write for the general public, write for your unique client personas.
Before you start posting any and everything, take a look at the goals you just established. Set content-specific goals that align with those larger objectives. Examples might be generating more qualified leads or establishing more credibility for your attorneys.
Consistency is key, so plan out the content you will post to have a regular presence. That doesn’t mean you need to begin churning out a bunch of new content. You probably already have several white papers, case studies, or old blogs posts that you can repurpose. In a pinch you can even link to another article you found online with a few sentences. The important thing is to have a consistent presence. Remember to share only engaging and helpful content.
We recommend breaking out your law firm’s social media content into three categories:
- Industry Thought Leadership – Your viewpoint on the latest developments in your industry or your take on world events.
- Firm Thought Leadership – A reflection of the vision and ethos of your law firm.
- Service Thought Leadership – Positioning yourself as the best solution for your target client’s legal needs.
Take advantage of the unique advertising features offered by LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has unique promotional capabilities that you won’t find on other platforms. The platform is one that allows a high degree of targeting by industry and audience. You’ll be able to choose from Sponsored Content, Message Ads (previously Sponsored InMail) and Text Ads. We find that clients realize the most success from sponsored content. Sponsored Content is native advertising that appears directly in the LinkedIn feeds of professionals you want to reach.
Custom targeting also allows firms to connect with website visitors, key accounts, or mailing lists for hyper-targeted advertising that is more likely to generate new clients. For more guidance on running a successful LinkedIn ad campaign, see: The Law Firm Guide to LinkedIn Advertising: 10 Questions Answered.
Don’t stop there: analyze, refine, and optimize.
As with any digital marketing strategy, executing your law firm’s campaign isn’t enough. You need to analyze your results, test different features and campaigns, and apply what you’ve learned to make even more successful programs the next time around. Company page analytics can help you learn key insights and refine your law firm’s LinkedIn strategy. To draw even more insights from your LinkedIn presence, such as website visits and audience demographics, install the LinkedIn insights pixel on each of your website’s pages.
Takeaway
Professionals across all industries look to LinkedIn as the premium social media channel where they can connect with other professionals. It is a truly powerful tool for law firm marketing with plenty of opportunities to network and generate new leads. The building blocks of an impactful LinkedIn strategy are a compelling company page, setting measurable goals, tracking the right metrics, and an ongoing, proactive content program.
If you need assistance with your law firm’s LinkedIn strategy, reach out to us today. We have vast experience helping lawyers and law firms achieve measurable success through social media.
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