LinkedIn has quickly become an essential marketing tool for law firms to connect with their markets. 

If your business is not on LinkedIn, then you are missing out on networking opportunities and valuable insider information to build your business. More importantly, you’re missing the chance to advertise yourself as a knowledgeable and reliable lawyer. 

2023 is just around the corner, and you’ll want to get a headstart on how to master LinkedIn as a lawyer. This is your sign to get started on your LinkedIn marketing strategy for your law firm.

What’s the hype with LinkedIn?

You have added Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to your law firm’s digital marketing strategy. Do you REALLY need to add another platform to the social media mix? 

Short answer: Yes, you do. But why is LinkedIn worth the extra effort? 

A 2015 study found that 94% of LinkedIn users look for attorneys on the platform through referrals. LinkedIn has become a game-changer regarding how users search for and refer lawyers and law firms because it showcases your credibility and professionalism.

In recent years, LinkedIn has become more than a job-searching and hiring platform and more of a social media network to connect professionals with similar interests and goals. You can find your average Joe posting about their work experience or top creators like actor Ryan Reynolds and entrepreneur Mike Bloomberg sharing valuable insider knowledge from their fields. 

It is also important to build your law firm’s reputation, and what better way than to use a platform set up expressly for that purpose? 

LinkedIn has also empowered “solopreneurs” and people who build their personal brands. So, even if you’re a solo practitioner, LinkedIn is a valuable tool to build your brand and increase your caseload. 

The perks of being LinkedIn-savvy

There are about 875 million LinkedIn users worldwide. In the U.S. alone, over 170 million people use LinkedIn, making it one of the most popular platforms. But that’s not the most mind-blowing statistic: 40% of users access LinkedIn daily, clocking up over 1 billion interactions per month.

As a rapidly growing platform, you need to be LinkedIn-savvy for your law firm to stand out from the crowd—A tough challenge, as 90% of US lawyers are using LinkedIn, per ABA’s 2020 Legal Technology Report. 

More than a bonus, LinkedIn has become a necessity for law firms that want to stay relevant in a highly competitive market. The good news is that being LinkedIn-savvy does not require you to change your whole marketing strategy or invest exorbitant amounts of money.

Why law firms should be on LinkedIn

Still not convinced about dusting your LinkedIn account and putting it to good use? You might not see a return on investment as quickly as you wish when you open a LinkedIn company page or personal account, but the beauty of the platform is to build your reputation and network slowly.

The problem is that most lawyers, while they are on LinkedIn, they are not using it right. 

If there’s something we have repeatedly emphasized at our company, social media is one of the most vital elements for attorney digital marketing strategies. If you set up your LinkedIn company page, you must set it up for search optimization and brand building. 

Here’s how you can set up your law firm’s LinkedIn company page for success:

How to set up your law firm’s LinkedIn

Creating a LinkedIn company page is as easy as creating any social media account. But you must be mindful of the content you put out for the world on the get-go. What kind of image do you want your company page to have? Do you want potential clients to contact you through email or phone number?

1. Complete your profile for success.

There are thousands of lawyers from all over the U.S. using LinkedIn, but not all of them complete their profiles for success. It’s easy to upload a professional headshot and add an attractive bio.

But besides the basics, are you using LinkedIn at its full potential? It starts with setting up your page: 

Click ‘Create your Page’ and the magic happens. Time to complete your page:

Don’t mindlessly fill out the blank spaces. Instead, think about popular keywords within the legal industry that can help potential clients find you in the vast internet world. 

Take Baker McKenzie’s page, LinkedIn’s top performer according to Good2BSocial’s 2021 Social Law Firm Index:

Baker McKenzie mindfully crafted its company overview to reach a specific audience and market

If you’re unsure whether you are optimizing your law firm’s company page for success, then look at the highest-ranked law firms on LinkedIn and create a checklist to apply to your page. 

2. Highlight your company’s assets

LinkedIn is all about sharing your company’s knowledge and most attractive assets. You can set up your company page to showcase different aspects of your company. Check out these examples from the highest-ranked law firms on LinkedIn: 

Work life at your law firm:

Expert insight about a particular topic:

Upcoming events and activities:

3. Share your knowledge

LinkedIn is THE platform to share insider knowledge from a particular industry. Besides regular text and image posts, you can also share long-form blog posts and even create a newsletter for your followers to receive: 

Sharing blog posts or setting up your law firm’s newsletter is a great way to build your law firm’s reputation and become an influential voice within your field. 

4. Follow the experts and join conversations

If LinkedIn is about forging solid networks, then take the initiative to follow experts within your field and join meaningful conversations online to become known. You can filter LinkedIn users and businesses by location or industry, so if you want to focus on a specific market, you can easily connect with them on LinkedIn.

Check out some of the lawyers in Austin, Texas:

5. Smart commenting

As a network-centric platform, commenting for better reach is a strategy you should implement ASAP. Smart commenting can make your page more visible because of how the LinkedIn algorithm works. 

You should not be senselessly commenting on every post you stumble across. Instead, you should build a commenting strategy focusing on a specific industry and highlighting your expertise. 

“Newsjacking” is another commenting strategy you can practice on LinkedIn. Coined by David Meerman Scott, newsjacking adds your thoughts about breaking news and trending topics. 

Not only does newsjacking help you boost your SEO strategy by “piggybacking” on relevant conversations happening online, but it will also emphasize your ability to hold well-informed conversations and insights.

Our takeaways

We understand it might be tedious to add another social media platform to your law firm’s marketing strategy, but if you’re not focusing on your LinkedIn strategy for 2023, then you will risk losing potential clients and being a leading voice within the legal industry. 

You have the qualifications, experience, and expertise. Use LinkedIn to increase your law firm’s reputation and influence in the legal sphere. 
Don’t wait until the last minute to craft your LinkedIn strategy. Talk to an experienced marketing agency that can help you tailor your profile to reach your desired market.