For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 3 - 50

On LinkedIn, maximizing your network is about
not only leveraging the personal and professional
relationships you already have, but also about
leveraging your connections' connections.
In other words, LinkedIn is the professional version of
" six degrees of Kevin Bacon. "
Networking on LinkedIn is a bit of a numbers game:
The more connections you have, the bigger your
potential pool of referral sources. That said, maximizing
your network is as much about quality as it is about
quantity. Think critically, but not too narrowly, about
where your referrals might come from and who you
want to connect with. One client, an early adopter of
LinkedIn, told me several years ago he never invited
other lawyers to connect or accepted their connection
requests. He only wanted potential clients, not potential
competitors, in his network. When he changed law
firms about five years ago and took his practice in a
new direction, he realized that connections with other
lawyers had become a crucial component of his business
development.
Some social media and professional etiquette can
impact the process of expanding your network. Cold
connecting-like cold calling-can be off-putting to the
recipient and is rarely successful. Instead, think about
connecting in ways that would make you and others
most comfortable if you were networking in person.
Here are some tips for maximizing your network.
* Start with the easy asks: family, personal
friends and professional contacts who
already know you; colleagues at your
firm (and any alumni); clients and former
clients.
* Take advantage of warm leads: people
you " meet " at
events (whether live
or virtual); people with whom you've
already interacted on the platform (we'll
get to engaging on LinkedIn in a bit) or
other social media; people with whom
you share an association (college or law
school, previous firms, or employers,
etc.); and LinkedIn's suggestions for
" people you may know. "
* Personalize your connection requests.
The cooler the lead the more context you
should give. Someone you've met already
will appreciate a reminder- " I hope you
enjoyed last week's conference as much
as I did; let's keep in touch. " Someone
you don't know might need a little more
context- " I've read some of your posts
and it looks like we share some similar
perspectives; I'd love to connect. "
50 For The Defense l Vol. 7, Issue 3
If the idea of " leveraging " your personal and
professional contacts
makes
you
squeamish,
I
understand. It does sound a little transactional, doesn't
it?
Here's the way I approach networking on LinkedIn:
Everyone comes to the platform for essentially the same
reasons-and most of those reasons relate to bolstering
their professional success. You wouldn't be ambivalent
or embarrassed about connecting with someone at
a live networking event because everyone knows
and acknowledges why they are there. It is the same
principle on LinkedIn. Everyone understands they are
there to connect with others for the (hopefully mutual)
professional benefit.
Step 3: Engage With Others
Your goal on LinkedIn is visibility with your target
audience-your referral sources. One key way to boost
visibility with your connections (and their connections)
is to interact with other members' posts.
LinkedIn's algorithm likes it. When you engage
with others' posts, you give LinkedIn information the
platform uses to curate your feed. In other words, the
algorithm determines the content that you see in your
feed based on your previous interactions with people
and content. Engaging also has a ripple effect because
your interactions influence the posts that get pushed
to your connections-boosting your visibility. (If you
are dying to know more about the complexities of the
algorithm, read here.)
While using the reactions buttons is quick and easy,
adding value to the discussion by posting a comment to
a post is better. Offering your insights, asking questions
that further the discussion and seeking others'
perspectives highlights your knowledge and expertise,
and encourages people to connect with you. When you
react to and comment on other members' posts, they
also become more likely to do the same for yours.
Engaging
with others is also
good
social
media etiquette. Social media is a conversation,
not a microphone (or megaphone), and social
media sites-and LinkedIn is no exception-are
communities. No one likes the person who blasts
out content (especially self-promotional posts) but
doesn't take the time to interact with or provide any
value to others. At best, excessive self-promotion
undermines your networking and marketing efforts;
at worst you might get yourself banned.
To widen your network and amplify your visibility,
interact widely with people you know and with people
you don't know or are not connected with yet.
https://www.socialchamp.io/blog/linkedin-algorithms-to-keep-in-mind-this-year/
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 3
