How can lawyers leverage the power of LinkedIn? with Allison Nunes

Episode Notes

Transcript

[00:00:00] 

[00:00:27] Allison: Hi, my name is Alison Nunes. And in addition to my day job at LinkedIn, I am part of our ambassador program that helps our members and customers showcase their skills, experience and accomplishments by building a great profile and leveraging the power of. Oh, 

[00:00:45] Karin: that is so great. Uh, I am, I’m excited for this conversation, Alison, this is, um, I feel like LinkedIn is really the premier platform for attorneys and law firms and the legal industry.

[00:00:57] So this is going to be full of so [00:01:00] many. Great. I know you just provide so much value and tips and suggestions. Uh, so, uh, it’s going to be a great one for people to okay. Uh, if you’re driving, make sure you take a note or sit down with a notepad and take extra notes on this one or come back to it in some way, because LinkedIn has got so many opportunities there that I feel like people are really missing.

[00:01:22] So the big question that we’re going to try to answer that we’re we are going to answer that. Is how to Le lawyers leverage the power of LinkedIn. And I know you talk about this a lot. There’s so many little tips and everything. So what’s the first tip that you have for people to really get into LinkedIn and sort of figure out, first of all, what, where the power is and how they can.

[00:01:44] Angle that towards, towards themselves. 

[00:01:47] Allison: Yeah. I would say the first step in leveraging LinkedIn for anyone is building your personal brand is having a great profile. And that’s where you really need to start. You know, uh, back to back [00:02:00] to LinkedIn vision, we were talking about opportunity and our vision and what drives us every day is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

[00:02:08] And. Opportunity means different things to different people. So you have to decide what it means for you, because what, what you’re trying to get out of LinkedIn, maybe something different than somebody else. So it could be, you know, uh, I want to get more customers, build my client base, things like that.

[00:02:25] You could want to build your personal brand or professional voice, maybe are looking for that next job, uh, advancement career pivot. Maybe you’re starting a new business, a new firm, something. Side hustle, even that you’re trying to build a community. So, um, whatever you’re in it for it, will you say it like den we’re in it together and LinkedIn is really just that large community to help get you where you want to go.

[00:02:49] So, um, yeah, that makes so much 

[00:02:51] Karin: sense. Cause I’ve even talked to law students. Uh, we had a couple ladies who have, uh, uh, ladies who do law school podcast [00:03:00] and I’m imagining them getting ready to graduate and they’re in a totally different position and needs. Than someone like me, who I’m not looking for a position.

[00:03:10] Uh, and so, like you described, I’m looking for clients, I’m looking for interaction. I’m looking for it to be more like a social network versus that real kind of driven, looking for the connection to get me. My next position can kind of place. 

[00:03:27] Allison: Yeah. I mean, like in different stages of your career, as a student, you’re looking for, for jobs, you may handle things differently as someone building your business or an experienced professional, your, your activity and your engagement with your network is going to be different on LinkedIn.

[00:03:42] And you really should be evolving as we go, just to give some people. Some metrics just about our ecosystem. So people know really what the power and the data behind LinkedIn. Uh, today we are 800 and, uh, 800 million members strong and growing, uh, and over [00:04:00] 200 countries and territories, 75% of our current membership and 85% of new members are outside of the United States.

[00:04:08] So such a global. Percent 75% of our current membership and 85% of new members outside of the United States. Wow. So I was going to 

[00:04:19] Karin: guess the reverse. That was my next question is, is it heavily based in the U S but it sounds like the majority of, of LinkedIn members are, are 

[00:04:27] Allison: not U S no. And, uh, where LinkedIn’s available 26 languages and we are growing at a rate of four members per.

[00:04:36] Oh, my gosh. So this is how, you know, LinkedIn is here to stay and really want everyone to be comfortable. And kind of, I find that people, um, I try to demystify LinkedIn, you know, people are a little scared of it or they don’t know how to engage. And I, I just say really what’s comfortable for you, but your profile is really where you need to start.

[00:04:54] And it it’s, um, it’s a digital portfolio. That represents you and tells your professional [00:05:00] story. Uh, it’s the first impression you’re making, when someone goes to your profile, if I’ve applied for a job, if I’m having a meeting with someone, if someone’s looking me up, because they saw me connected to someone else in their network, so you really want to make your profile something that you’re proud of, you know, and really, uh, we talk a lot about authenticity on LinkedIn.

[00:05:18] I think people in maybe the legal. Attorneys space feel very formal and structured, but you know, we really want you to show a little personality and I think that may, uh, help people, um, oh, well, humanize you a little bit, you know? So, so how do you do that? I w 

[00:05:35] Karin: what’s your recommendation for how. You make it look more authentic versus some of the, maybe some of the bad examples that you can think of, or maybe some of the examples that didn’t, weren’t doing it quite as well.

[00:05:47] I guess it’s a 

[00:05:47] Allison: nicer way and really starting with your profile. So your photo, we want you to have one. We want you to have one current. Uh, we want you to know. That’s, you know, it doesn’t have to be a super professional headshot, but it [00:06:00] needs to be something that’s current for you today. How you want to show up to your community.

[00:06:04] And I say, people just you, not you and your family, not you and your partner, not you holding a big fish, you know, 

[00:06:12] Karin: like your buddy over in the side, really professional clothes, you can tell you’re like at a wedding, I had so many people. Can you just cut this head out of this picture? 

[00:06:21] Allison: We do have so much.

[00:06:22] Features and a few lighting filters that you can use, but really your photo should be up close. I have been even seeing people in sunglasses and masks on their profile, don’t do my gosh. Don’t do that. It’s not going to help it. Get to know you. I know it’s again, this is your profile is your first impression.

[00:06:41] And the next, uh, part of your profile is your summary. And this is. About section. I think this is the most important part of your profile. If someone goes to your profile for 10 seconds, this is, this is where their eyes are going to go. This is your elevator pitch. So is this what comes up right under your name?

[00:06:57] It’s your free form area. It’s a section [00:07:00] below. Um, it’s a section below. What you’re talking about is a headline. And we’ll talk about that in a minute, because that’s a really great area to. Customize your brand and really control that brand narrative. And this, the summary is, is again your about section.

[00:07:15] Again, if you’re in the, uh, job searching stage, if you’re in S uh, you know, uh, owning your own business or doing something or a seller, trying to get certain, you know, a market or something like that, this is where you really want to kind of describe what you’re about in your summary section 

[00:07:32] Karin: and kind of describe also what your.

[00:07:35] Kind of what your angle is. Like, if you’re looking for a job, if you’re looking for clients or you’re 

[00:07:38] Allison: just looking your expertise, uh, and this is also an area that we say, show a little personality. This is where you can, um, show some personal hobbies or some. Books things that you like that are outside of your professional mode.

[00:07:54] You know, if people, you know, we, we want people to be humorous and funny. Uh it’s you know, personality, [00:08:00] you don’t have to be so formal on LinkedIn, you know? And, um, you know, what you were talking about is your headline. So we, we love people. I think it’s one of the, actually the most underutilized features on your profile.

[00:08:11] So when you go to your profile, you’ll see your, your picture, your smiling, face, your name, and then. Below is your headline and don’t edit this. It will default to whatever your first job title is in your experience section. So this is just a way that, you know, you want to edit, we say, get a unique headline.

[00:08:29] So, um, you know, it could be someone said, you know, people mix it. Um, people handle it all different ways. It could be completely personal and funny. It could be a mix of business and, you know, showing something about their personality. So someone says. Um, social advocate, um, dog, mom, and brownie maker, or, you know, something like that where you can really just talk about, um, maybe something in your professional world, but mix in a little humor and something personal and people would go, oh, she’s approachable.

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] Or you know, something where they get to know you a little bit more. Yeah. And there’s something to talk about there too. Then you are also a fellow dog, mom. Now you have a conversation. Exactly. One thing while we’re kind of talking about that, the photo in the top of your profile, we actually launched something recently called cover story.

[00:09:19] I’m aware it’s a video that you can record a 32nd video that kind of is an, a layer over your. Picture. And, um, not many people are doing this, but if I, if I was job searching today or if I had a company or if I really wanted to get my brand out there and get more followers and people added to my network and I really had some specific goals, I would, uh, Uh, we’ll record a video.

[00:09:47] So it’s a 32nd video that you really just brings your profile to life with your voice and your personality and what you’re all about or what your mission is. So it’s called cover story, and you can add a quick video. You [00:10:00] just will see on somebody’s profile, you can roll your cursor over their photo and it will start to animate.

[00:10:05] And so it’s just another layer. To again, humanize yourself a little bit at some personality and really make your profile robust because it’s just more interesting. 

[00:10:17] Karin: And then you just look fancy. If you, if you know the 

[00:10:19] Allison: latest and greatest know all the cool things about LinkedIn, not everyone’s doing it.

[00:10:24] So the experience section is something I find most frustrating. People will have your job title and the company, but there’s no detail under any, anything that you’ve done. It’s not enough. It is not. Bye gesture title and the company, nobody knows. And you’re doing yourself a disservice by not listing your skills, your accomplishments, any of your responsibilities, where you made an impact.

[00:10:48] So make sure you go back, look at your experience. Uh, put a little, we say, write it in short paragraph form. Um, it’s just easier to read, um, but longer is not better. Be succinct and just [00:11:00] focus on those really important things and skills and experience of your job. So go back to your experience section.

[00:11:07] When you people do searches on things, this is a big area where they search. Um, it’s going to also look at your skills. Uh, you can list up to 50 different skills in your skill section on LinkedIn. So those skills are almost like tags. Is that right? Well, they’re sort of search terms. There. They are searchable.

[00:11:24] And I tell people don’t, don’t waste a skill on something that’s too similar. You know? So as an event planner, I would boot event manager and event planner. Don’t. Two different things on something. So similar, like think about all your soft skills, all the skills that are specific for your role. And you don’t have to fill it with 50, but you have the option to, if you’d like, you know, um, yeah.

[00:11:47] And it’s just an area. This is also where you can ask for endorsements. Um, you know, if someone visited your profile, LinkedIn does a really good job of prompting that person to say, Hey, would you. Endorse Caren for marketing [00:12:00] or something like that. And so it’s, they want you to engage on other people’s profiles.

[00:12:04] And this is also where the recommendation section, you know, having recommendations, referrals, client testimonials, um, it’s just a great way to grow your business and your brand. And it’s okay to ask for them. And 

[00:12:20] Karin: people have such a hard time with that. Like, oh, it makes me feel uncomfortable, but it’s like, everybody’s 

[00:12:24] Allison: doing it.

[00:12:26] Yeah, it’s a really easy way to, uh, from your, uh, profile and your recommendation section, LinkedIn walks you through it. You can send a quick link and I would say to somebody, Hey, I’m building out this area of my profile. I’d love if you considered adding a recommendation from when we work together or what.

[00:12:42] Supported you on this project or case or whatever it may be. And, you know, you put it in their court and it doesn’t take a lot, couple sentences. And also if you’re asked to give someone a recommendation or not even asked if there’s someone you’ve worked with, you know, these things go a long way and people really appreciate that today.

[00:12:58] So 

[00:12:59] Karin: yeah, that’s [00:13:00] such a nice idea too, to just kind of take the initiative, to offer recommendations for other people without being prompted. Like that’s such a really nice gift that you’re offering. That’s a good point. And then I’m assuming if you go out and do that, there’s a higher likelihood that they’ll do that in return 

[00:13:16] Allison: for you as well.

[00:13:17] Oh, I bet. I just believe in karma and that, that was well forward. And bringing that to you. One other feature I wanted to mention that we were taught when we were talking about the, your headlight in your profile up at the top, we have something that you can record the pronunciation of your home. The name recording.

[00:13:36] You were talking 

[00:13:37] Karin: about this? Yes. Both of us. Your last name. I’m sure it gets butchered all the time. And my first name all the time. I’m Karen. And this is such an important topic for me, because we were saying, I have known people who have mispronounced my name for years and years. And I really think you’re just not paying attention and it kind of go, especially in a professional, uh, arena, if you are [00:14:00] mispronouncing someone’s name, who you are hoping to work with or get a job from, you have to notice these details.

[00:14:06] And especially if. Telling you how to pronounce their name and then you mispronounce it on top of that. It’s it? It does not look good for you. 

[00:14:15] Allison: It’s true. And don’t assume you, you know how to pronounce somebody’s name, just cause in your head, this is what it should sound like. So exactly. So as a user, you can record your name pronunciation through the LinkedIn mobile app.

[00:14:27] It’s like a push pull kind of stop start and it will go to your. Profile, you’ll see a little megaphone by somebody’s name and that means they have recorded their names. So I recommend to people as a best practice. If you’ve got a job interview, someone you’re meeting with potential client, even a colleague, Hey, go look at their profile to see if they’re.

[00:14:47] This feature and you just click on it and you hear the recording. And most of the time you’re like, oh my gosh, I didn’t know that that was the correct way I thought it was. So it’s a great tip for a user and then [00:15:00] someone that you know for yourself. And then also if you’re meeting with new people or something, take a look at their profile and see if they have that recording done.

[00:15:09] Karin: And record it for yourself and unless your name is John Smith and you pronounce it that way. Um, it’s, it’s just a nice feature to have so that people know, feel comfortable using your name and not worrying that they’re 

[00:15:21] Allison: butchering it as well. Exactly. It’s just another level of inclusivity that we talk about also on LinkedIn.

[00:15:27] And it’s so important to make people feel. Seen and heard and included and, uh, you know, lots of people have lots of unique pronunciations and unique names, and it’s just a wonderful thing to be able to do that. 

[00:15:41] Karin: I love that. I love that feature. It also kind of tells me when I’m talking to someone, if I’ve known them for awhile and they’re continuing to mispronounce, not only are they not paying attention, but then I wonder how detail oriented they are just in general.

[00:15:54] And then also I feel like. Uh, it gives, it tells me something about my relationship with that person. [00:16:00] So clearly they’re not caring enough to notice that my name is not pronounced that way. And so there’s kind of a line there that, um, if you continue to mispronounce my name after a certain amount of time, I realized that.

[00:16:14] We’re never going to get past a certain level of relationship because you know, we’ve got this distance that, that you’re not even paying attention to that kind of a detail. So it is, it seems like a minor thing, but it 

[00:16:25] Allison: really isn’t. It it’s so true. Um, yeah. Just closing out in your profile, make sure it’s dynamic.

[00:16:33] Keep it up to date with any new awards, new skills, anything on new job experiences, anything that you want to kind of keep, um, adding to your profile. It should be dynamic. You should go back, take a look at it with a fresh pair of eyes. And sometimes I go, God, this sounds so weird. Why did I write it this way?

[00:16:50] And then one day I just changed it. I, you know, care about something more that I, you know, change around on my, my, about section or, you know, just something new [00:17:00] that I want to put out there to my community and my network. So I would just say to people, go back to your profile, uh, make sure it’s complete, make it something you’re proud of.

[00:17:09] And, you know, then you can just kind of be in maintenance mode with it and yeah. You know, easier. So we also 

[00:17:15] Karin: talked about kind of overall strategy. So the profile stuff. Awesome and important, you know, just to kind of get all those, uh, kind of nuts and bolts, but in terms of the overall approach with like a strategy, a content strategy, but then also, so let’s talk about that first.

[00:17:33] Cause then there’s another topic that we had talked about, uh, kind of talking about the sort of everything that’s currently going on in the world in terms of like, First, how, what is your recommendation for how to really, if we’re, if we’ve got content and we’ve got information to put out on our profile, what’s the best way to 

[00:17:50] Allison: do that?

[00:17:51] Yeah, I would say there’s a couple of tips you can do to become that thought leader, uh, where you’re sharing quality counts. Building trust, [00:18:00] credibility, engaging in the network, um, publishing an article or a newsletter. This is where, you know, you’re, you’re the author of this content that you’re putting out there, uh, easy to do through, um, the platform you want to be consistent in the topics that you write about and you want to have, you know, uh, The right cadence of how you share it.

[00:18:21] Um, you know, again, we talked about being authentic, being vulnerable. We are seeing a lot of vulnerability on the platform lately. Uh, you know, it it’s, it’s what people are responding to and maybe it’s just the time that we’re living in. And sometimes you do have to get personal to kind of share your why and your point of view.

[00:18:39] Um, but you know, I also say to people, Hey, if you’re one of those people. You don’t want to cross that personal professional line on LinkedIn. That’s totally fine. Some people I think are just getting more comfortable with it. How are work and personal lives over overlap so much, but, you know, 

[00:18:54] Karin: yeah. I think there are certain practice areas where I could see that where, you know, criminal, criminal, [00:19:00] defense attorneys, things like that, where you want to make sure that, you know, there may be an element of safety involved, things like that, where you want to make sure that, um, you know, you’re keeping certain things private.

[00:19:09] And so I could understand that. Um, but, uh, what’s the difference between putting in the content and a post and then in an 

[00:19:17] Allison: article like you were describing? Yeah. So there’s, there’s kind of two buckets that posts or articles fall in the way you engage on LinkedIn. Like a regular post is you’re sharing a picture.

[00:19:28] You’re creating a poll, you’re resharing, an article from maybe another. Forbes.com or something else you’re bringing to the platform. Maybe you’re resharing content that your company put out there or someone else in your network shared, and you are resharing it in your feed. That that is what we consider a post.

[00:19:46] If you’re publishing an article, it is, you know, a little bit longer form that. Digging into a specific topic authored by you, and you can choose a as an article form or you can [00:20:00] make it a newsletter or a blog post. And it kind of, um, formats that way. We want to, you know, always add, uh, imagery to it.

[00:20:08] LinkedIn helps you add that. And then also it will show, um, and we say about 1500 words is that’s fine. No, no more than 50 and a hundred, we should say. And you know, and, um, when you’re digging into an article where you’re, you know, exploring a topic more, you know, LinkedIn will say, this is a two minute read.

[00:20:26] This is a one minute retail that you use or no, like, oh, I have time to go back and bookmark it. And what’s great about when you’re posting on LinkedIn, whether it’s. Post or an article, you can really dig into the metrics and see how is my content being viewed. Who’s viewing it. Are they in my network? Um, you know, has it been, uh, reshared, that’s an always a really good metric to know how somebody thought this was good enough to reshare in their own network.

[00:20:55] And some things that. An example that I have in a presentation that I do that [00:21:00] shows that what’s so interesting about a metric is that most people, this, this person had posted this thing and most of the views and re shares were from second connections. So that means so, yeah, it’s really interesting. So say I posted something and you commented on it and you and I are first connections because we’re connected on LinkedIn, but you, you, you commented.

[00:21:21] So your activities showed in your network and your feed and someone that’s connected to you, but not to me, uh, is a second connection to me. And that’s where some of the views are just based on what fascinates a really interesting way of how things are also, when you ever publishing something or posting something, it’ll say, do you want to just share with your network?

[00:21:43] I say, share to everyone. Sure. You just don’t know. You know, someone might find your content sizeable. Yeah. A couple other things I wanted to say about, you know, when you’re sharing content, it’s one thing to do it in an article or a post, but we also have LinkedIn live, which is sort of our broad [00:22:00] broadcast platform.

[00:22:01] You do have to apply to get access, but it’s, you’ve probably seen some, some live conversations or people may be in our network are saying, so-and-so’s going Karnes going live right now. You know, I have seen on LinkedIn, you know, it could be that you’re sharing. Content or exploring a specific topic on your own, or maybe you’re interviewing somebody or you and a colleague could be taking Q and a.

[00:22:25] This could be a really great angle for, you know, kind of offering legal advice or guidance in certain things. Again. The the way to build a trust and a relationships is, is being credible and providing value to people, you know, and not trying to put a hard sale out there, going to be sold to, they just want to go, oh, I really liked this post and I haven’t to follow this person.

[00:22:46] And I only know what 

[00:22:47] Karin: they’re talking about. They seem like the person I need to ask these questions. 

[00:22:51] Allison: Yeah. Yeah. One thing, as I was saying about following, we just, uh, created a creator mode, which is something you can [00:23:00] as a user. If you want to really build, um, your community, increase your brand awareness, you know, have a little more credibility with your profile.

[00:23:10] If you’re talking about some specific topics. Um, say activate creator mode. And what that’s going to do is it’s going to prompt you to say, what are the topics that you are focused on when you create content? It’s going to change your connect button to follow so people can just quickly follow. Yeah. And then you could add hashtags of the things that you, um, are focusing on because people follow hashtags.

[00:23:36] Yeah. If you’re following influencers or, um, you know, you don’t have to be connected to. To, um, see what their content is. You can always follow somebody. Like I used to not be connected to LinkedIn, previous CEO, but I would follow him so I could make sure I would see anything he posted in the feed. And, you know, as a follower, You know, and this just, it creates, uh, [00:24:00] your profile kind of becomes a storyboard where it just features your con content that you’re sharing on the platform a little more prominently in your profile.

[00:24:08] So there’s just a few, few elements that are different. Really cool. Yeah. I think 

[00:24:11] Karin: I’ve seen that and it makes more sense for someone like me. Who’s not necessarily looking for a job to make those kinds of connections and put the 

[00:24:19] Allison: content out there, putting that content out there for. So 

[00:24:23] Karin: in terms of creating and kind of that creator mode, that kind of is a nice segue into the other thing that we were talking about is the podcast network.

[00:24:34] So this is another new thing that I saw just kind of really quickly, uh, Caught my eye and then I didn’t have a chance to dig into it. But so LinkedIn now has a 

[00:24:45] Allison: podcast network. Yes. We just launched our LinkedIn podcast network. So we had a few independent podcasts from our news editors at LinkedIn. And now we have a.

[00:24:56] There are also part of the LinkedIn pod cast network, [00:25:00] but we are featuring other influencers and subject matter experts, any type of conversation on career or business, uh, keeping up with key professional trends. Um, you know, again, our editorial team, our founder, Reid Hoffman has his own podcast in the network.

[00:25:17] Uh, influencers experts in a variety of sub segments of business technology, diversity inclusion. Creativity. There’s so many things building it out, whole bunch of different people, not, you know, not from LinkedIn, but also some with our editorial team at LinkedIn. So it’s a mix of things, anything in this space and you can find them wherever you’re listening to podcasts.

[00:25:42] But what you’re saying. Yeah, yeah. Follow, follow the, you know, listen to find your favorite podcast, um, connect with the author, uh, or the host of the podcast or anybody that’s creating that content and then, uh, move the conversation over to LinkedIn and you can keep [00:26:00] rate. Yeah. Uh, you know, uh, it’s the longevity of these podcasts and sort of the next, the next steps to continue that conversation.

[00:26:09] Karin: Yeah. Okay. And then the last thing that we were talking about that I just wanted to spend a minute on is what you were calling the great reshuffle. So, um, in the news, they’re calling it the great recession, uh, resume 

[00:26:22] Allison: resignation. Yeah. So that was, that kind of happened where people, you know, in the pandemic, first of all, people were losing jobs and then people were like, wait a second.

[00:26:31] I don’t even actually know what that I like, the job that I’m working at. So, you know, we, weren’t seeing people just resign and not do anything else. So we’ve rebranded it, the great reshuffle. And that’s just the, that’s what I’ve seen 

[00:26:45] Karin: too. I have over the last two years, I’ve had more clients who all of a sudden, especially, I would say in the first half of the pandemic, who realized that they had this idea to start their own firm.

[00:26:57] For years in the back of their mind, and this was their [00:27:00] moment. And they had thought, you know, in, in their own mind that maybe this was a three to five-year plan. And then instantly when, when we were all having this moment of kind of rethinking about our whole lives. Cause we were all just sitting around for some of us anyway.

[00:27:14] They realized they needed to do it now. And they, so the, that three to five-year plan got shrunk into now. So I I’ve seen this quite a bit and I think that’s so much more of an accurate representation just from my experience of what’s what I’ve seen 

[00:27:27] Allison: happened to. Yeah. They’re rethinking how, where, why they work and.

[00:27:32] Do I want to work for somebody else. I’ve always wanted to start this business. Now’s the time some people were maybe forced in that direction where they weren’t going to, you know, um, they didn’t have a choice and their job was, you know, redundant or something. And this is their time, or they’re saying, Hey, I, I.

[00:27:50] Discovered what’s more important to me, spending more time with my family or, you know, uh, having more free time to do different things. So I’m going to totally restructure, uh, [00:28:00] how I think about work and what I want to do and what I’m passionate about. And people are just moving in that direction and we’re seeing it so much that it’s just people.

[00:28:12] Creating different opportunities for themselves, completely pivoting careers, you know? Sure. So, and we’re seeing too, from hiring managers that they’re more open than ever to take someone in, maybe you were like, oh, I’ve only worked in tech or I’ve only worked in travel or I’ve only worked in this industry.

[00:28:28] I am not, you know, um, I’m not qualified to work anywhere else. And we’re like, Hey, focus on these transferable skills, you know? That stuff doesn’t go away. You’re going to every job, there’s a learning curve to a new company and hiring managers. Uh, everyone’s having such a difficult time finding great talent because there’s so much opportunity.

[00:28:47] All of a sudden then people aren’t, you know, uh, in a hurry to do, maybe what they’ve always done or they’re, you know, as you mentioned, starting your own business or something on the side, 

[00:28:58] Karin: kind of historically LinkedIn [00:29:00] was thought of. It just more kind of narrowly in terms of just looking for a job. And when you are thinking, if you are starting a new firm, it needs to start at LinkedIn.

[00:29:09] And, you know, in my experience, that’s where the launch starts. We are usually putting together marketing campaigns and a website and all of that stuff. But the announcement of all of those things happens on LinkedIn and that’s where it becomes official. And that is, you know, when the big message happens and they, they, you know, Official it’s on LinkedIn.

[00:29:28] So it’s not just, I’m looking for a new job. It’s whatever this thing is, that’s happening in your career, whether you’re starting a new firm or you’re offering a new service or you’re, whatever this is, it’s official when it’s online. 

[00:29:41] Allison: Yeah. And there’s so many more ways to do it other than just writing something.

[00:29:45] And w you know, LinkedIn helps people promote when they’re changing careers or jobs or things, and, you know, there’s videos way to do that. Do you think it should be kind of a post or what kind of. I think it should be multiple [00:30:00] things. So I think, you know, you also have to lean on your network and your net.

[00:30:03] Well, we didn’t really get too much into your network, but I always want people to think of your network as your inner circle. And, you know, um, quality versus quantity is really the right answer and your network because whatever you’re putting out your network is there to support you and also share and sort of sing your praises.

[00:30:19] So I, I. Things that you could do for post again, you want to be providing value and not really selling to people. You could do a short video video is such a strong, medium, and I, and people, uh, the mistake they make there is just making it too long, 30 seconds or less is all people really have the, uh, you know, the appetite for, uh, so it’s just, but also being consistent and providing some humor, personality really.

[00:30:50] You know, engaging with the community out there. We, we see so many people, like all the interesting thing are in the comments now, you know, if you’re gauging, engaging on people’s posts or [00:31:00] you’re providing value, also did the people, um, you know, that are also commenting on posts. So I think there’s so many things to do with LinkedIn live, you know, you could have some live broadcast.

[00:31:10] We’re also launching a feature, an audio story. Clubhouse version of audio events, that’s coming soon as well. Uh, and again, it’s just, it’s really just kind of testing some things out to seeing what’s working and don’t get discouraged it’s consistency, uh, as well, and just kind of building trust and growing that.

[00:31:30] Oh, yeah, those 

[00:31:31] Karin: are all so interesting. And as you’re talking, I’m just, I’m imagining all of them combined with that cool little video cover story that you were talking about earlier, putting something in there and just trying to hit it from a lot of different angles to make sure that, um, first of all, it doesn’t seem like if you’re doing it in different ways, it would be obnoxious.

[00:31:50] It would just be like, you know, here I’m providing this information and then to be, like you said, Informative and provide value and not be 

[00:31:58] Allison: salesy. Yeah. [00:32:00] Keep it, keep it fresh and change it up. You know? Um, the one thing I wanted to say too, when you’re about hashtags just quickly as people, you know, even are hashtagging comments that they’re putting in.

[00:32:10] So, you know, cause people are, you want to hashtag your posts or anything that you’re putting out there because people follow hashtags, you know, and it’s. Tip that people don’t realize. So you could hashtag something. I just did a quick post today. So they say, you know, put the hashtags in that are going to provide the most leverage.

[00:32:28] So like I did a quick search on hashtag lawyer, hashtag attorney, if it was something like that, hashtag attorneys. 10,000 followers on the hashtag hashtag lawyer has 54,000 followers. So it’s just a little bit, you really should dig in and do a little research on how you, your content and the hashtags that you are using and how many followers, um, they have.

[00:32:54] Just, so if your goal is 

[00:32:55] Karin: to fight, we’ve reached the kind of followers for the hashtags. Does it pop up as you’re [00:33:00] putting the, 

[00:33:01] Allison: um, you, I would just search it in the search bar so you can search and. People hashtags, everything. So as you’re typing it, you do have to type it as a hashtag. So that pound sign, and then if you clicked on one, it opens it up and it’s like a box in your feed.

[00:33:14] And it’ll say hashtag lawyer, 10,000 followers hashtag. So it’s really, you just kind of search, click on it and see the hashtags that you’re using. You might be using a lot of the same ones in your content that you’re putting out there as you should probably be because your content should be. Pretty consistent of some topics or areas that you’re focusing on.

[00:33:35] So little tips like that really just kind of, you know, um, expand your reach a little bit. Yeah. It makes a big difference. Yeah, absolutely. Just one other thing, too. We were talking about people, job searching the great reshuffle, things like that. We have lots of tips for job searchers. Tools resources. Some people haven’t interviewed in years, we have listened to commonly asked questions.

[00:33:57] You know, you can, um, [00:34:00] set, um, alerts for jobs that you’re looking for. You can search only for remote jobs, things like that. People are again rethinking what a kind of work week they want to have. Maybe they just want to be remote. They don’t want to commute back in the office, or maybe they want to try.

[00:34:15] Four day workweek and flexible hours or something, maybe with some personal commitments. So lots of things you can do there. LinkedIn also has a learning platform, level skills. We say skills are the new currency. Uh, you really should always be learning and being prepared for that next opportunity 

[00:34:33] Karin: we’ll have between that and the podcast network.

[00:34:36] And then this audio network that, I mean, there’s just so many cool things that I feel like, um, it’s really. Underrated. I feel like people don’t necessarily know about all these awesome opportunities and to find it all within LinkedIn, where w you know, when we first started talking, we were talking about how this is really the network for lawyers.

[00:34:54] So it kind of puts a nice box around it where the, these are the. Connections. You’ve already got [00:35:00] this professional presentation and then on top of it, now here’s a whole bunch of awesome resources. So that’s so helpful. That’s that’s 

[00:35:07] Allison: really, that’s what, and if you follow, uh, LinkedIn does different, uh, blogs that they’ll just put out there and that’s kind of where.

[00:35:14] People will learn about new features. We try to put things out there as best as possible. Um, and sometimes some people figure it out, excuse me. But some people have no idea, certain features test that would be so helpful for them. So, totally. I think 

[00:35:27] Karin: the podcast network is going to be a surprise to a lot of people.

[00:35:30] I just came 

[00:35:31] Allison: across that the other day. Yeah. There’s some great content and, and unique and different. Not all the same. 

[00:35:36] Karin: Yeah. Awesome. So Alison, as you know, our, uh, audiences full of lawyers that don’t have time for a book that’s not worth, they’re just not worth it. So what’s your recommendation for a book that kind of goes along with all these topics we’ve been talking about that, that you really enjoyed.

[00:35:51] Allison: One book I’m actually reading right now. And, um, that I listened to, uh, the author at a podcast of a few months ago, it’s called brag [00:36:00] better master the art of fearless self-promotion and it’s by emeritus Meredith Fineman. And she’s an entrepreneur and media expert and really kind of talks about, um, Strategically self-promote and kind of get over your imposter syndrome.

[00:36:16] And, you know, we were talking about LinkedIn being a great place for the humble brag. Don’t, don’t be afraid to sing your own praises or share something great that you know, you’re working on or that you’re proud of. This again is, you know, it’s to your community, to your network and also to build followers and to really showcase, uh, all of the good work that you’re doing and your, your accomplishments.

[00:36:38] So, okay. Okay. 

[00:36:39] Karin: Expecting to see that I think on other platforms they’re going there for other reasons, they are looking for more entertainment, or they’re not really looking for you to talk about their, your job and what’s kind of happening, uh, professionally, but that’s what they expect to see on LinkedIn.

[00:36:52] So it doesn’t come across as, um, annoying or obnoxious or whatever. It’s expected. And so, uh, [00:37:00] so you, yeah, you definitely need to be out there promoting yourself. And that sounds like a 

[00:37:03] Allison: great resource for that. Yeah. And also when you see people in your community and your network with new jobs or things, to be proud of, make sure you engage on their posts, graduate them.

[00:37:14] And, uh, it’s really what it’s all. Yeah. All right. So 

[00:37:17] Karin: what’s one big takeaway that you would like the audience to 

[00:37:20] Allison: get from this episode. I would say your profile first and foremost, make sure it’s complete. Make sure it’s something you’re proud of and, and keep an eye on it and update it and keep it dynamic.

[00:37:31] And then just, you know, dabble in posting and putting some content out there. If that’s something that you’re not already doing or comfortable with, I think you’ll be surprised and I, I don’t want you to overthink it. It doesn’t have to be some big, profound thing. The life of somebody’s feed unless they reshare it.

[00:37:46] So it’s not just kind of be consistent with, you know, your ideas and, and your expertise and just see what resonates with people as you kind of dig into some of those metrics once you start posting or publishing. Great. 

[00:37:59] Karin: [00:38:00] Thank you so much. Alison Nunes pronounced new as you would get from her profile is the director of global events and event marketing for LinkedIn.

[00:38:08] I thank you so much. So chock full of great tips and suggestions, and I know the audience is going to get some really good, meaningful, measurable, uh, kind of actionable things that they can do right, right away in their LinkedIn profile. So thanks again, Alison, for being here. I appreciate it so much. 

[00:38:27] Allison: My pleasure.

[00:38:28] Thank you, Karen.

[00:38:28]

Continue Reading