Building Your Legal Career with Social Media tools
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Transcript of Building Your Legal Career with Social Media tools
Building Your Legal Career with Social Media tools
Focus of this presentation:
Presentation: Your Profile
Communication: Building your network
Differentiation: You as The Brand
Use #sm4law on Twitter for questions
Your Profile
Shape Your Image
At the core of online communication is your profile
= How people perceive you
online
Slide from ‘Social Media for Lawyers’ http://tinyurl.com/mx9wf8
Full Profile for Maximum Benefits
• Online First Impression counts• Cover all Basics: Profile picture, title, full
resume• Update frequently: what are you doing now
• Give dimension to your profile that would not fit on resume • Give your network reasons to come back • Increase chances for more connections
• Increase your chances of visibility: connect with at least 20 people in the network
Personal Touch
• State your hobbies and interests: Increases chances for your next client/boss/referral network to connect with you
Link to Other Sources• Opportunity to impress before the first
impression
– Blogs, – Articles, – Cases, – Decisions, – Briefs
– Allows profile viewer to learn about other aspects of you
– Demonstrates participation, skills, expertise
Not just a Resume: Bridge to Relationship
• “Write your profile for the future” (Chris Brogan)
“I need to hire this person.” as a member of my firm or as my outside
counsel
• Where is your focus? • What do you want to do?• What differentiates you from others?
• Current Activity
• Your name in URL
• Keywords – SEO benefits
• Organizations and committees
• Articles, Publications, Presentations, Books you are reading
Professional Profiles
• Be reachable and accessible• Effective photo and contact
information• Expertise and area of practice is
clear and well defined• Credible authority established • Link to all community posts –
showcase expertise• Links to others = well connected• Interests give personal feeling• Activity and frequency of use
establishes commitment
Slide from ‘Social Media for Lawyers’ http://tinyurl.com/mx9wf8
10
Lawyer Profiles
Profile Best Practices
• Differentiate yourself • Be Honest and transparent• Personal and Professional – know your boundaries• Set your profile on Multiple networks• Be responsive & trustworthy• Remember: All other media and company policies
apply
Network
Start Building Your Network Yesterday
• Joining and profile creation are just the first step: • Start early• Get involved • You get what you give
• You can’t build credibility in an instant• Building a network happens over time• But it shouldn’t take all of your time – 10 minutes a day can yield a
wealth of connections through outreach, posting short items, and sharing links
• Maintain Relationship• Check in on your connections – Participate in their conversations • Send an occasional email/InMail
Searching for Connections
Find Connections using the search tools
Look for people who you: • Already know• Met at conferences• Had interactions with on the network
Expanding Your Network
• Use ‘Suggested Connections’
• Connect with members with mutual interest
• It is ok to connect with someone you don’t know: – Brief intro: how you know them, why you want to connect– Don’t chase– Bring value to relationship: send them links, ideas, articles
they may be interested in
Searching for a Job
• Building new relationships that can lead you to open positions
• Make it known you are looking for a job– Periods of transition can be springboards to reinvent yourself– Use announcements, status updates, and Twitter to broadcast
You are The Brand
But it’s Not Just About You
• Visibility on Others’ Spaces:– Participate in conversations in different
networks, share your knowledge, get involved
• Be Present:– Pose questions– Answer questions– Link to sources (refs) – Ethical rules still apply
• Blog, Blog, Blog – Blog about your passion/interest, – Point of view on decisions and opinion,
legal trends, on appointments– Key: Add value– Practical How To’s: ProBlogger site
http://www.problogger.net/
Showcase Expertise
Lead
• Taking a discussion to the next level• Getting people engaged• Leading a Group
– Build and empower a network – If you can inspire passion in others –
that’s the hallmark of great leadership
Keep on Listening and Learning
• Twitter• Google Alerts• RSS
and…Privacy is important
• Share whatever you feel comfortable sharing
But…
• Remember that limiting your connections limits your visibility
All presented here is from personal experience
… Thanks also to Kelly Newcomb and Ohad Reshef
Twitter: @alinwagnerlahmy
Twitter: @mhtweets