An Introduction to LinkedIn [Part 1]

We had an “introduction to LinkedIn” training session at work this week.

LinkedIn is not new. It has been around for 15 years! There are 300k legal professionals in the UK on LinkedIn. So if you are not on it yet, you better catch up soon. Membership is free and is an easy way to connect with your network, raise your profile and share expertise and knowledge.

People do business with those they know, like and trust. You need to be where people are already are. If you aren’t on LinkedIn, you have a gap in your online and professional presence.

1. Create a Profile

Sign up for LinkedIn and Create a Profile. Your profile will showcase, who you are, who you know and what you know.

2. Add a Professional Picture to your Profile

Make sure you add a professional picture to your profile. You can 14x more views with a profile picture than without. It also makes your profile more “trustworthy”. Additionally, it can help people recognise you, put a name and face together.

3. Write a Headline

Use your headline to explain what you do.

4. Draft a Compelling Summary

Include a compelling and interesting summary as part of your profile and write it in plain English. You can use it to show your passion, or use it to show value to your clients/network.

5. Add your Past Work Experience

Depending on where you are in your career you may also wish to set out your past work experience to build a full picture of your experience and background. Profiles with a work experience history get 12x more views than profiles without.

6. Include and Share Content on your Profile

Make your profile interesting and readable. Include photos, presentations and videos and share links to interesting content. You can also use LinkedIn as a publishing platform.

7. Add Skills and get Endorsed for them

For example, you might add and get endorsed for “Legal Advice”. Endorsements (and recommendations) add to you credibility.

8. Manage your Account and Privacy Settings

You control your account. Go into your settings and set it up how you want. You will have a Public Profile – decide what you want people to be able to see before they connect with you. You may also want to decide on you preferred settings for whether people can see if you have viewed their profile and the updates/notifications that your broadcast to your network. Finally, you can also chance your email notifications and their frequency to suit your needs.

9. Get the LinkedIn App

Download the LinkedIn app, It is free and easy to use and available for all platforms.

10. Connect to people you know

Connect on LinkedIn with people you know. This might include friends and family, colleagues, past colleagues, clients and customers, alumni and business partners/vendors.