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’

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)Write your profile for the future “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’ 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 /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 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: Twitter: