Posts Tagged ‘LinkedIn’

There is a new feature offered by Outlook and LinkedIn where, if you use Microsoft Outlook, you can now have more insight into the people with whom you email.  Basically, once you download the application, you will see a summary of the contact’s most recent LinkedIn activity, status updates, accepted connections and e-mails. You can sort these updates by news feed updates and RSS articles about this person; If you are not yet connected on LinkedIn, you can click “Add” to add them to your network.

This feature is a great way to keep closer tabs on your LinkedIn network, and is helpful in building your marketing lists, as well!

To learn more about this integration and to download the feature, click here.

One thing that I get asked a LOT is how to gain clients through social network sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Well, the short answer is that you don’t.

Let me clarify.

You don’t go into social networking with the mindset of getting clients.  You go into social networking with the mindset of sharing, educating, getting to know people and allowing people to get to know you.

In this post, the focus will be on the social network called LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is considered to be the more “professional” of the networks.  Even so, you shouldn’t consider LinkedIn as a platform to push your estate planning services.

Just like any other social network, LinkedIn is really about developing relationships—not pushing products and services.  While it is very possible to gain clients through LinkedIn, it doesn’t necessarily happen quickly.  So, when developing your LinkedIn profile, you should treat it like your blog, your Facebook fan page, and Twitter; do what you can to increase your exposure (not push you r services) and educate people, and clients will follow along naturally!  Here are a few things to consider when using LinkedIn:

1. “Pimp out” your LinkedIn profile.  Make sure that it is written with the client in mind. A lot of people use LinkedIn as sort of an online resume. T his is great if you are a job-seeker, but if you are a business owner, you really want to be talking to clients and referral sources.  Be sure to keep in mind that everything you write should spell out the benefits of the services that you provide, not the services themselves.
2. Join Groups in LinkedIn.  For example, if one of your service areas is planning for special needs kids, then do a search on “special needs San Francisco” (or wherever you live).  Then, after you join groups, actually PARTICIPATE.  This is where many professionals lose out on the chance to educate people and build credibility.  Participation in groups is important on LinkedIn, just as it’s important on Facebook and any other niche groups you find.
3. Search LinkedIn questions on a daily basis.  LinkedIn has a great “Questions and Answers” area where people post questions.  Do a search for the keywords on which you are focusing.

Doing all of these things will result in getting really good (targeted) connections and  not just a bunch of random  people who want a large number next to their “Number of Connections” field.

When you have a really good foundation built, you will find some of the more direct promotional types of things are more effective.  Then you can:

• Post your upcoming events.
• Link your blog to your profile.
• Use LinkedIn to find referrals for YOUR clients (think reciprocity).
• Start your own LinkedIn Group – but I caution you to only do this if you plan to update it on a regular basis and keep it active. These groups are like blogs-if someone visits and notices that it hasn’t had activity in months, the chances of them returning are slim to none.

Remember to think of social media not as a sprint, but more like a marathon.  In social media, slow and steady will definitely win the race.

As many of you know, Linked In is one of the hottest social networks on the web today, and it is unique in that it has a very professional tone – a great place for attorneys to network!

And there you go!  A super quick and easy was to expand your exposure.

An avatar is any image, photo, logo, etc., that you use to represent yourself and/or your company in the virtual world.

You should get in the practice of using the same avatar across all online services, so that you become instantly recognizable through that image.  Social media sites have done a fantastic job of this; everywhere you see their avatars, you know that Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have a presence on that page, like they do here below.  As an attorney, the more your avatar pops up online, the more likely they are to remember you when they need estate planning.  It’s a great way to build recognition online!

Sounds good, right?

This should bring in LOADS of eager estate planning clients who are beating a path to your door.

After spending thousands of dollars for targeted mailing lists, design services for a wonderful postcard and postage you find that the results are less than stellar. But, why?

Because offer-driven marketing doesn’t work for estate planning services.

Well, let me clarify, offer-driven marketing doesn’t work for people with whom you have no existing relationship. I will be the first to admit that I have not done extensive research to find the root cause of the failure of offer-driven marketing. But I have spent years talking to estate planning prospects and clients and I think there are two key reasons.

1. Because people don’t necessarily love the idea of developing a plan that will prepare their family for their death. This is not fun for most people and they are not motivated to do this by money.

2. Because people know that when they do estate planning they will be sharing every detail of their lives with their lawyer. They will have to disclose all of their financial information and sometimes not-so-pretty details of their family life. Most people want to share this information only with people they know and trust.

What does this mean to you in terms of marketing your estate planning practice? It means that you need to find ways to showcase your expertise and allow potential clients to get to know you. Reach out to them and teach them that estate planning is not about death and dying. Show them the joy in creating a legacy for their family.

Social media is ideal for this. You can do this by regularly posting to your blog, updating you Facebook fan page, communicating using Twitter, and many, many other channels where you can connect with potential clients.
Once people get to know you, trust you, see you as an expert, and not fear estate planning, then you can them make them an offer they can’t refuse.