Hi, I’m Allison Shields, President of Legal Ease Consulting, where I help lawyers get the most out of LinkedIn. And today, my question for you is, “What are you doing with your LinkedIn connections?”
So many times I talk to lawyers and they tell me they’re sending and accepting invitations to connect on LinkedIn, but they have no real strategy. They’re just collecting connections, but then they don’t know what to do with them.
In one of my previous videos, I talked about taking the approach to posting on LinkedIn as helping or providing value to your LinkedIn connections rather than just posting about yourself. You can take the same approach with your LinkedIn Connections. Think about how you can help or provide value to your LinkedIn connections.
So for example, who do you know, who are you connected to, or who could you connect to that could be helpful to your LinkedIn connections and their business? Then start making introductions. You can do this by sending them both an email. Or, if they are both local, perhaps you might invite them both for coffee or lunch so you can make the introduction in person.
Another way you might provide value for your connections is by suggesting that they join a particular Group on LinkedIn. If you have found a Group that is especially valuable, where the members post interesting or relevant content, invite some of your Connections to join the Group.
You’ll also want to take your converstaions beyond just the initial invitation and acceptance. Send them articles or other information of interest. Ask questions about their business. One great question to ask is how you might be able to help them or who you might know that you could introduce them to.
Ideally, you want to take your best LinkedIn connections and move the relationship from online to offline. Don’t leave those connections just sitting virtually on Linkedin. That may mean a telephone call, video chat, or meeting in person for coffee or lunch, inviting your connection to attend an event, and more. Keep your LinkedIn connections in mind when you are traveling, too. Look up which of your connections live in your destination city and see if you can arrange a meeting. At the very least, your connection might have a great suggestion for places to visit or restaurants to dine at.
How do you add value to your LinkedIn network? Let me know in the comments below.
I’m Allison Shields, President of Legal Ease Consulting. Learn more about how I help lawyers with LinkedIn and other marketing and business development by visiting my services page, or viewing my other LinkedIn videos.
Related LinkedIn videos:
Don’t know what to post on LinkedIn? Start Here
Increase Post Visibility on LinkedIn with Hashtags
