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Is LinkedIn a waste of time? Is there really any point to sharing articles or thought leadership on LinkedIn? Sharing articles is a powerful marketing tool, and here are ten reasons why:
- In-house counsel (“IHC”) are increasingly going to LinkedIn for news and information. “I get all my legal updates from Twitter and LinkedIn,” Dennis Garcia, Associate General Counsel of Microsoft recently shared at LMA Tech Midwest, “by the time I get emailed the same information, it is old news.” This isn’t an isolated incident either. In the 2015 Green Target/Zeighauser Group study, it was found that 68% of IHC used LinkedIn in the past week for professional purposes, 67% used LinkedIn to connect with outside counsel, and 51% used LinkedIn as a platform to receive new and information.
- Sharing articles keeps you top-of-mind with clients, potential clients, and referral sources. Most people have many lawyers to choose from and rising to the top of the list requires effort. Sharing is a simple way to accomplish this.
- Finding intelligent articles takes far less time than writing articles and blog posts, but still demonstrates your knowledge and intelligence.
- By constantly sharing relevant articles to your industry, you show that you are on top of the latest trends and that your experience and skill sets are up to date.
- Sharing is passive. This is a big plus because you aren’t bugging anybody or filling up their inbox, you are merely sharing content that you find to be valuable. What if nobody reads it? It’s ok, they will still see it and will think of you. Think of this as a Christmas card sent weekly. Staying top of mind without annoying people can be tricky, but passive sharing is a great way.
- Sharing allows you to provide value to current clients off the balance sheet. When clients pick up the phone to call you, they know the meter is running. When you share great articles or information, they get great tips and insights from you without having to pay for it.
- Sharing positions you as a thought leader. I know this term has been overused, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. There are too many generalists out there, far too many that are good enough to handle certain types of work. Sharing highly targeted content shows the world that you are not just one of many but at the very top. One secret of thought leaders? They have the courage to share content even when it wasn’t written by them. They understand that true thought leaders share the best information regardless of the source.
- Sharing makes you better. It keeps you informed of your marketplace. When you are constantly finding the best news and information, you will be a more effective professional because of all you learn from the content you find.
- Sharing multiplies your time and effort. You can only bill one hour for every 60-minute increment, but marketing can work for you while you sleep. Every time you share an article, it goes to work for you. Some articles will be shared hundreds of times until thousands of people have read them. One share has the potential to make a 100x impact and return on your time invested.
- Share because the marketplace is changing. Younger and younger buyers of all professional services are emerging and they use LinkedIn to find information. They don’t do this because it’s trendy, they do this because social media tools are far more efficient. When they turn to social media to find information, you want to make sure that you have a chance to be their source.
Does sharing take time? Absolutely, but if done correctly, this is some of the best-spent time you can imagine. Sharing doesn’t bring success overnight, but for professionals that are committed to regularly sharing great content—it can make the difference between standing out and being overlooked.