LawVision INSIGHTS Blog

LinkedIn – Two Simple Ways to Keep in Touch With Your Network

By Jim Cranston on October 9, 2014

I recently reconnected with a college classmate through LinkedIn. As much as I advocate the use of LinkedIn for all attorneys, I was reminded of the speed, ease and efficiency of LinkedIn for keeping in touch with my contacts. Here are two easy ways to quickly use LinkedIn to stay top of mind with clients, potential clients and referral sources.

1) Reconnect with old acquaintances: Years ago I suggested to a litigation partner that he should reconnect with some of his partners at his old firm. He immediately pushed back. “I have no idea where they are or what they are doing.” Furthermore, “even if I could find them, it would be awkward to reach out after so many years.” LinkedIn was a perfect solution for both his concerns. He quickly realized that several of his former partners were now in-house and potential prospective clients with hiring authority.

What to do: send an “InMail” to your old contact referencing a LinkedIn email announcement or any other reason for reconnecting. If you miss the LinkedIn email, go to the connections tab on the task bar and select “keep in touch.” The system will provide recent updates for those in your network.

2) Post an update: Stay top of mind with thought leadership content by reminding your network about you and your expertise. In a non-intrusive way, LinkedIn is a powerful medium for keeping your network appraised of articles, blog posts, client alerts or speeches/presentations that you’ve authored or given.

What to do: on your profile or home page on LinkedIn, simply type a brief, matter of fact entry into the dialogue box and attach the URL to the appropriate web address mentioning your activity. Alternatively, if available, you can simply click on the LinkedIn icon at the end of your article or blog post.