In what is the very best news in the entire world for those of us who manage LinkedIn company pages, you can now edit posts from your mobile device!

This is a long overdue enhancement to the platform.

It will make it easier to update your page and regularly post updates, generating more engagement from your followers.

Also, now when individuals connect with you on LinkedIn, they are immediately also offered the opportunity to follow your company page. I believe this recent change has contributed to the skyrocketing of my firm’s LinkedIn company page followers.

Another feature you should know about is that company page administrators can now connect their pages to relevant hashtags, enabling them to get their posts and content to more readers who will find it relevant to their interests. You can also easily invite your connections to follow your company page as well (just once!) – you can start a campaign at your firm to encourage your employees to invite their connections to follow your firm’s page offering incentives to those who obtain the highest number of new followers.

Take advantage of these tools to increase your LinkedIn followers and watch your content expand its reach and how you will generate more leads! More followers = more visibility and business.

kindness new image

It’s important to remember that you should be kind to everyone, because every industry is incredibly tight knit.

Also, everyone is a potential referral source, or someone who could potentially hire you or recommend you for a job. You never know who knows who, and just like everyone checks you out online, people also ask around informally about you too. So the next time you get a cold call or a cold email, be nice.

Here’s why: a service provider friend recently showed me an email that she received from an in-house marketer when she cold emailed him that was quite rude and dismissive. This email has become an urban legend and this legal marketer hurt his reputation because people talk – especially when someone behaves badly. Also, never put that kind of stuff in writing – think before you type and speak – a moment of frustration or anger can go on to damage you for a long time afterwards.

The lesson? Think before you act and treat everyone with kindness. Being kind is just the right thing to do.

Also, I was a consultant for a short period of time and then I went back in-house – lots of people in our industry pivot back and forth, so also think about the fact that everyone who you know could be a potential source of business. You may be the service provider or in-house one day – you just never know. Kindness is always the right way.

LinkedIn Tip

Something so easy that you can do on LinkedIn on your commute home or when you have a few extra minutes to bolster your LinkedIn network is to peruse the connections of your close contacts on LinkedIn.

Why? Because you may have forgotten to add certain important connections to your LinkedIn network who are connected to people you know well. By going through the connections of these close contacts you will likely be able to add at least 5 to 10 new connections to your professional network, which is just smart online networking.

For those of you who manage LinkedIn company pages, there is unfortunately no way to see your actual company followers, but you can view who likes each post and then connect with individuals from there (just please don’t spam people).

Try it and let me know how it goes!

mistakes

This social media butterfly hasn’t felt so social lately because she had a tough month due to the breakup of a relationship that she thought would be forever and the unfortunate parting of ways wiith certain friends during a breakup. As a result, she’s been taking a really long hard look at herself and working on fixing things personally and professionally  – sometimes a personal crisis can serve as the catalyst for making real, positive, major changes to your life and show you who is really there for you.

I’m trying to find the silver lining in all of this, which is really hard sometimes especially when “the end” to something wasn’t your choice, but there is a lesson to be learned from every bleak situtation and if you don’t learn from your mistakes, you won’t be able to grow. I’ll be brutally honest here that I don’t always think before I act or speak. I also don’t always realize the impact of my actions or accept responsibility for them. I’m now making necessary changes so I don’t lose important people in my life.

This can happen to anyone at any age and level because we are all human and we all make mistakes. To err is human, right? No one is perfect, and it’s so important to remember that in the context of things especially when life seems dark. I’m thinking about the consquences of my actions and how to ensure that I never make these mistakes again. I’m also trying to forgive myself and not dwell on it too much so that I can still meaningfully contribute at work and be a good friend and family member.

I love this image because it says that mistakes are opportunities to learn and improve. I am determined to never make these kind of mistakes again if I have the good fortune to find someone who cares for me half as much as my last partner did. I know that I am evolving and will become a better version of me, and I wish you all the ability to look inwards and learn from your mistakes too.

I’ve been writing a lot about being kinder and had a few more ideas on how to be a better, kinder professional. It will benefit you and those around you immensely – I believe that kindness is contagious. Let’s all do our part to be nicer to each other in and out of the workplace.

  • Find your tribe
  • Support and lift up others
  • Be a role model
  • Don’t gossip
  • Help an overwhelmed colleague
  • Lend an ear to someone who needs you
  • Never stop being you
  • Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about who you are
  • Don’t worry if someone doesn’t like you – plenty of others do. Make sure they respect you. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay
  • Don’t surround yourself with negative people
  • Don’t try to be someone you’re not
  • Walk away with your head held high when you need to
  • Realize it’s okay to say no
  • Neutralize your naysayers and enemies by being kind to them
  • Mend any burned bridges from the past – people do forgive and forget
  • Always be yourself!

I came across a great article with helpful tips on networking best practices that I wanted to share. The main points from it are:

1. Never ask for what you want. Ask how you can help.

2. Focus on goals—but not your goals.

3. When someone tells you what they do, immediately follow up by asking what are their goals.

4. Never, ever pitch

Read the full article.

03_15_TKD_ClientCentricArticle_LN_02

As a legal marketing professional, your job is to aid lawyers to identify ways in which your firm can add value to a client/contact and solve an issue that they have, or better yet, will have. This type of dedicated and proactive client service will enable your firm to be an exceptional legal service provider – and if successful – to be viewed also as a trusted business advisor. Here are eight ways to adopt a more client-centric mindset at your firm.

linkedin

I get a lot of questions on whether to accept a LinkedIn connection request from someone you don’t know well or don’t know at all. My thoughts on this is that if you’re not sure whether you should connect with someone on LinkedIn, ask yourself “What will this connection add to my professional and personal fulfillment goals? If you believe they are a valuable connection and that you actually want to see their posts, then say yes. If not, skip it. They won’t get a notification that you did not say yes, so no hurt feelings.

For more on LinkedIn, take a look at my JD Supra articles: “LinkedIn 101: How to Master Profile Basics & Build Your Professional Brand” and “Build a Stronger Professional Network Today with These LinkedIn To-Do’s.”

A wise friend of mine always says that I should assume good intent with everyone with whom I come into contact. I try to do this instead of making snap judgments and reacting in the moment, but it isn’t always easy to practice in real life.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I accidentally bumped someone with my ginormous handbag on the NYC subway. Her response was, well let’s just say not very nice and included a four-letter word. The old me would have retorted with something snarky, but the new me, who lately has been going through a lot personally and who keeps hearing the “assume good intent” words in her head on loop, simply apologized and wished her a better day. I instantly felt better. I was the bigger person and didn’t react negatively (woo hoo)! And more importantly I was kind, because I knew that her anger had nothing to do with me and rather was about something going on in her own life. If each of us was more empathetic toward each other, we would eliminate so much unnecessary conflict and drama.

I wanted to write about being kinder to others to remind myself and others because so many of us are carrying around heavy personal baggage on a daily basis that impacts us. In fact, it’s a miracle on some days that we can even function being saddled with this much baggage. It doesn’t matter how successful or old one is, everyone deals with personal and professional issues that affect our moods and impact our interactions with others. And while we don’t have control over what others do, we do have control over our own actions, how we deal with the cards we’ve been dealt and how we interact with others. Continue Reading 40 Ways to Incorporate Kindness into Your Every Day

Get Out Of Your Own Way

Sometimes in life, our greatest obstacle is ourselves. There’s U2 song that’s always resonated with me called “Get Out of Your Own Way” because so many of us, myself included, engage in self-sabotaging behaviors that undermine our success professionally and personally.

First off, getting out of your own way means that your thoughts, habits, beliefs, personal issues and actions are holding you back from being truly successful. In essence you’re sabotaging yourself and engaging in self-defeating behaviors. For me it’s procrastination and sometimes believing I don’t deserve to be happy.

Getting out of your own way means putting aside the anxieties and doubts, ego issues, career pressures, mental blocks and critical inner voices that stand between you and success. It’s believing in yourself and believing that you deserve only the best in your life and that you’re willing to work hard for it. It means listening to your positive inner voice more, surrounding yourself with people who lift you up and support you, and shutting out negativity and self-doubt.

What can you do to overcome your inner baggage? Enjoy your life. Celebrate your successes. Don’t be afraid to get help if you need it. Be kind. Respect others. Don’t be a mean girl (or guy). Value and appreciate others. Learn from your mistakes. Think before you speak and act. If you have to start over, start over with your head held high and vow to become a better version of you. You are resilient and you’ve likely been through worse. Please give yourself a break.

None of us are perfect. We are going to screw up and fail no matter how smart we are – many times. It’s okay. Forgive yourself. Learn from each situation, dust yourself off and always know that no matter what you will be okay.