LinkedIn Update

If it seems like new LinkedIn features are popping up almost every day, it’s because lately they are (too bad LinkedIn doesn’t really announce new enhancements). LinkedIn has launched a new feature providing users with a host of new options for choosing the audience and visibility of each of their posts.

The new “Review Your Post” feature now gives LinkedIn users the option to select a unique audience for each individual post instead of sending it to everyone in their network, which was previously users’ only option. One size fits all is no longer the default on LinkedIn, which is a long overdue enhancement to the platform. You can even now add your post to Twitter at the same time you push out your post on LinkedIn (that is, if your Twitter account is already linked up to your LinkedIn account – which you can easily do in the settings section – and the post is under the Twitter character limit).

Here’s what you need to know about it plus one more cool new enhancement to the platform.

CMO image

I recently listened in to a Legal Marketing Association CMO and Small Firm/Solo Marketer webinar featuring the perspectives of three chief marketing officers on a variety of topics (many of them submitted by LMA members themselves), including staffing, hiring, delegating, maximizing time with firm leadership, and their best tips for setting yourself up to be a successful leader in your firm.

This is the kind of webinar that is helpful for legal marketers at all levels and at any size firm, but especially for someone like me who is also a CMO at a smaller firm. 

Thankful-Printable

In our busy day-to-day lives, it’s easy to forget to take the time to be thankful for all that we have and all of those who helped us get there, but that is what the Thanksgiving holiday is all about, right? Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I wanted to reflect on some of the things for which I am most grateful over the past year. I encourage you to do the same – make a list of everything and everyone for which you are most thankful (you can do this for both your personal and professional lives). It can be really inspiring to take a step back and realize all of the wonderful bounty that you have in your life. Here are nine reasons why I’m thankful this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Blogger

There are a lot of law firm blogs competing for market share, they are a huge commitment and not all blogs wind up being successful.

So are they worth it? The short answer, yes, IF you can find a niche and a strong team committed to its success.

Blogs are great branding and lead generation tools – they can often lead to speaking engagements as well as new clients (the holy grail of content efforts). As Susan Kostal writes in her latest article for Attorney at Work, “blogging is also a significant equalizer for those in small and midsize firms. With consistency, many authors from less well-known firms compete more than ably against those in national brand-name firms.” 

Stefanie LinkedIn Speaking at LMATech

Use LinkedIn today. Not tomorrow. It is THE most important networking tool for professionals and will help you quickly build and grow relationships, strengthen your brand and stay top of mind with key individuals in your professional network.

Today, networking online is just as important as making in-person connections. And in the professional world, LinkedIn continues to be the most important social media channel for business development.

Don’t forget that your LinkedIn profile is often the first or second Google search result when someone searches for you online. LinkedIn is powerful, period. 

I had the opportunity to interview my good friend Andy Laver who is about to take center stage as the co-chair of the 2019 LMA Conference, which will be held in Atlanta on April 8-10, 2019.

To say that Andy is active in LMA would be the understatement of the year. In fact, his list of LMA accomplishments and volunteer activities is quite impressive. Andy was the president of the LMA Metro Philadelphia Chapter in 2014, joined the LMA’s Governance Committee in 2015, served as co-chair of the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Conference in 2016, served on the 2017 LMA Annual Conference (Las Vegas) Advisory Committee and is currently serving as a co-chair of the LMA Governance Committee (ok, now I’m going to take a breath!). In addition, in 2018, Andy served as a co-host of the Facebook Live reporting team for the 2018 LMA Conference in New Orleans along with me (more on that in a bit), following an successful LMA Facebook Live launch at the 2017 Conference in Las Vegas. 

LMANE Pet Contest - Stefanie Marrone and Charlie the dog

In case you want to know a little more about me,  how I got started in legal marketing, what I enjoy most about what I do and why volunteering for the Legal Marketing Association has been so rewarding for me, here’s an interview that I did with the LMA Northeast Region last year when I served as the secretary on the board of directors in 2017 and 2018.

Speaking at a conference has many benefits – it helps you build your brand, establish yourself as a subject-matter expert, increase your professional network and open doors that can lead to new connections, jobs, referrals and so much more. Kara McKenna and I recently had the good fortune of serving as co-programming chairs of the 2018 #LMATech Midwest Conference, which was a great way for us to get to know each other better and also learn what makes a good and bad speaking submission.

We learned about innovations taking place within our industry and those legal marketers who are leading them. We also picked up some helpful skills on what makes a compelling speaking submission and the reverse of that – what does not.

After reading through more submissions than we can count at this point, we feel like we are in a position to give advice on how potential speakers can make themselves stand out from the pack. We put some tips together in an article for JD Supra “Want to Be Selected as a Conference Speaker? Here’s How to Increase Your Chances.”  

3

“I don’t like a bargain” said no one ever. You’ll often find me scouring the aisles at T.J. Maxx or Nordstrom Rack for a good deal like a hungry raccoon hunting down its next meal, so it’s no surprise that I’m writing an article on how to keep costs down on social media (my favorite topic).

It doesn’t matter if you are at a small firm, a mid-sized, or large firm, today everyone is looking to keep costs down and to maximize the latest technologies that will enhance marketing efforts and streamline processes while effectively engaging with clients.

Lately I’ve been exploring concepts related to how to effectively engage with clients, prospects and other key influencers using social media to both strengthen your brand but more importantly, to generate new business.

At the end of the day, every single social media marketing effort should be designed to support your firm’s business development efforts. That being said, not every post can focus on the business of the firm. Sometimes the highest-rated posts are actually the ones where a firm showcases its “softer” side. For example, pro bono and community service activities, as well as the people of the firm engaging together.