LINKED UP

Solicitors Catherine Bourne and Natasha Koshnitsky at Archon Solicitors on the dos and don’ts of raising your profile on LinkedIn

As solicitors, we find LinkedIn is a fantastic way to remain in professional contact with a whole host of individuals who could be important for our careers. However, from an employment law perspective this connectivity, while a very important benefit, can also cause legal wrangling – for example, when an employee breaches their restrictive covenants by having dealings with clients on LinkedIn, or brings the company into disrepute with some unsavoury messages.

While these platforms have their place in a company’s marketing strategy, if a company does not have an appropriate social media policy and contractual provisions in place, it can be a real headache for employers.
On a more positive note, it is also a good idea to encourage a workforce that is wellversed in sensible social media practice, as this can pay dividends for an employer in terms of publicity and building up a brand, at no extra cost.

It pays good attention to detail, encouraging us to put more thought into who we connect with, how we connect with them and how those relationships should be managed within the forum

This book is very informative, as it contains useful tips for every level of LinkedIn user, from beginner to someone who is looking to market themselves globally through the platform.

It is a highly user-friendly and practical guide, which answers many of the common questions lawyers may have, but also opens up new possibilities and ways to use the site. The book also contains useful examples, action plans and a best practice section to help lawyers navigate the minefield of social media etiquette. It pays good attention to detail, encouraging us to put more thought into who we connect with, how we connect with them and how those relationships should be managed within the forum.

There is information on how to customise your initial message to potential connections, and some helpful dos and don’ts for online behaviour to remember along the way. The book covers important areas, such as privacy settings, but also deals with more unusual and interesting tips. In one memorable example, it covers how to create engaging and appropriate content, as one might expect, but also goes one step further and considers the impact that the layout of the content has on the viewer. In this particular example, the book looks at a study which tracked participants’ eyes as they reviewed various Linkedin and other social media profiles, to see which parts of a profile page viewers spent the most time looking at.

In light of the data from the study, it then gives pointers on how to arrange a profile to maximise the impact of areas that the owner wants to emphasise. Despite being short and succinct, the book still manages to provide a comprehensive look at LinkedIn and its enormous potential.

This article can be found in LPM June magazine: Measure for measure