Lawyers Can Attract New Clients through LinkedIn Groups

There’s a reason we attend networking events: they are an effective method of building meaningful relationships and attracting new business. Well guess what? The same results are achieved when networking in LinkedIn Groups.

As both a practicing attorney and social media marketing consultant for lawyers, I develop new business by identifying my marketing goals and then implementing strategies to help me achieve them. Let’s start with a common scenario:

Let’s say I want to attract small business owners as clients. I would consider “Where do small business owners network?” If I find that they participate in my local chamber of commerce, I would consider becoming a member, paying the membership dues, attending networking events, and participating in committee work. At some point thereafter, I might suggest to the chamber executives that I could host a seminar on “The Ten Ways Business Owners Can Protect and Grow Their Business” that will demonstrate how I could help small business owners by offering general guidance on common legal issues that they face. In turn, they might consider hiring me when the time is right.

But what if there was a way to shortcut this process? To build relationships quicker, and achieve faster results by educating small business owners without having to pay membership fees, attend events, and invest time in commuting to committee meetings? That’s where LinkedIn Groups comes in.

Participating in LinkedIn Groups is a proven method of attracting new clients from the comfort of your desk. LinkedIn Groups provides a forum for people with similar interests and affiliations to meet and interact with each other through the LinkedIn platform. To start networking in LinkedIn Groups, simply locate the LinkedIn Group you want to network with (such as your local chamber of commerce), engage with other members by commenting on their posts and asking questions, share information relevant to the LinkedIn Group’s interest, and by doing so you will build relationships that will lead to new business. You can even create a LinkedIn Group that will attract potential clients who see you as a thought leader (such as “Small Business Owner Networking Group for [Insert Your City]”). Sounds pretty cool, right?

Once you’ve developed relationships with potential clients, you can send them a request to connect on LinkedIn and then take your meetings “offline” and get down to doing what you do best: helping your new client solve their legal problems.