The LinkedIn Notifications Tab Is Your Friend

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: LinkedIn is an essential tool for helping clients and prospects understand the value you and your team can deliver. Of course, to make LinkedIn work for you, you have to put the work in.

The notifications tab can direct you on the best places to spend your energy on the site. The National Law Review recently highlighted how to leverage these updates for business development and networking.

A quick primer

To find the notifications tab, look for the bell icon in the upper-right corner of your LinkedIn menu. It flags your contacts’ updates — everything from new jobs and article shares to work anniversaries and birthdays.

The beauty is its simplicity. The notifications tell you what’s happening with your contacts. And you can block 10 minutes on your calendar, once or twice a week, to scroll through your notifications and reach out.

Easy ways to engage

Here are three ways to make the most of the notifications tab.

1. Share industry insights. Share an ALM, Law360 or Bloomberg Law article that caught your attention, or an article about a high-profile case in the news. Personalize it by mentioning why it’s significant to you or explaining how it relates to an experience from your practice. This demonstrates that you’re up on industry news and trends, and positions you and your firm as thought leaders.
   
   
2. Congratulate a contact on a new job. Celebrate a contact’s new role by mentioning a positive anecdote — highlight their good work on a specific project, call out one of their strengths or share what they bring to the table. Everyone appreciates a colleague taking the time to acknowledge their work, especially publicly.
   
   
3. Join the conversation. Scroll through some of the “people are reacting to” notifications; these are posts earning high levels of engagement. Add your perspective by commenting or answering a question. This minimal effort may lead to making a new connection or, eventually, pitching a new client. As with all public social media conversations, you aren’t just talking to the people on the thread — you’re also performing your expertise for a broader audience that may contain valuable BD targets. 

If you put a little work into it, LinkedIn will help you network with existing contacts and clients as well as generate prospects for your firm.