In an era where LinkedIn reigns as a premier platform for professional networking, the notion of instant results and effortless connections can be misleading. Dispelling the myth of a magic formula, this post dives into the core of effective LinkedIn engagement for modern professionals. Brace yourself for a reality check – there’s no shortcut, just strategic diligence, and genuine effort.Continue Reading LinkedIn Strategy Unveiled: Elevate Your Professional Networking Game

In a digital age teeming with advice on LinkedIn utilization, it’s crucial to cut through the noise and focus on strategies that resonate with the demands of today’s professional landscape. Let’s rewind a bit and revisit the early days of LinkedIn, about 15 years ago. Back then, the platform was a fledgling concept, and its potential was not universally recognized, especially among legal circles. Fast forward to the present, and LinkedIn has evolved into one of the most esteemed social media platforms, not just for networking, but also for strategic business development.Continue Reading Mastering Modern LinkedIn: Strategies for Professional Success

When I wrote my first blog post on February 26, 2009, I could hardly have imagined where we’d be 14 years later. It would be fun to try to predict, and maybe I’d have gotten some of it right, but I try not to guess at the future.

One of the things I suspect we’d all have gotten right in some form is ChatGPT. I have been loathe to try it for many reasons – I’m not a technophobe, as you can all imagine, nor am I someone who advocates for lawyers to run and try the next big thing. Though, for those of you who have clients who may be using it or dipping their toe in the water, you know I will suggest you get to know it intimately for the usual legal reasons.Continue Reading Happy 14th Anniversary to Zen & The Art of Legal Networking!

Today, we’re bringing you a special guest post, from one of the ILN’s marketing professionals! Alina Crisu is the PR & Communication Associate with LLPO Law Firm in Cyprus and she’s got a thoughtful post on how to respond to trending topics.

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A topic recently came to my attention that was also brewing in my head: should marketers who work for law firms follow social media topic trends? The answer is simple but the reality is far more complex.Continue Reading Trending topics…a fool’s errand?

Now. Before you freak out and imagine that I’m suggesting that you become either a bard or a liar, just bear with me for a little bit to understand what I mean by “storytelling.” (Hopefully, you’ve also read last week’s post as well.)

Daily, we interact with lots of people – this happens in person, at our offices, in the coffee shop, at our kids’ sporting events, or in art classes. It happens online, through our group chats, text messages with friends, Facebook shares, LinkedIn comments, etc. We interact so much and so frequently, that we’ve reached a real saturation point with these interactions, and even with our professional messages, we can see a lack of care that a lot of us are giving to the details over the tools and the shiny new thing. Instead, we’re just blindly producing more and more and more and more, adding more noise (as Adrian Lurssen would say).
Continue Reading Lawyers: Develop Business with Storytelling

Bad news everyone.

There’s no magic bullet when it comes to LinkedIn. Or, for that matter, any business development or marketing tool.

There’s only strategy and hard work.

Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.

Are there instances where you’ll connect with someone and they’ll immediately buy your services or you’ll write a post and it will go viral? Absolutely! That’s down to luck (and sometimes, strategy and hard work behind the scenes). But it’s not because there’s some trick to it all. You’re not going to suddenly “figure it all out” and have one tool be doing all the work for you and bringing you lots and lots of clients. It doesn’t work like that.
Continue Reading LinkedIn for Lawyers: There’s no Magic Bullet

There is a lot of advice out there on how to use LinkedIn and why you should use LinkedIn and what’s useful about LinkedIn – have I used “LinkedIn” enough in this sentence yet?

I’ll begin at the beginning with a little story and without naming any names. About 15 years ago, when I was a wee baby and before LinkedIn was at all popular with lawyers, I gave a presentation to about 200 of my clients, extolling the benefits of the platform and why it was going to be the “next big thing.” At that time, it was nowhere near as useful as it is today because it lacked engagement, but I could really see the benefits. One of our very senior attorneys tapped me on the shoulder in the middle of my speech and in a stage whisper, told me that no one cared about what I was saying, and I needed to cut the rest of the LinkedIn stuff out because I was running too long. It was by far one of the most mortifying moments of my career.
Continue Reading LinkedIn: Three Actually Helpful Tips

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with LexBlog’s Bob Ambrogi on “This Week in Legal Blogging,” their new Facebook Live interview series. Bob and I discussed the ILN, running a legal network during a pandemic, and the eleven years that I’ve spent blogging here on Zen (how did that happen??). Two of his questions touched on tips for bloggers who were either getting started in legal blogging, or looking to focus or amplify their efforts, so I wanted to share them here with you! These are my six tips for legal bloggers:
Continue Reading Six Tips for Legal Bloggers

As I mentioned last week, it may not seem like the most important time to be digging into discussing content. But since many of us are publishing SO much of it right now, we want to make sure we’re doing it in a way that’s adding value and not detracting from it. Recently, I came across the “one content marketing question” that we should all be asking ourselves, and it really brought me up short. A reminder, when we talk about “content marketing,” we’re using that to encompass the universe of articles, blog posts, conference presentations, webinars, podcasts, informational videos, etc. – essentially all substantive content that is and can be shared with others.

These days, I think it’s safe to say that we’re pretty much all producing content. So what’s the one question we should all be asking ourselves?

Would anyone miss your content if you did not publish it?

Continue Reading Become the Beyonce of Legal Content with These Three Tips