My experiences with using LinkedIn for our business have been great. From making new contacts, to participating in interesting discussions, to answering and getting answers to questions, I have found LinkedIn to be a great tool.

Unfortunately, I have noticed a recent trend in some of the groups to which I belong. I call it “Featured Discussion Abuse”. Here’s what I mean:

As you can see, the group owner has tagged all five discussion spots as a featured discussion effectively eliminating any other discussions to be displayed on the group’s overview page. Obviously, the group owner can do what she wants, it’s her group. However, it significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the group itself.

Even worse, often times these “featured discussions” aren’t discussions at all. Instead, they’re merely links to the group owners blog posts. Even worse than that, sometimes they’re links to a landing page to the group owner’s services. Being a free-market-kind-of-guy, I am confident that group members will “vote with their memberships”. LinkedIn limits its free accounts to 50 group memberships.

That being said, I’m certainly not one to be bashful about marketing one’s services. In fact, I’m sure there are some out there that would consider some of my own strategies to be on the aggressive side. Nonetheless, in this case, there are other ways to successfully publicize your content in LinkedIn. For example, turning your “post item” into a discussion item takes minimal effort and will actually produce better results.

And if content publicity is your only goal, then simply add it as a news item. Yes, I know that it won’t get the same visibility, but guess what, it probably doesn’t deserve it.

Just my advice, take it or leave it.

LinkedIn Guide For Lawyers Want to learn pro tips on utilizing LinkedIn for networking and growing your practice? Download AttorneySync's Free LinkedIn For Lawyers Guide.

LinkedIn now gives you the power to change the order of your profile sections. This provides LinkedIn users with the ability to showcsae, emphasize, and prioritize their profile strengths:

Are you a lawyer on LinkedIn? This can be especially powerful for legal professionals. Assuming your state allows it, highlighting testimonials from both clients and colleagues can provide you with a significant competitive advantage. Is your blog on Wordpress? Feeding your blog into your LinkedIn profile is one of the best ways to demonstrate your knowledge of your niche practice area. Have you created a SlideShare presentation? Prominently placing presentations on your profile will engage your profile visitors. Looking for a new law job? You may decide to showcase your education, experience, or even resume.

According to LinkedIn, this is just one of the many profile updates to which its users can look forward in the near future. Looks like we’re going to have to update our guide.

LinkedIn Guide For Lawyers Want to learn pro tips on utilizing LinkedIn for networking and growing your practice? Download AttorneySync's Free LinkedIn For Lawyers Guide.

If you’re looking for an effective social media platform to grow your practice, you need look no further than LinkedIn. It has consistently helped our clients build new professional relationships, as well as, get new clients.