Lawyers have hefty demands on their time, so new projects, especially ones not client-related, are often shuffled to the bottom of their to-do list. But for lawyers who want to develop their personal brand—and more importantly, their book of business—LinkedIn is a stage with a receptive audience.

Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn is meant to be purely professional. That doesn't mean you won't see the occasional travel photo or pet meme, but it's intended to be a place to cultivate thought leadership, innovative strategies, and industry relationships.

"I've found attorneys to be less resistant to create a LinkedIn profile than in the past," says Tim Lough, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Saiber LLC. "However, what I have found challenging is getting attorneys to be actively engaged in the platform," he continued.  "I recommend attorneys try to make it a part of their daily routine.  Each morning, log-in for a few minutes and engage.

Business from LinkedIn doesn't happen overnight, but with some initial setup and minimal on-going time investment, you'll be able to foster lasting, valuable relationships.

The Business Case for LinkedIn

There's no silver bullet when it comes to business development, but LinkedIn is an excellent tool if you're comparing cost and time investment strategies; you can use LinkedIn as a business development strategy in less than five-to-10 minutes a day.

Why does LinkedIn work so well? Everyone has their own area of professional expertise. Share your knowledge and support those in your network with encouragement and acknowledgment through post shares and tags, and eventually people will start to feel like they know you—and want to work with you.

Whether you're new to LinkedIn or have an existing profile you want to get more out of, you can use the same steps to create a presence and process that gets results. So how do you get from point A to point B?

The Starting Point: Building a Profile and Network

Pick a niche. Settling on a niche can feel limiting—and that's ok! There's always a sense of "what business am I losing out on," but it's proven that focusing on a particular target actually drives more business.

Not sure how to get started? Imagine your ideal client. Are they in a particular industry? Do they come to you for help with a certain type of problem? Do you provide them a particular level of service?

Build a stand-out profile. Your profile is what potential connections, leads and colleagues see, so make sure it says everything you want it to. That means having a crisp, clear professional picture (no poolside photos here) and a full history of work experience, education and volunteerism.

These pieces work in a number of ways. First, firms, colleges or organizations you've volunteered with may wind up as part of a search for someone. This helps your profile show up even when people aren't specifically looking for you.

Second, they're great conversation starters and connection builders. These connections make it much easier to get a phone call or lunch meeting. A "Hey, I saw you volunteer at the same dog rescue," or "Looks like you're a fellow Seton Hall alumni—Go Pirates!" is going to catch more attention in the inbox than a generic cold email.

Make sure you also take some time with your title. A general "Attorney at XYZ Firm" is better than nothing, but doesn't offer as much insight into your work as titles such as "Patent Attorney at XYZ Firm | Helping Businesses of All Sizes Protect Their Work"  or "Partner at WXY Firm | Chair of Corporate Immigration Practice."

One area that even the most active LinkedIn users don't fully engage is the summary. Don't miss out on this opportunity to showcase your expertise and your personality. Highlight who you help, why you do it, and something unique about you. Generate some interest so the reader sees you as more than an attorney, and as someone who can help them.

Make connections. Once you have a completed profile, build your connections so that when you share, comment and like, others see it. Start off by adding in your colleagues, clients and professional connections, both current and former.

The "My Network" option at the top of the "Home" page can give you a head start too, showing you "People You May Know."

Amy Davis, Director of Marketing at Sills Cummis & Gross points out that lawyers should "remember, while LinkedIn is not a face-to-face form of communication, you should still personalize your communication with others on LinkedIn. For example, when inviting others to connect, include a personalized note."

Getting Attention From Your Connections

Okay, you have a profile and connections. Now what?

Remember the ultimate LinkedIn philosophy: it's better to give than receive. 

Take this philosophy to heart and come up with a game plan for the content you're sharing and your target audience. Getting clear about this now will take the pain out of the process later.

For example, if your target is general counsel of specific industries, you can share news alerts that are relevant to them along with your take. For family lawyers, consider curated content relevant to referral sources such as mediators or mental health professionals.

Need other ideas of what to post and share?

• Post a recent ruling with your own input and take on it.
• Share posts from an industry thought leader, along with a short comment.
• Share photos from recent events (always, always try to get a picture with the speaker, board members or other connected individuals) and tag those who are in it.

"LinkedIn is a great way for professionals to keep their name in front of their clients and prospects without being intrusive," says Lough. "If you're reading an industry journal and find an article that you think is particularly interesting—share it on LinkedIn."

Your firm's blog articles and posts are also always fair game to share, boosting your firm's brand along with your own.

Be consistent. Set a calendar reminder if you have to, but try to get in the routine of taking five-to-10 minutes every morning to check LinkedIn. Here's a quick format you can follow:

1. Check your pending connections. Accept any that make sense and always send a follow-up.
2. Look through your feed and comment, like and share. Don't use the standard "Congrats!" that LinkedIn suggests; make it personal.
3. If you have time, share an article, post or question.

Be engaging and meaningful. Remember the tip about avoiding canned responses? Writing five unique comments on posts is going to get you further than a "Great share!" on each article you come across. Point out what stood out or why this type of article is helpful.

Turn Connections Into Clients

Building a large network is exciting, but that network ultimately needs to generate work. Turning connections into clients may seem like a big leap, but if you think of it like building a bridge, it's not so daunting.

Be strategic. "LinkedIn is a great way to easily see if anyone in your LinkedIn network knows someone you are trying to meet or get to know. You can also get some intel on people, such as which organizations they are involved with and posts they share and like," offers Davis.

Build your testimonials. People want to do business with known quantities. Testimonials help bridge that gap, building confidence in your work before any actual interactions. LinkedIn is a fantastic place to gather testimonials—it's built right into the platform. Asking previous clients and colleagues with whom you've had successful partnerships to provide testimonials is a place to start.

Another way to generate testimonials? Provide them for others!

Participate in groups. LinkedIn has a whole host of highly active professional communities. From national ABA groups to regional practice area groups, you can find thousands of potential referral sources in them. Pick the ones that best correspond to your niche and share, comment, and most importantly, connect!

Create an email series. Come with a one-to-three step email series that you can send to connections. The ultimate goal is a call or lunch, but never lead with these. Instead send helpful articles or pull from blog posts or whitepapers from your firm. Try to come up with a standard template that you can repurpose. You may need a few so you can choose depending on the connection type (colleague, lead or general).

Reconnect. While there's always the thrill of the hunt when trying to land new clients, don't overlook past ones. With LinkedIn, you can reconnect with little effort, and stay at top of mind through a quick message or a post share.

As you dive into the LinkedIn world, it's important to remember: "LinkedIn should never replace using Outlook Contacts or whatever contact database you use. Names, titles, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers for all of your business contacts should still always be stored in your Outlook Contacts and your contact database," says Davis.

"Probably one of the most beneficial aspects of LinkedIn, to attorneys, is relationship management. LinkedIn alerts its users when a connection has changed jobs or received a promotion. It's a great opportunity to reach out and rekindle a stagnant relationship," notes Lough.

Getting active on LinkedIn may seem like a big endeavor, but its role in the digital media landscape shouldn't be overlooked by attorneys. With the power to enhance your brand, build your network, and generate referrals, it's a goldmine of opportunity for the attorney who can spare five-to-10 minutes a day. "Ultimately, digital marketing is a growing segment of every attorney's marketing strategy, with LinkedIn being a big piece of the puzzle," Lough points out. "It's too significant to be ignored."

Amanda Sexton is the founder of FocusWorks Marketing in Denville, an agency that uses the power of digital marketing to grow brands and businesses. Amanda is also the current Marketing Chair of New Jersey Legal Industry Providers.