How are you advertising your immigration law practice on LinkedIn? Are you using your logo like every other law firm or have you tried something more personal? Well, I’m here to tell you that immigration lawyers need a personal photo on their law firm’s LinkedIn page… it works, and here’s why.
I believe immigration law professionals need a personal photo on their firm page (perhaps even the same one you use on your personal LinkedIn account) because it is the most powerful growth strategy for an immigration law practice. Specifically, I think this should go on your banner image (here are LinkedIn’s instructions on how to update your firm’s LinkedIn page) – keep the law firm logo as the LinkedIn page’s “profile” photo, but when you upload the banner image, put your face on it!
Here are my four reasons why a personal photo will make a big difference for your immigration firm’s growth and not stop you from coming across as professional.
Reason 1: Immigration lawyers need a personal photo to create a strong association
First of all, no matter what industry you are in, if you are running your own immigration firm, then YOU ARE THE COMPANY. By extension, your face is now the face of your company and your personal brand. People will associate your face/image/voice with your firm, whether you like it or not so use this to your business’ advantage. A personal photo will go a long in making sure that people are getting a positive association with your business (they are more likely to remember this, too!).
Reason 2: Control of your immigration firm’s brand is another reason immigration lawyers need a personal photo
Given that you are the face of your company, by putting your face/image/voice, etc. out there on your terms (e.g. a photo, video, podcast), you control the association! Creating and controlling your voice (and face) means you decide how people can judge you. The more industry-related media out there with you in it, the more influence your company will have just by association. This is a fantastic marketing technique that will help people see, recognize, and most importantly, remember you as an industry expert and see your business in a positive light. That’s why I think immigration lawyers need a personal photo – it helps you control how much people think of you when they think of you particular practice area!
Reason 3: A picture creates a human connection, so help your prospective immigration law clients connect with you!
What do you think a stranger looking to hire a law firm will connect with more: a company logo or the face of a professional? It’s the personal pic hands down every single time! Humans connect more with other humans than a faceless brand or firm. Let your clients and prospects see your face and hear your voice so they can connect with you on a more personal level than other brands and firms. Plus, when you publish content through your firm’s LinkedIn page, having it come off as more personal can help boost engagement too!
Reason 4: Your personal picture is scalable because LinkedIn gets you in front of immigration law clients across the world!
Finally, IT’S SCALABLE. Think about the classic highway billboard with the lawyer’s face on it and how many people will pass the billboard day in and day out. LinkedIn is the same but easier, free (or at least a lot cheaper) ads. The geographical reach is also greater! Immigration law is a federal practice- think of the possibilities if you are willing to scale up. How many clients could you reach and connect with just within your city, let alone in your state or in the entire country? That’s a lot of potential clients without having to pay for expensive ads and putting a personal photo on your business’ LinkedIn takes 5 minutes or less of your time to set up.
Are you convinced that a personal photo is the best way to grow your brand? This can be a pretty contentious topic and I’m curious to see what other legal professionals have to say on the matter as I know some of my connections have strong opinions about this in both directions. And if you’re reading this and you’re still struggling with what content to post at all on LinkedIn, check out my 11 foundational tips for immigration lawyers to get started on LinkedIn!
Do you use a personal picture on your LinkedIn business profile? If so, why? If you don’t, why not and what do you use instead?
