To achieve substantial reach on a tight budget, more and more companies are turning to LinkedIn. This social network for business is becoming increasingly popular in Germany too. Tax advisers can use LinkedIn for a variety of purposes. LinkedIn expert Bernd Winkel knows how tax firms can gain an advantage on the business platform. He advises tax advisers who wish to establish a presence on LinkedIn as a business and as an employer brand. On the programme „hsp live at 11“, he spoke to Paul Liese about the wide range of opportunities available to firms.
Together with his brother Martin, he runs Bernd Winkel the consultancy firm Zebradoo GmbH, which specialises in LinkedIn and online marketing. The two of them advise law firms in particular, but are also increasingly advising other businesses on topics such as sales and recruitment. When it comes to social media, some are currently putting forward the theory that channels such as LinkedIn are becoming less and less effective. The alleged reason: more and more anglers are vying for the same fish. Paul asks Bernd what he thinks of this theory. Bernd responds with a different analogy. Every company, every law firm, is like an island. Whether they take action or not, the issue of employer branding will arise either way.
In Bernd’s view, every employer has an image. Every company has a culture. The question is whether and how this is communicated. Rather than the ‘fisherman’s image’, Bernd favours a proactive perspective, in which applicants jump into the water to find a new island. In his view, the aim is to make one’s own island as attractive as possible so as to draw in the right candidates. After all, there are countless reasons why people might consider changing jobs. As an employer brand, it is important to highlight what a company has to offer job seekers. Any employer who does not work on their public image is choosing not to be visible. Whether that is the right approach is something everyone must decide for themselves.
A LinkedIn company page is a must for law firms
Paul has noted that LinkedIn has now become an essential platform for businesses. The question, therefore, should not be whether a law firm should have a presence on LinkedIn or not. Bernd adds that setting up a company profile is free of charge. Creating a personal profile is also free of charge. Law firms that set up their own page on LinkedIn can be found online straight away. Employers give their own staff the opportunity to connect with them or showcase themselves.
According to Paul, however, one thing is clear: building an employer brand is not a short-term endeavour, but requires a long-term strategy. Bernd draws a comparison with sales. Nobody wants to have something sold to them, for example through uninvited harassment in the city centre. A good salesperson, on the other hand, listens carefully rather than just chattering away. They identify needs and expectations, build trust and rapport, and thus lay the foundations for a customer relationship. The same applies when building an employer brand. There’s no point in an unknown company with no brand image just springing up in front of potential applicants.
A call to law firms: show who you are!
Employers should not underestimate how important it is to prospective candidates to know who they will be working with in the future. It is not a question of dragging staff in front of the camera and making them recite scripted lines. Instead, it makes sense to show what everyday working life is really like. What sort of people work at the firm? How are they dressed, how do they interact with one another, what do the offices look like, is there an office dog running about somewhere? All of this gives a prospective candidate a sense of the atmosphere within a firm. If this matches their own expectations, a law firm can increase the likelihood of receiving applications through consistent communication.
A law firm has now set up a company page on LinkedIn. What does Bernd recommend the firm do to increase its visibility or reach? Bernd suggests two approaches: either invest money – or time. The former involves running paid adverts on LinkedIn. These are posts that are displayed to selected target audiences in return for payment. On the other hand, „investing time“ means building a personal profile and keeping other users on the platform engaged with relevant posts. LinkedIn rewards this with greater reach. The target audience is identified through targeted networking. If a tax adviser networks with other professionals in her sector, she can reach a particularly large number of people in the tax industry with a relevant post on a tax-related topic.
Being active on LinkedIn as a business
Interactions offer another great way to increase a company’s reach. Interacting with a personal profile is nothing new. This includes „Likes“ and other reactions, comments and sharing. However, anyone listed as an administrator of a company page can also interact with posts on behalf of the company. This makes it possible to leave a comment on a post as a company. To create a company page, you need to click on the grid icon labelled „More“ on the LinkedIn website (desktop version). This opens a menu, the bottom option of which is „Create a company page“. There is one small restriction, however: the personal profiles used to create a company page must have been on LinkedIn for some time. You cannot create a company page using a newly created personal profile.
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