By Jim Calloway

Remember the early promise of social media? We could all share our thoughts, our opinion, our photographs and our videos with everyone in the world — at no cost. It turned out that the correct observation should have been “at no monetary cost.” But there were costs ranging from impacting our privacy to dealing with scammers. Some believe social media overuse has contributed to a growing mental health crisis, particularly among the young.

Many of popular social media platforms have seen declining use for a number of reasons.

But LinkedIn use has increased over the last few years. Many posts that I would have seen on other social media accounts I now see on LinkedIn. But the essential nature of LinkedIn remains. The focus is still on business users. You typically won’t see children or vacation photos posted. The users themselves tend to shut down political arguments. Lawyers can fit in nicely to promote their practices.

Getting the Most from LinkedIn for Professional and Practice Development by Catherine Reach, Director of North Carolina Bar Association Center for Practice Management, is a master class on the proper business use of LinkedIn in today’s environment. Great tips abound. I suggest everyone to at least read and implement her first tip on creating a personal LinkedIn URL that is easier to remember. Then add that link to your email signature block. That is just the first of many valuable tips on how to more effectively manage your LinkedIn content. Even if you do not spend a lot of time with LinkedIn, investing an hour or so in making your page appear more organized and professional is a good investment.