Social Networks Legal Nurse Consultants Need to Use

Which social networks do you need to use? I still run into LNCs who are not using social media at all. Without social media you will remain a best kept secret.

What can you do as a legal nurse consultant to stand out on social media? These are commonly used social networks and tips for using each.

The best business social network: LinkedIn

Often thought of as a professional version of Facebook, LinkedIn has a lot of potential for anyone who is trying to build a brand. If you really want your legal nurse consulting business to stand out, start making more connections on LinkedIn. This is one social network you must use, even if you don’t use others.

Here are a few best practices to work into your LinkedIn social media plan.

  • Profile– LinkedIn has a huge profile component. In order to stand out here, fill in every blank space that you possibly can. This includes an introductory video, a great professional headshot, as well as referrals, and testimonials from your attorney clients.
  • Publish– LinkedIn allows you to publish legal nurse consulting articles that will potentially get a high amount of viewers, even outside of your connections. This is because all of the second tier connections (your connections’ connections) can see the content you publish. Make your content unique, timely, and relevant. They’ll even give you writing ideas once you click “write an article” under your profile header.
  • Connect– It is tempting to connect to anyone and everyone on LinkedIn. However, like most social media platforms, it’s best to connect with only the relevant people you know. Start with the friends you already have and build your connections over time. You can narrow down the relevancy even more according to your needs. Use your connections to get introductions to attorneys.
  • Engage– LinkedIn has many groups that probably relate to your business, niche, and topics. I run Legal Nurse Consulting Marketing. Join my group. Make a commitment to engage with your connections on a regular basis. Contributing awesome information and content will attract the audience to you want.

Complete your profile and keep it updated. Reach out to others – you’ll stand out. So many people are relying on automation now that when someone gets real and personal they’ll automatically make an impression.

Want a social media checklist to guide you? Fill in the fields and we’ll email you one.

Facebook

Facebook can be quite amazing. You’ll find your clients on Facebook. According to statista.com, on a monthly basis there are over 1.71 billion active users on Facebook. The best way to stand out on Facebook is to encourage interaction in a variety of ways. Your Facebook friends will applaud you when you share with them.

  • Images– Every now and then Facebook changes its image sizes. Keep up to date on the best sizes to use so that they are more appealing and sharable. Use images in updates to help your audience find you in the sea of information in their news feeds. Use well-made, branded, attention-grabbing images to help promote your topics and updates.
  • Content– The content you share on Facebook should lead readers to take some type of action, whether it’s going your website, blog, or getting them to sign up for your email list. Plan the purpose or a call to action for all content before you share it. Don’t share anything that is unrelated or uninteresting to your readers.
  • Engagement– Don’t blindly share content. Most Facebook users are not there to buy. Generally, they dislike advertisements and people who promote too much. Engage with users on Facebook for maximum impact.
  • Promote– You can’t just leave things to chance on Facebook. If you have something important to share with your audience, use the tools available to promote it. You can promote a post, run an advertising campaign, and share items more than once.

Facebook is the place to be if you want to increase the size of your loyal audience base. Answer questions on other people’s groups, be a resource, and “go live” with important information for your audience a couple of times a week.

Twitter

Twitter has over 313 million active monthly users (statista.com) so in all probability your audience is on Twitter. I find that most attorneys use LinkedIn for business purposes, Facebook for social purposes and Twitter to promote themselves. If you want to go beyond using appropriate #hashtags, here are some best practices and important tips to help you stand out on Twitter.

  • Repeat Your Tweets– More than any other social network, repeating Tweets is an essential component of ensuring that your ideas are seen, commented on, and shared. While other networks frown on this practice, Twitter encourages it. Try sharing a slightly different tweet about the same info two or three times a day. Be sure you space each “repeated tweet/link” several hours apart to get the most engagement.
  • Don’t Forget the Weekend– Weekends are a good time to interact with Twitter users. Some people may not have time to deal with social media during the week. Try sending tweets on weekends. Use what you know about the habits of your target market as well as analytics to find out when your audience engages on Twitter. You might be surprised at how much more you’ll stand out from the others who aren’t doing it.
  • Use Images– Tweets that share images get more retweets and comments than those without. Be sure to brand your image with your logo. Let the image speak for itself with a small blurb on the image.
  • Promote– On Twitter, you want to promote your important Tweets to get more bang for your time. When you know you want your audience to perform a specific action from the Tweet, that’s a good time to promote it.

Twitter has a lot of promise when it comes to social media promotions. You can use Twitter ads, Twitter pics, and even video to stand out from the crowd. Avoid too much automation and focus on interaction, especially on Twitter. Take advantage of the fast pace and tweet in the moment.

These social networks are places to start. Pick one, master it and then add another. Your goal of connecting with clients will be met if you interact, share, comment and post.

Provided by: http://legalnursebusiness.com/43901/social-networks-legal-nurse-consultants-need-to-use/

3 Ways a Legal Nurse Consultant Can Increase A Successful Case Outcome

gavel and stethescope on white background

Many attorneys out there are quite aware of the value of a Registered Nurse evaluating their cases. Any case an attorney is working with that deals with medical issues should be evaluated by a medical professional. These types of cases include medical malpractice cases, personal injury, workers’ compensation, criminal, product liability, and even social security.

There are three top reasons to utilize a Legal Nurses Consultant on your cases involving medical issues:

  1. Screening Cases – The Legal Nurse Consultant will very thoroughly and succinctly evaluate the medicals on these cases and provide the attorney with the specific details of the case, the related standard of care issues and the strengths and weakness of the case.
  2. Expert Location – The Legal Nurse Consultant is also an excellent resource for obtaining that “perfect” expert witness for your case. Although it may seem obvious as to what expert is required for the case, there may be an expert that would be an even “better fit.” For example, if there is an issue revolving around EMS and the emergency department, an MD that is an emergency department provider, but is also the Director of an EMS system may be a “better fit” for the case.
  3. Medical Literature Resource – The Legal Nurse Consultant has been involved in medical research his/her whole nursing career. As Legal Nurse Consultants, we have honed in on the specific techniques of research to quickly obtain detailed medical information. Not only are we skilled in obtaining the needed medical literature, we have the database resources many attorneys do not have.

Legal Nurse Consultants: A Growing, Challenging and Rewarding Career

Legal Nurse Consultant

Are you considering taking a big career step forward by becoming a Legal Nurse Consultant?

This relatively new field (in existence since the mid-1980’s) is growing quickly and becoming increasingly important in the preparation of many different kinds of legal cases. These include Workers Compensation, Fraud, Medical Malpractice cases and many, many others. LNC’s fill a niche that no one else can fill, bringing to their jobs the knowledge and experience of nursing and a course-driven familiarity with the legal process. Do you think you can be that person that bridges the gap between the medical and legal worlds? Here’s an overview of the profession and its requirements that may help you decide.

Legal Nurse Consulting

Pivotal Team Member

A Legal Nurse Consultant brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. As an important part of a legal team, the LNC provides the medical expertise for a lawyer or legal team, whether it’s in a law office, an insurance company, a government agency or a hospital. You will be the team member responsible for medical research and for educating your fellow team members on medical jargon and definitions and sometimes for testifying as an expert witness in a case. This is a highly demanding position, since you are a pivotal player in a legal case involving medicine, and as such, must be able to identify where the two fields impact each other in regards to the current case.

Qualifications

There are strict standards for this profession. If you are already an RN, you will also need a current license to practice, five years of practice as a nurse behind you and at least 2000 hours in legal consulting work completed before you are eligible to take the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board (LNCC) exam. If you aren’t an RN already, you will have to earn the degree with a B.A. or associates degree in nursing and passing your state’s licensing exam before starting your LNC coursework and training.

Duties

As an LNC, some of your responsibilities will involve researching both medical literature and medical records; preparing expert reports on illnesses or injuries that are part of the current case; understanding and explaining standards of care; interviewing clients and medical personnel and testifying as an expert witness. (Giving expert testimony is not a requirement of the job, but if you can do it comfortably and knowledgeably, both you and the case stand to benefit!).

Lifestyle

If you are at a point in your life that is relatively settled and routine then you will definitely have an advantage when you begin taking the coursework required to become an LNC. Unless – unlike most of us – you have enough money to support yourself without having to work while you are becoming qualified, you will have a lot to juggle in your life. So when you take on the challenge of becoming an LNC, it’s optimal to have your daily routine already in place with specifically designated times for work, for family, for coursework and for studying. In other words, it is helpful to be a highly motivated and well-organized person for this rewarding, but not easy choice.

Who You Are

Legal Nurse Consultants need to have the same basic and outstanding personality traits that good nurses have: compassion, excellent communications skills, detail-oriented organizational skills, an agile mind that can spot problems and understand them, a great work ethic, psychological/emotional stability and an ability to adapt quickly to changing situations. For the legal angle, LNC’s also need to be research-smart and savvy, able to work autonomously, decisive, comfortable with or without structure and at ease speaking and interacting with important judicial and legal professionals and groups; good LNC’s are also comfortable in different professional settings. And because this is a career that often involves in-depth research, an inquisitive and determined attitude is a help.

In Sum

I find it fascinating that someone can be both a medical and legal expert, and that this knowledge can be used to build the substantive material for important legal actions – it’s almost like being a detective! So while all of the personality traits and levels of education may seem a little daunting at first glance, you may be surprised to find out that you are extremely well suited to this intense, expanding and rewarding field.

So if you are ready, then it’s time to take a look at the comprehensive LNC program at The Paralegal Institute at Brighton College for information. Fill out our contact form or call our main office 1-800-354-1254 today.