Here’s a rundown of five frequent LinkedIn questions I receive from the lawyers I work with, and how I suggest we tackle them.

In my years of working with attorneys, I've been asked numerous questions regarding the basics and the advanced art of using LinkedIn (many can be summed up with: “This is all so overwhelming…”) but, the truth is: LinkedIn and LinkedIn Navigator are unbelievably powerful tools in which data and algorithms can be leveraged for your professional gain – and even at the most basic levels, without being an expert, anyone can capitalize on their benefits.

Q: I want everyone to know I’m a partner at my firm … do I really need to change the headline on my LinkedIn profile to something else?

A: Yes. Your headline is meant to state what you actually do at work, not what your title is. Your employment history should be what states that your title is Partner.

Let’s say you’re an M&A attorney specializing in SaaS startups and you want to be found when someone searches for those parameters on LinkedIn. The search results will populate a long list of attorneys, all of whom will likely have “Partner” listed as their headline. Except yours.

Yours will stand out from the crowd as it will state specifically what you do and this small but critical difference increases your chances of being the profile that is clicked. Think of it like putting your business card in a bowl for a drawing, but you’re the only one who thought to crumple yours to increase the chances of getting picked.

Q: I want to look at someone’s LinkedIn profile, but I don’t want them to know that I’m looking...

On linkedin.com (the free version of LinkedIn where we all start), you get what you give, so to speak. If you mark your privacy settings to be anonymous, no one will see that you’ve looked at their profile, but you also won’t see who is looking at yours.

You can also go into the middle ground of being partially anonymous, which means someone will see, “Partner at Jones Day has viewed your profile” - but no personally identifiable information beyond that. Again, you’ll receive the same in return.

That said, there’s a hack that you should know about. If you are a LinkedIn Navigator customer, you can set your privacy settings to be completely anonymous and still see everyone who is looking at your profile. In addition, you can “save” all of those profiles. LinkedIn will send you updates any time the individuals whose profiles you've saved post something or are mentioned in the press, all without their knowledge.

Q: I see many LinkedIn posts where the name of individuals and companies are in blue. How do I do that and why does it matter?

This is called “tagging” someone or a company. How to do it? Simply type the “@” symbol (minus the quotes) and then begin typing the person or company’s name. You do not need to be connected with someone or following a company to be able to do this.

Why is it important? Tagging a company alerts the company about you - and, more importantly, your post. Tagging an individual, moreover, alerts them and their entire network that they’ve been tagged in a post - and generates visibility for you and your post in their network.

Now, there are obviously some basic etiquette rules around this, but let me give you two examples of how I've used this type of tagging.

Each time I visit a city, I use my saved Starbucks points to purchase protein boxes for the homeless of that city. I post about it from time to time and always tag Starbucks. I want them to know that there’s good being done with their program and food, and frankly I have high hopes that someone at Starbucks will see it, re-share it and inspire others.

I recently created a post to thank five (of the many) people in my life that have been longstanding mentors of mine or have done a large favor for me that has positively impacted my career. The post created a snowball effect of gratitude that not only lifted spirits far and wide, but got me unprecedented visibility within multiple networks, netting nearly 17,000 views of my single post.

Q: Why do I care about getting views to my profile?

Views to your profile are only meaningful if you have a great profile.

As an attorney, you are hoping to organically attract individuals who will do business with you. Each view of a post and your profile means your name is staying top-of-mind for your prospective clients and that they’re reviewing your profile to further explore your expertise and points of view.

Think of it as driving someone to your law firm biography page, only better because your LinkedIn profile is filled with more details about who you are and what you post about - and it offers the chance for people to connect with you.

Q: If I only changed three things today so that my LinkedIn profile stands out and is up to date, what should they be?

1. Your Headline – tell everyone what you actually do.

Don’t be afraid to add a personal flair to it as well. Perhaps yours reads, “M&A partner specializing in sub 100M startups; philanthropist with a passion for financial literacy.” Give your viewers a chance to see who you truly are.

2. Your Picture – use the picture from your firm biography, or a professional shot of you speaking. Your face should be front and center, or your face and upper body, and those pieces should take up about 70% of the picture space.

3. Your “About” Section.

If you’re not sure where to go here, use this framework to describe:

• What you specialize in
• Experiences or proud wins that are available to share publicly
• Something personal – why you’re passionate about this area of law, what you invest in outside the office in terms of hobbies or philanthropy, etc.

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Samantha McKenna is a former head of enterprise sales at LinkedIn, an award-winning author, speaker and leader, and the founder of #samsales Consulting. Connect with her on LinkedIn.