For newer lawyers, establishing your brand is key to attracting new clients and competing with established firms. Veteran attorneys can also benefit from personal branding, ensuring they’re hitting the right tone for their clientele.
From the visuals of your website to your social media presence, creating a consistent, clear message is the key to developing your personal brand.
Establishing your brand takes just a few simple steps, but make sure you consistently engage with your audience and present a cohesive message.
1. Sell Your Expertise to Your Clients
Clients need to know your expertise and specialization to know if you’re the right fit for their legal needs. Evaluate the cases and areas in which you have found the most success, and make sure that these are at the forefront of your marketing. Gather as much detail as you can, and then use these traits and details to build your profile.
Many clients may be unfamiliar with the importance of some of your accomplishments, so when creating your profile, make sure to provide supporting details about each one.
For example, if an award is only presented to litigators who have achieved over a million dollars in settlements in a year, or if you’ve received an honor that only the top 10% of lawyers in your field receive, include that information.
Although a Wikipedia listing isn’t an option for most lawyers, similar sites may be available to you. For an example, see Maryland attorney Alex Brown’s bio on Everipedia. Not every attorney will have an entry in blockchain, but there may be something similar that you can feature as part of your bio.
2. Create a User-Friendly, Easily Navigable Website with Perceived Value
Your website is likely the first impression your clients have of your practice. It should highlight your strengths as an attorney and give details about your areas of expertise. Each page should have a consistent appearance, from the color scheme to the font.
You can also use your website to establish your credibility by adding value through content marketing. Case studies, blogs, and insight into different areas of the law provide help for site visitors and allow you to give them information about your specialty. Content marketing builds your credibility as an attorney.
3. Network Through Social Media
LinkedIn can help you network and build connections with other lawyers in your city and your area of expertise. It can also amplify your in-person referral network and allow you to share valuable resources with your peers.
Your LinkedIn profile helps clients and fellow attorneys put a name with a face and gives you space to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
LinkedIn isn’t the only viable social media option for lawyers. Twitter can help you build a community and offer insight into legal matters in real time. You can connect with other legal professionals on Twitter and comment on their posts, building your social network.
4. Showcase When You Win Big
Clients want the best lawyer to represent them: one with a proven track record of winning. Your brand should be associated with success. Making it easy to find case studies of victories helps prospective clients build trust in your ability to represent them.
Start Building Your Brand Now
If you don’t have a robust online presence, it’s difficult to build your brand and network. Just a few minutes each day participating in social media and making LinkedIn connections can help establish your brand.
