Personal Branding

How Lawyers Can Build Their Personal Brand

Have you ever been curious as to what goes on in the minds of other legal practitioners? Have you ever wondered whether you measure up?

It’s only natural, after all it’s human nature to be curious about the world and the people around you – how do they do what they do?

With that in mind, join us as we investigate frequently discussed topics, with the aim of discovering innovative approaches to the practice of a law in an ever-changing and evolving world.

Take this blog’s topic – PERSONAL BRANDING – Where you build and maintain a strong personal brand both online and offline.

Personal Branding

Personal branding is all about standing out in the saturated field of law. It’s about differentiating yourself from other law firms. It’s about being recognisable.

Having a strong personal brand enables you to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and it gives you the competitive edge.

A law firm’s brand is kind of like its promise to its clients. It encapsulates the firm’s commitment to quality, its areas of specialisation, and the values that guide its approach to serving its clients.

It also means that you can sustain your clients’ interest and therefore their business. And to do so means developing a strong brand presence and effectively undertaking a sustainable and intelligent marketing strategy.

Part of this is ensuring that you remain relevant by reminding people that you are out there and giving them reasons for wanting to work with you.While this may seem obvious, it’s critical to brand awareness and firm longevity.

A good marketing strategy can also help you understand what your clients’ needs are, whilst also educating them on what you can offer. You can attract new clients with your intellectual and legal prowess and more importantly you can convince clients to remain with you, thereby securing repeat business (which is crucial for any business).

A professional company like Branduo Creative Agency can help you navigate your way through the realm of branding, marketing, and communications. But in the current economic climate you may not have the extra capital to retain the services of a professional branding and marketing company – but you can however develop your own logo and therefore define your brand via Canva. You may have to build branding into your budget as your practice grows or as you gain more clients (and therefore working capital).

In the meantime, you can source design and branding options through websites (and apps) such as Upwork, which utilises the skills of various freelancers at affordable rates.

Besides leveraging off the professional advice of creative agencies, or working on branding through freelancers, how can a lawyer develop their personal brand? Well, it’s simply about getting out there and you can do this by –

How Lawyers Can Build Their Personal Brand

1.  Define your Niche

Before diving straight into building your brand, it’s important to know on what pillars you’re building on. For example, what is your experience, background, target audience? What area do you specialize in? Is there a particular part of the law that you’re specifically enthusiastic about? Answer these questions and identify your niche first before continuing to point 2 and beyond.

2.  Social media

Not everyone’s favourite thing in the world but your social media platforms (whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik-Tok, or preferably all of them) will become your best friends whilst you are trying to get your name out there.

Remember –

4.48 billion people currently use social media worldwide. The average social media user engages with an average of 6.6 various social media platforms.

And that is a lot of potential viewers that could see your content and be interested in what you have to offer.

Because part of staying top of mind is being present where your clients can see you, where they can engage with you and where they can get to know you. Social media allows for that. Social media allows your clients to contact you – at the tap of a button – and this further opens up your communication channels which is extremely beneficial to a new business.

Important tip! Remember that what you post on social media can easily bring your company into disrepute and end up chasing away clients instead of attracting them. It also doesn’t go away – once it has been posted it remains online for everyone to see. So, tread very carefully! As Emma Sadleir Berkowitz of The Digital Law Company has said “If you wouldn’t put it on a billboard, don’t post it on social media”. Which should be your rule of thumb. Always.

3.  Start Blogging

While blogging may seem a little stale, it’s all about getting your unique voice out there. Create your own blog or be a guest blogger on a reputable website. The important thing here is to develop your own unique voice that showcases your brand and expertise. Blogging is also a good starting point to getting your brand out there.

Approach the blog with expert knowledge and opinion over the matter at hand. Display command over the topic but write about from a unique angle and provide information not found elsewhere. A unique point of view is always key.

4.  Get Published

Once you have got the blogging down pat, the next task is to position yourself as a leader in your industry by publishing articles on topics related to your niche.

Published content affords long-term exposure, builds trust, and drives traffic to your website. Your expert published content needn’t stop just at articles – you can publish books, release eBooks, create guides and fact sheets, or contribute articles to well-known publications.

Write expert content in various forms. Provide content that is of great value to your audience. Share innovative ideas, give helpful advice, simplify complex legal ideas; create something that educates and inspires other people.

Publish as often as you can and aim to publish in high-circulation publications and websites with a high domain authority. Every time you publish an article, promote it on social media to amplify your exposure.

5.  Secure Speaking Arrangements

While we are not all naturally born public speakers, one of the best ways to gain exposure is to speak at events and conferences in your industry. So, swallow your fear and get up to the podium and speak!

Obviously being invited as a notable speaker also reinforces your position as an expert in your niche, so accept any and all speaking invitations – regardless of how small or large the speaking engagement is.

BUT be sure that your presentation – at all times – has substance and will enrich the audience with new insights.

6.  Content Marketing

Content marketing is exactly what it sounds like – creating content that markets your law firm. And it can be accomplished in a variety of formats. As we set out above, you can write blogs, contribute to publications, write articles, release eBooks, create infographics, author original research papers, conduct webinars, or upload inspirational or instructional videos. Whatever strikes your fancy. Maybe you do all of the above, maybe you only do two.

Either way, you’ll need to start with a plan. Create a strategy to align brand positioning, target market, and your business objectives. Then, formulate a detailed plan for your campaign and organize it in an editorial calendar. This strategy can help you keep track of your content and maintain focus on your goal.

Keep in mind that your goal is to present yourself as the leading authority in your niche.  

Building a personal brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and consistency and even with those two things, you may need some professional help to well and truly get your brand off the ground.

The legal profession is saturated with practitioners practicing in the same area, but it’s the thing that makes you, you that will help make you stand out – so give that some thought.

Remember that while defining your brand is fun, it does involve significant planning, setting goals and sticking to targets. Being consistent with postings and constantly ensuring that you author blogs, articles, content of any kind that keeps your firm relevant and top of mind.

It’s often a full-time job that involves many players. But it’s worth it when you acquire a client who recognised your firm out of many firms -because yours is a brand that is recognisable, that is noteworthy, that is known.

– Written by Alicia Koch on behalf of AJS