While going through these uncertain times, focusing on growing your firm’s brand is going to pay huge dividends down the road.
Whenever a setback in business occurs, whether it be from the pandemic or anything else, you’re probably going to be met with fear and downtime. However, when you get to the other side of that type of situation, you’re going to be welcomed back with newly arising opportunities. The opportunities can come in the form of new clients, new market opportunities, or even different or fewer competitors.
Right now, solo and small law firms have an opportunity to help others and grow their personal brand at the same time. If you find yourself in a position to help others grow, now is a great time to step up. This isn’t about capitalizing on a crisis, but a new way to think about how you can help others in need because of your professional experience.
Here are some tips on how you can create a strong personal brand during a crisis that will make clients want to work with you for years to come.
Offer Helpful and Actionable Advice
Yes, we all want to be told to “Be safe” and “Take care of yourself” but at the end of the day people are hearing that from every direction right now, and if you don’t want to be a part of that noise then you need to change your tune. A great way to do this is to offer guidance and tips that are going to help them in their specific situation.
The lawyers and firms that are going to come out ahead once this is all over are the ones that are using their marketing messages to offer precise tips, helping their target audience’s to better navigate these times.
It isn’t hard to find other lawyers that are doing a great job at sharing valuable, helpful, and actionable information with their audience. But if you can’t find them by searching your twitter feed or Facebook page, then try looking at posts that have more engagement. The levels of engagement in these types of posts are usually really high, and the positivity it spreads is contagious. People want to share things that are helpful, nobody wants to share a tweet that just says “I hope you’re doing well”.
Be Genuine
What people are craving now is authenticity. This means that even if you’re having a bad day, it’s okay to admit it. In fact, the more “real” you are to your audience, the better off you are. It’s very easy to edit everything to create a perfect image of yourself, but that will only get you so far. People want to work with other people, which means that eventually, that perfect image you’re trying to create might come back to bite you instead of help.
One thing you might consider doing is offering your guidance or assistance via one on one calls. Unfortunately, a lot of people are intimidated by attorneys, and this can result in an audience that is too afraid to reach out and ask for help on a one-on-one basis. So make it easy for them to get your support, even if you don’t think you can help them right away due to the courts being closed or any other factor.
You’ll be surprised by the positive response you get. And as a result, you’ll not only build relationships and a following, it’s also the right thing to do right now. Your network will never forget how you helped them during a crisis.
Set Goals and Objectives
Once you have a clear idea of how you want to be seen, create goals and objectives to begin or grow your personal brand. Both short-term and long-term goals will encourage you to stay motivated along your journey. Do you want to be a resource for legal news? Or are you trying to voice your own opinion and share interesting information? How will you measure your success?
Check-in with your goals every month to see how you are progressing.
