Four Ways To Level Up Your Personal Brand In A Tighter Market
We’re hearing a lot about the “r” word these days. Economic pundits are talking about the wobbly global economy, and some legal services marketing prognosticators have been predicting that a recession (yes, I said it) will result in increased competition and a shrinking pool of legal spending as well as hiring freezes and layoffs, particularly in Big Law. Other commentators are pointing out that certain practices — litigation, bankruptcy, privacy and data security, intellectual property, tax and employment-related practices — and certain regions of the country are less likely to be impacted than transactional practices.
From my perspective, whether you’re slightly worried, braced for negative impact, cautiously optimistic or ready to take advantage of the opportunities 2023 has to offer (my recommended course of action), one important action you can take right now is to raise your profile in the marketplace.
Amplifying your visibility isn’t just for rainmakers (or aspiring rainmakers), partners or senior associates. It’s a good practice at every level and at any time, and it’s especially important in a tighter legal market — whether you’re looking for clients or looking for a new job. Forward-looking law firms also encourage their lawyers to pay attention to their personal brand. No matter the type of client and practice, the lawyer-client relationship is, at its core, based on person-to-person rapport. Lawyers are brand ambassadors for both their practice and firm. A lawyer’s individual profile-raising efforts, if done right, will also positively impact the visibility of their practice area and firm.
A number of components contribute to your visibility in the marketplace. Some are must-dos and others are optional, depending on your comfort level and (often, but not always) where you are in your career.
A Top-Notch Web Bio.
For all the reasons that I have written many (many, many) times before, a complete and up-to-date web bio is the foundation of your profile in the marketplace.
A good bio tells readers what you do and for whom you do it (what kinds of clients). A better bio connects with clients and prospects by highlighting the problems you help your clients solve and what you enable them to do (whether that’s meeting specific business or personal objectives). A top-notch bio differentiates you from others in the marketplace by providing insights into how you work — and how clients will benefit from working with you.
Many people don’t read beyond the first paragraph, so make the best use of this limited real estate with a high-level description of the work you do and how your clients benefit. Subsequent paragraphs can offer supporting information and fill in the details about your experience and approach. Please do not start your bio with “Sally Q. Lawyer is a partner in the litigation department.” You’ve wasted your one chance at hooking your reader by telling them something they already know or can easily discern. Instead, start strong with a compelling first sentence that tells readers why you’re the right lawyer to help them solve their problems or accomplish their objectives.
I encourage lawyers at every level to keep an ongoing list of their matters, current and past. Used in a bio, a “select representations” or “experience” list provides readers with a snapshot of the work you do without having to read your entire bio. You can also use the list to develop and update a “notable work” paragraph for your bio narrative — an excellent way to show, rather than tell, readers about your work and your clients’ successes.
Because your bio is the bedrock of your visibility, you should review and update it regularly — at a minimum quarterly — to make sure it accurately reflects the work you do and — more frequently — to add developments such as new representations and client successes, publications, events and awards.
Social Media.
I believe social media is a core component of visibility in the marketplace. You don’t need to be a super-user of LinkedIn, but, as I mentioned in my previous column, you must at least have an appropriate LinkedIn profile. Like your web bio, your LinkedIn profile is your digital stand-in and one of the main ways that clients, referral sources and others (including firms looking for lateral hires) do their research. Spend some time and effort making sure you have your profile basics covered. Connecting with people in your real-life circles — family, friends, and colleagues both inside and outside your firm (and any previous places you have worked) — and following your firm’s LinkedIn page are other low-effort ways to give your visibility a bit of a boost.
Beyond these basics, you can choose to participate on social media in a variety of ways. Following, responding to and sharing other’s content on LinkedIn will increase your visibility to other members. Using the reaction buttons is low-risk/low-effort engagement. Commenting on and sharing others’ content takes a little more time and effort, but it also gives you opportunities to showcase your expertise and encourage people to connect with you, and it boosts both you and the original poster.
To elevate your profile on social media even further, post original content on a regular basis. Legal market research shows that hiring decision-makers use LinkedIn as a resource for news and developments. Being part of the very small number of members (it’s around 1%) who consistently meet that content demand will eventually provide next-level visibility.
Thought Leadership.
Thought leadership (client alerts, newsletters, videos, articles and substantive social media posts, as well as presentations and speaking engagements) is a key profile-building tool. As with the other components of your profile, the purpose of thought leadership is not to convert prospects into clients — at least not directly.
Thought leadership has two distinct but related goals. The first is a client-service goal: to be a trusted source of valuable information and insightful and actionable content on legal, business or industry topics of importance to your clients as well as to prospective clients, colleagues and referral sources. The second is a marketing goal: to establish your reputation as a subject matter expert in your practice or industry and leverage your expertise to gain visibility (and eventually some work) from the very same audience you are serving with the first goal.
Visibility through thought leadership is a long-range play; it requires both focus and consistency. You must identify your target audience — the legal hiring decision-makers in your industry and those who influence those decision-makers — and then regularly deliver a range of fresh content on the topics that matter to that audience.
Don’t assume that thought leadership and speaking engagements are reserved for more senior lawyers. For junior and mid-level associates, assisting more senior colleagues in the development of branded content (alerts and newsletters, as well as webinars and client CLEs) is an excellent way to start building your profile as a thought leader.
Public Relations.
Another way to enhance your profile is to become a reliable expert source for other commentators in your market or industry, from legal and trade publications to the Holy Grail of visibility: general-circulation publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Much like thought leadership, the main goal of public relations — or PR — is not to directly influence clients to hire you but to further elevate your reputation as a go-to expert. As many PR professionals will tell you, your goal is repeat exposure to your target audience — to become an often-quoted source. In fact, being tapped as a source for one story won’t do much for your visibility.
PR is a next-level profile-raising move, so it’s best to work with a PR professional to develop a solid, actional visibility plan.
“See” you in 2023. No matter what 2023 brings to the legal services market, you have tools to polish your profile and be in the best position to take advantage of opportunities that come your way.
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