Authentic Attorney Branding, How Do We Stand Out in Lawyer Marketing?
From websites to marketing materials and social media pages, too many attorneys fail to set themselves apart from the crowd. Maybe it is not our fault? From the first day of law school, we are told we know nothing about the law and must learn from building block cases and the Socratic method. Then in our ethics classes, we learn how awful it can be responding to a grievance or inquiry from the bar about our law firm marketing and attorney branding materials.
It is amazing how much freedom there is in attorney marketing compared to not that many years ago. Today we have more options than the Yellow Pages. If you recall, most phone book advertising was straightforward, and most law firm ads shared similar features. While some may have pushed the limits of what some consider tasteful and appropriate, others remained cautious of drawing attention for a bold advertisement.
See our related article: Law Firm Branding on Instagram
Modern law firm marketing includes a standard array of social media, videos, podcasts, and websites. There are so many places we can advertise and marketing our law practice it becomes important to make sure your look is memorable to others. When you build a recognizable brand in lawyer marketing, you can set yourself apart from others. How bold you go, is up to your comfort level.
Texas Law Hawk: Bryan Wilson’s Website and Videos Are Memorable (Attorney Branding Win!)
Anyone who watches Attorney Bryan Wilson’s Texas Law Hawk videos remembers the eagles and “talons of justice.” They may also remember that Wilson is a DWI lawyer based on all his spoof videos driving home basic points about criminal defense law and dealing with the police. People see and share Texas Law Hawk videos and they love them. The thing Wilson does to keep things fresh is to make content that is relevant to current events. And while many people might not adore the Above the Law publication, they are writing about Texas Law Hawk videos. The latest features the Texas Law Hawk in an epic battle with COVID!
People Call and Send Referrals to Lawyers and Attorneys They Know, Like, and Trust
Get value out of every phone call, especially the ones that are outside of your practice area. Most lawyers have several friends and colleagues they recommend to people looking for an attorney. Now imagine your friend is giving someone your name and number. The person looking for a lawyer is going to Google your name and sift through the search results. Nowadays we are all conditioned to Googling things and we expect what we find to look a certain way. People who hire lawyers expect them to have social media pages with videos and content.
Think about yourself looking for another professional such as an allergist. In the process of searching for a doctor and making contact, your perceptions are quick. Within a few seconds, you know whether you have a positive, neutral, or negative reaction to an advertisement or website. What impresses us? Think of symmetry. Studies show that people with symmetrical faces are rated more attractive.
Simply having a pleasant looking and easy to navigate website makes you someone the potential client likes. When you have videos and articles and share what seems like personalized information, you are earning trust. The more someone gets that gut feeling you are what they are looking for, the more likely they are going to hire your firm.
Being Authentic in Your Personal and Law Firm Social Media
People are intimidated by lawyers. When we put people at ease, they are more comfortable clients. Some lawyers, especially senior lawyers, take boundary setting to a level that makes a prospective or current client uncomfortable. The reality is that many lawyers today are friendly and approachable while keeping appropriate boundaries.
Do you remember the first time a client sent you a Facebook or LinkedIn request? Was it a major privacy invasion? Many authentic attorney branding campaigns focus on attorneys building name recognition by being more active on social media. This suggestion may have been ill-received 10 years ago, especially considering a client might see you like, comment, or share something while they think you are working on their case, remember that some of them think they are your only client and you don’t have a personal life.
The Lawyer with the Horses on Her Law Firm Website: Authentic Attorney Branding
She is a hypothetical family law and criminal defense attorney with an equine-themed website. She lives in horse country and has many friends who breeders and work in equestrian industries. She attends as many local and civic events and knows people in the community. She is growing her firm and adding new attorneys and paralegals because she grew so popular.
Her old website was built by one of those big “you know who” legal vendors and it was nice but did not set her apart from the other family lawyers. It was not necessarily memorable. She asked her Facebook friends for referrals on website builders and she called us at Lone Star Content Marketing.
We talked about standing out from the crowd while maintaining a professional look and inspiring confidence. Using a tasteful equine theme, we ended up with a new website and branding materials that carried her memorable look with all her marketing efforts. People immediately told her they liked her website with the horses. What people were seeing was someone who was confident and put herself out there by personalizing her brand. People like that.