Branding Tips to Help You Stand Out

A drive down any highway or a quick scroll through your local TV stations and you will immediately notice that your area is flooded with attorneys. You see advertisements on billboards, you hear them on the radio and you watch them in the commercial breaks of your favorite shows. There is certainly no shortage of available attorneys these days.

You’ve probably felt the pain of this truth when it comes to getting the word out about your own firm. How can you possibly stand out when there are already so many firms to compete with? Putting up billboards and other marketing tactics can help to some extent, but with so many options for people to choose from, it’s hard to convert those marketing strategies into actual clients. So what is an attorney to do?

The answer is just one word: branding. You might think of branding as something celebrities or soft drink companies do, but it’s much more than that. As an attorney, taking the time to craft your brand can help you distinguish yourself from the competition. However, insufficient branding can sometimes be just as bad as not branding at all. Take the following into consideration throughout the process of creating your professional brand.

Understand What a “Brand” Is:

When people think about brands they usually imagine slapping a logo on a sign and being done with it, but that’s not the ‘end all be all’. A brand is your firm’s identity put on display for all to see, understand and easily recognize. Who are you as a firm? What are your goals? Who are you trying to market to? What will people see, hear, and experience when they do business with you? Questions like these must be clearly answered and illustrated through all of your branding decisions.

Know Your Firm’s Mission:

When answering the questions above, one thing should stand out more than anything else: What is your mission? From a branding standpoint, you need your target audience to know exactly what your firm has to offer and how you are the best professional to assist them. A simple misinterpretation in your brand could throw off potential clients and deter them from seeing you as credible. Make your firm’s goals concise and honest to those inquiring about your legal services, as this will also increase word-of-mouth referrals.

Your Visual Appeal:

Once you have a good grasp on your firm’s identity, you can then begin to work on your visual image with an eye-catching logo. This can be accomplished successfully without destroying your budget or using a cookie-cutter graphic design program. Hiring a freelancer from services such as Upwork can not only be cost-effective but can provide you with a visually appealing and relevant logo for your firm. Fivver is another affordable option, but be sure to read designer reviews before enlisting in their services. Just explain your ‘vision’ of what you’d like the logo to look like and portray and they’ll do the rest. Keep in mind to avoid overly vibrant color schemes or images that can be depicted as off-putting.

(check out the enchanting fella on the right as an example!)

Consistency:

With consistency comes recognition. Those who are interested in your legal services are significantly more likely to remember you if your brand is clearly and consistently present in all of your marketing strategies. From your social media channels to business cards, advertisements, and your website layout, your logo, color schemes, your firm’s motto and everything else should be uniform across the board. You’ll also want to clearly communicate your firm’s brand to all of your employees so they fully understand their role in obtaining and retaining clientele. Failure to market your brand accurately can cause confusion in potential clients and make them easily forget who you are and what you can do for them. Additionally, inconsistent branding will work against you when trying to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Market Your Brand, Not Just You:

So you’ve created an accurate, elegant brand… well done! But are you certain that it’s properly showcasing your law firm and not just yourself? Even for solo attorneys, remember that your brand and the message it sends is going to be what resonates with potential clients the most. Refrain from overly promoting your personal views and highlight your firm and its goals as a whole through all of your marketing techniques, whether it be digital or otherwise.

Being distinct, memorable and genuine are the keys to a successful brand for any attorney and their practice. But sometimes, a creative block can get in the way of branding your practice accurately. That’s why we’d love to hear from our fellow attorneys!

Share your logo or the story behind the evolution of your firm’s branding in the box below!