If you’ve been doing your research, you know that if you want to make it online, you need to work to become an authority figure. However, it’s impossible to become an authority figure in your industry’s online community without first finding your online identity. As an attorney, you’ve found your identity in the real world. You’re a professional that focuses on this or that area of law. However, how does your identity translate online? Should you position yourself in the same ways you would offline? How do you even get started with building an online identity in the first place? Today, I’ll answer all of these questions and more.
Should You Position Yourself Online The Same Way You Would Offline?
This is a very tough question to answer. While there are tons of similarities with running an online business and an offline business, as an attorney, you’re in a unique position. The answer really depends on how you’ve positioned yourself offline. Our research shows that attorneys do best when they display the following characteristics online….
- Personal Interest In The Community - Above all else, we’ve noticed that attorneys with a strong personal interest in their local community tend to do best. For instance, our most popular attorney client coaches his community’s little league baseball team. Some clients may take part in donating their time to the local food bank, speaking at local schools, coaching sports, or even setting up a mock trial at a middle school. If you’re doing these types of things, your community is going to love you for it online or off. I’ll show you how to use your interest in your community to build your online identity later on in the article.
- A Great Smile - Offline, how much you smile may not mean to much to your target audience, but online, it means the world! When looking for services online, people like to work with other people. You know the kind of people that are fun, have profiles that are incredibly inviting, and seem easy to approach. Conveying this message online always starts with a genuine smile!
- Willingness To Provide Free Information - If you don’t have a blog already, we strongly advise that you get one going. A blog gives you a way to answer general questions for your community without having to sit down with each person one by one. More importantly, when you answer questions in your blog, you build interest in your services, position yourself as an authority in your particular area of law, and build relationships with your community.
- A Keen Focus On A Niche - How many times do you think the term “General Practice Attorney” gets searched in your area? I’d be willing to bet that a keyword like “Family Law Attorney” or “Divorce Attorney” or “Car Accident Attorney” get far more traffic than “General Practice Attorney”. The simple fact is that when consumers are looking for an attorney, or really anything else for that matter, they’re very specific about what they want when they type in their searches. It’s also important to remember that in niche areas of law, becoming an authority is much more simple than trying to become an authority in a blanket category like “Attorneys”.
How To Start Building Your Online Identity
Believe it or not, getting your online identity rolling is a fairly simple process. All you need to do is follow the steps below…
Step #1: Getting Prepared - Preparation is key in just about any process. That’s definitely true when it comes to creating your online identity. To prepare, grab a pen and paper and start jotting down things that make you different from the other attorneys in your area. Here are the most important things to include in your list…
- Your Practice Areas - Even if you’re a general practice attorney, you want to pick 3 or 4 areas of law where you’d like to attract the most clients and build your identity around those areas of law. If you’re not general practice, you’re one step ahead of the game because you’ve already got your practice areas picked out!
- Your Community Involvement - Are you a little league coach, do you take part in mock trials, working with the boy scouts or girl scouts, or take any other action to assist your community? If so, take a note of everything you do!
- Your Core Values/Goals - The online community loves working with attorneys and other service providers that have a great set of core values and goals. Think about how your values differ from other attorneys that practice in your areas of law in your community. Now, simply write down what sets your values and goals apart!
Step #2: Start Working On Colors - Colors play a major role in how the online community is going to see you. As an attorney, there are a few things you want your colors to convey to your audience. First off, you want to show them that you are trustworthy. The color that most displays trust is blue, so we strongly recommend using blue in your website. Now, using blue as your base color, figure out what other colors you’d like to include. Click the link above for more in depth details about how colors could affect your brand.
Step #3: Create A Community Involvement Page - Once you’ve got your website up and rolling with a great color scheme and tons of information about you, it’s time to start creating a community involvement page. As mentioned above, consumers like working with attorneys that show a strong personal interest in their communities. We’ve found that attorneys with a specific page dedicated to explaining their community involvement and how others can get involved tend to do very well. From a consumer standpoint, you’ll build trust by showing you care; from a search engine standpoint, local involvement shows relevance to the target audience you’re trying to reach!
Step $#4: Get Your Blog Rolling - As mentioned above and in several posts in the past, it’s incredibly important for attorneys to have a blog. Getting your blog going is simple. Commit to writing at least once per week and start immediately! When writing your blog, keep in mind that people don’t just want to hear about laws, they’d also like to hear about you; so, make sure to add in a bit of your personality!
Step #5: Get Social - I know, some people say social’s the way to go, others say do something else. The reality is, a huge percentage of the world and arguably your target audience spends their time on sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more! If you want to reach them, there’s no better way to start than to get on social media! Trust me, there’s a reason tons of huge companies put more than half of their marketing budget into Twitter or Facebook!
Final Thoughts
Now you’ve got everything you need to get your online identity rolling. So, what are you waiting for? Go out and take control of your target market! If you’d like assistance building your online identity, contact us today!
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