A blog is where a lawyer’s personal brand begins
I usually tell lawyers to begin with LinkedIn when it comes to establishing visibility.
LinkedIn is relatively easy to use for a profile and networking. If you don’t have a good LinkedIn profile, you also look less than professional.
But Jayson DeMers (@JaysonDeMers), CEO of a Seattle based digital marketing agency, writes in Entrepreneur Magazine that building authority, visibility and your brand starts with a blog.
Your personal blog is where it’s all going to begin. It’s your perfect opportunity to showcase who you are, write regular content, share media and engage with your soon-to-be loyal fans and followers. In a way, your personal blog is going to be a gateway platform — it’s going to serve as a foundation for your personal brand.
Publishing elsewhere online, speaking engagements, networking and social media follow in that order, per DeMers.
According to DeMers, social media platforms, especially LinkedIn, though heralded as the key to building an effective personal brand, more realistically serve as the tail end of the process:
- Only if you have a blog can you syndicate content on your platform.
- Only if you start attending speaking events generated from blogging can you begin flaunting your expertise.
- Only when you start networking in person can you build up a wealth of loyal, local followers who will come to better know you by your blog.
Your personal blog, done right, sets you apart from the pack. It’s as if you have written the book on the area in which you practice.
You establish yourself as an authority. You build trust to the extent that your target audience feels it knows you and finds comfort in your passion, care and experience. You engage and network with thought leaders and influencers by entering the existing online dialogue.
Without a strong blog you may be looked as a little flighty on social media.
If you are just tweeting or networking on LinkedIn or Facebook, where do people go to see your depth? How do people see that you are truly staying abreast of developments in the area for which they are looking for a lawyer? How do you establish true authority and influence, the kind that gets you quoted, asked to speak and hired.
Cover the bases with your LinkedIn profile, but I am with DeMers that when building your brand, it all begins with a blog.