How Brand Identity Helps Attract the Right Clients
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As of 2022, there are nearly half a million law firms in the United States. With so much competition, the first impression with a prospective client can be what brings them into your office, or what makes them look elsewhere.
But, how do you affect that decision?
It all comes down to brand identity: your law firm's distinct personality. After clarifying who you are as a brand, you can use it to stand out on social media, your website, and in Google searches. In other words, you’ll stop the scroll.
Before we get into the details, let’s get some definitions straight.
Untangling Some Marketing Lingo
You’ve probably heard buzzwords like “brand identity” or “brand personality” more than once, along with a myriad of ways to figure out what yours is.
Identity can be hard to define, both personally and at an organizational level. Luckily, it’s a lot easier to answer the “who am I?”’ question for your brand than it is for yourself!
- Brand Message = what are you saying
- Brand Voice = how are you saying it
- Brand Identity = the perception of your brand to the public
A brand message and a brand voice are part of what makes up your brand identity, whereas the brand identity is the “vibe” you give off. Just like we get a feeling for new people we meet, we also get a feeling for new companies we find online.
Why Is Brand Identity Important?
Because impressions matter.
Consider these stats:
- It takes 7 seconds for customers to decide whether they like and trust your brand
- Consistent branding can increase conversions by 33%
- Approximately 90% of customers expect brands to be consistent across all platforms and channels
- 55% of people search online for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase
In short, the first impression you make will largely be online - via your website and social media channels - and it really matters.
How Exactly Does Brand Identity Make a Difference?
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Here are three ways brand identity affects your audience subconsciously.
Builds a Connection
What does your firm care about? Why do you care about it? By defining your values with a clear brand identity, you can connect with your audience on an emotional level. In any form of communication - whether digital or in-person - that is the first step to building a lifetime relationship. In fact, a Harvard Business Review study found that 64% of participants indicated “shared values” as the primary reason for having a relationship with a brand.
Sharing social media posts about origin stories, the local causes you support, or holiday wishes lets readers see the humans behind the moniker. Once you spark that connection, they’ll be receptive to the solutions you offer.
Establishes Trust
By delivering a consistent brand identity to all your social channels, you win the trust of followers. If they know what to expect from you, they’ll view your brand as reliable—not too different from a good friend. In the vast world of the Internet, forging that digital friendship is the path to loyal clients.
Differentiates your Firm
Your identity is one of your best tools when it comes to getting prospects to choose you over the next firm. The quirks and charisma you share will jump off the screen and differentiate you from a legal practice that offers the same services. Over time, brand awareness will grow, creating an instinctual preference for your firm.
What Makes Up Your Brand Identity
Your identity is about perception. In other words, think of it as the feeling people have when they think of you, visit your social channels, or peruse your website. That feeling depends on three key ingredients.
Visuals
The visual aspect is as simple as it sounds - it’s what your brand looks like online. Believe it or not, a “signature color” for your brand boosts recognition by a shocking 80%! Using the same color throughout your online presence makes it easier for people to connect you with the content they’re reading. The less work your audience has to do to understand your message, the better.
Other things like:
- Shapes
- Lines
- TexturesPhotos - original or stock, and,
- Vector images or graphics
All impact the visual appeal of your brand identity.
Values
Your values are the headlights guiding you through the dark to your brand identity.
As most entrepreneurs do, a law firm’s founders started their own practice because they believed they could do it differently. What is it about how these leaders speak to clients, win cases, write briefs, or litigate that’s different from the competition? Knowing those details makes it easy to clarify the values your firm showcases through its identity.
Voice
Brand voice can feel like a nuanced and unnecessary part of marketing your firm, but it’s often what separates the cream of the crop from the law firms that all seem to look and sound the same.
A brand voice should consider your brand’s audience, commonly used vocabulary, grammatical structure, taglines, and overall tone. Just like humans speak differently in person, we also have bespoke voices online.
A well-thought-out voice helps build a specific brand identity, that people will notice and remember.
Key Takeaways
Be Consistent
With every element of your brand identity - visuals, values, and voice - remain consistent. All of these elements work together to create a memorable attachment to your brand, and consistency will remind people of who you are before you even need to say it.
Don’t forget, it takes 7-20 impressions for someone to remember your brand and message. Repeating what your brand stands for over and over again is not annoying - it’s on brand!
Stay True to Your Brand
It can be tempting to see another business get attention for making funny TikTok videos or sharing a particular kind of content, but copying can get you in hot water. Not only can it come off as inauthentic, but you also might not have the right audience for that kind of message, voice, or media content - which means the post could bomb.
Use Your Brand Identity to Make An Impression
Ever wonder how many people visit you digitally, and never pick up the phone?
That number largely depends on the impression you made on them.
With a clear and compelling brand identity, you’ll earn a loyal audience that recognizes your firm’s set of visuals, values, and voice.
Communicating consistently across social platforms takes time— something that's in short supply at most law firms.
Instead of stressing, why not pass the project off to an expert?
At Let America Know, we’ll help you manage your social presence that aligns perfectly with your brand identity. We’ll help grow your brand with social media content that sticks.