5 Ways to build your Personal Brand as an Expert Witness

In a recent post, I had written about 5 reasons why expert witnesses need to build a personal brand. While the WHY may seem obvious, it's the HOW and the WHAT that demand work.

A personal brand is not something you can build overnight. But if you work with a plan and stay consistent, you will realize that it is indeed easier than it looks. It may not happen in days or weeks, but give it a few months and you will begin seeing the results. If LinkedIn is your medium of choice, your followers and profile views will start increasing first. Next, you will begin receiving more connection requests - first from search executives and other expert witnesses, and then some from litigators. You will begin seeing a steady uptick in the number of enquiries you receive, which will eventually translate into new business -- either as a consulting or a testifying expert.

At this point, you may be thinking that this fluff sounds good in articles and blog posts, and if it was this easy, everyone would do it! Let's try and assess what it would take for you to do it.

Identifying your Unique Selling Proposition

A personal brand helps you differentiate yourself from other experts. However, in order to build one, you need to determine what aspects of your practice or personality set you apart from your peers. It could be a unique skill, a niche area of expertise, or a distinctive method of communication. You can work on building your personal brand around the foundation of this USP.

Consistency Across the Board

Do you have different profile pictures on LinkedIn and Twitter? What about on your website? It is crucial that you develop a brand design (colors, fonts, images, your own headshot etc.) and consistently apply it across the board, in all professional interactions and platforms. Consistency reinforces your brand and increases recognition.

Do not limit it to the colors and the fonts and images; be consistent in your communication style, appearance, messaging, and even social media posts. Getting a few professional headshots are also a great idea!

A Professional Website

Instead of buying a template off the internet, try to hire a consultant to guide you through the design and copy for your website. Make sure it's done professionally. Hiring your own website builder/ manager may be expensive. Look for consultants who have experience working with expert witnesses and help them set up their digital real estate.

A professionally done website that showcases your expertise, services and accomplishments, can serve as a central hub for your personal brand, offering valuable information to potential clients.

Leveraging Social Media

Social media can be a tricky animal for most. You may be tempted to use social media, especially LinkedIn, in "lurker mode" where you read posts and comments but don't really interact or put your thoughts out there. However, it's a great tool to build your professional brand even if you are not publishing your own content.

You can share your insights by commenting and engaging with others in your field, specially with attorneys who may be working in the same jurisdiction and area of practice . Like their posts, comment and share your insights. However, be careful that your comments are relevant and genuine. We have all seen those "great post", "Very insightful" comments which do not add any value to the discussion. Refrain from commenting just for the sake of commenting and do not hesitate to add your two cents where you feel you have a point to make.

Creating Content

Once you have spent some time figuring out your USP, your target audience and your tribe on social media; it is time to lead the conversation by beginning to create content. You are a busy professional and can always consider getting outside help but a ghostwriter or a content agency won't be able portray your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities because they are yours. You can work with one but it's still going to take some work. Write about your past experiences, your area of work, your interests, your research: anything that would build your personality and add value to your target audience.

You can begin building an audience using social media (ideally LinkedIn and Twitter) and slowly move them towards your own newsletter or website.

How many of the above do you think you have under control for your expert witness practice? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

In the next post, I will cover the different types of content experts can easily create to improve their personal brand and visibility amongst attorneys.

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