How to build a brand and network in 2023

SMART WORKING

How to build a brand and network in 2023

Kicking off the new year with a bang, Legal Women and I hosted a webinar on the above topic. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of interest as the new year jolts many of us into thinking about our brand and goals for the year ahead. When talking about building a brand and network the immediate place to start would be discussing tactics, such as attending certain events or posting on LinkedIn. Or so you would think. Below, I outline how I think you should be approaching the new year and building a network with clear steps.

1. Personal brand

Put simply, a personal brand is what you’re know for. Think of it as how someone would describe you if you weren’t in the room. What’s your profession? What are you like to work for?

What’s your niche? You get the idea. To build up a network and reputation you must first think about how you want to portray yourself. This is relevant for any stage of your career and important to really drill down what you offer and how you can help clients. Whether you are new in your career or more established, this is still a useful exercise to complete.

■ Headline sentence: A short snappy statement that sums you up.

■ Secondary sentence: A follow up which goes into a bit more detail about your work.

■ Final sentence: Something personal about you which shows off a little bit of your character.

N.B You can update the final sentence a few times a year depending on what it is.

Example personal brand statement:

■ Jane is an employment lawyer who loves to represent retail brands

■ She has a particular interest in discrimination cases.

■ Jane enjoys living in London and is training for the marathon.

Putting together a statement like this will help focus you for the next step which is goal setting.

2. Goal setting

Your time is precious so instead of attending networking events willy-nilly, you must be crystal clear on what you’re trying to achieve. Any activity taking you away from your kids/dog/partner/ hobby/Netflix must be leading to something. That’s why setting your goals and intentions are a must so that your strategy can flow from them.

Examples of goals:

1. Win a particular client

2. Hit your fee earning target

3. Have a better work life balance

4. Feature your work in the press

Whatever it may be, being clear on these goals will influence your strategy and how you spend your time in 2023.

3. Tactics

This is really deciding on how you will achieve these goals, what resource you need and setting a time frame. If you want to win a particular type of client, then you need to map out what the problems are for this client and where is the best place to message them. I have listed below a number of different tactics available. It’s up to you to decide what is best to suit your goals:

■ Social media activity: any of the platforms, LinkedIn, Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube

■ Face to face meetings with prospective clients

■ Email marketing

■ Press

■ Speaking or networking at events

■ Online adverts

■ Online articles

The possible list of marketing tactics is long but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything. Thinking about who you want to target to help achieve your goals, ask yourself what events they attend, how they network and where they get their information. If live events are out of the question, then it makes sense to focus on online.

There is a resource sheet to help you map out your 2023 goals which you can find here: https://www.canva.com/design/ DAFYejMRYGE/hBydCbheKff3nNHG46Rtqw/edit?utm_ content=DAFYejMRYGE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_ medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton. Good luck! Do connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more: Eileen Donaghey | LinkedIn ■

Eileen Donaghey

Eileen Donaghey

Consultant

Donaghey and Chance