The 2015 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey from Greentarget and Zeughauser Group is the fifth annual survey of in-house counsel regarding their usage of social media. The survey represents reporting from 181 in-house counsel and there’s a separate survey of 81 law firm chief marketing officers.
Some interesting insights from the survey include:
LinkedIn is #1. This is not surprising, but should validate for those of you who are active on this platform that if you’re looking to network with in-house counsel, you will find them here. According to the survey, 68% of in-house counsel have used LinkedIn in the past week, which is up 6% from 2014. Their #1 reason for using it is to network with professional colleagues, followed by connecting with outside counsel and obtaining business and professional news.
What this means: You need to have a great LinkedIn profile! Be sure you have the right keywords in your profile, use a professional photo, customize your profile URL, optimize your location, expand on and support your professional experience and get endorsements.
Repurpose your blog content. While in-house counsel’s readership of blogs is still high at 65%, the credibility they give those blog posts when they are on your law firm blog has dropped 10%, from 75% to 65%. However, when that same content is read on other platforms like LinkedIn, JDSupra or Lexology, the credibility rating for that content is much higher!
What this means: Maintaining a blog on your law firm website is still important for your credibility (74% of in-house counsel said they find law firm blogs “valuable”) and SEO, but you need to publish other places. “Always be sharing” is the new “always be selling."
Newsletters and client alerts work. In-house counsel rated client alerts and law firm newsletters as the two most valuable sources of content from law firms.
What this means: Targeted communication is what in-house counsel clients are yearning for from law firms. Delivering practice area-specific content directly to IHC inboxes should be the goal of every firm seeking business from in-house counsel. If you don’t already have a robust, automated email marketing program, put it on your 2016 to-do list now.