Building & Managing a Successful LinkedIn Strategy in a Law Firm Environment

Transcription

1 Building & Managing a Successful LinkedIn Strategy in a Law Firm Environment February 20, 2014 Geoffrey A. Vance Ann S. Meyer Jackie B. Sinn Boston Brussels Chicago Düsseldorf Frankfurt Houston London Los Angeles Miami Milan Munich New York Orange County Paris Rome Seoul Silicon Valley Washington, D.C. Strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices (Shanghai) 2013 McDermott Will & Emery. The following legal entities are collectively referred to as "McDermott Will & Emery," "McDermott" or "the Firm": McDermott Will & Emery LLP, McDermott Will & Emery AARPI, McDermott Will & Emery Belgium LLP, McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP, McDermott Will & Emery Studio Legale Associato and McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP. These entities coordinate their activities through service agreements. This communication may be considered attorney advertising. Previous results are not a guarantee of future outcome.

2 What We ll Discuss Today History of LinkedIn at McDermott Our Firm s LinkedIn Partner Initiative Launch, Development and Tracking Creating a Presence on LinkedIn with Company Profile & Branded Groups McDermott Discovery Seizing a LinkedIn Group Opportunity Where We Are Today Successes & Keeping Momentum 2

3 History of LinkedIn at McDermott Firm has a LinkedIn Company Profile managed by Marketing Initial page created December Those following the Firm s LinkedIn account including lawyers, staff, alumni and clients Firm newsletters and events appear as activities on the Firm s LinkedIn profile to showcase thoughtleadership on business legal issues and industry trends We had a small number of partners with a limited presence on LinkedIn and not proactively engaged LinkedIn Groups were created randomly and not managed nor branded Untapped value to attorneys, staff or Firm 3

4 Seizing An Opportunity CMO realized disconnect between partners and LinkedIn Created Awareness to Firm Leaders CMO presents data and background to Co-Chairs and Executive Committee on benefits of LinkedIn, partners having profiles and actively using the network Firm Leadership sees value in the initiative to build and enhance the Firm s marketing strategies and individual partner presence Firm Chairmen Kick-Off LinkedIn Initiative at Firm s Partner Retreat (Spring 2013) 4

5 McDermott s LinkedIn Initiative: Communications & Training Created a Communications Strategy Used Firm Campaign System to share individual communications on training sessions, best practice materials and gathering profile data 5

6 McDermott s LinkedIn Initiative: Communications & Training (cont.) Hired a Social Media Consultant Conducted training sessions for partners on importance of LinkedIn, the benefits to creating a profile and using the network Hosted across U.S. and European offices (video and in-person) Conducted training sessions for key Firm practice groups: McDermott Discovery Hosted small partner coaching groups 6

7 McDermott s LinkedIn Initiative: Tracking Metrics Leveraged Firm Tools to Track Metrics and Progress Throughout the Initiative Utilized InterAction for tracking lawyer profile data Analyzed data by practice and office Shared information with office leaders and practice group/business development leaders to create some competitive spirit and drive more profiles 7

8 McDermott s LinkedIn Initiative: Resource Tools Created a suite of resource materials for using LinkedIn, posted to the Firm s intranet Training video Best practices Guidelines 8

9 McDermott s LinkedIn Initiative: Creating Groups & Refreshing Company Profile McDermott LinkedIn Groups Took inventory of groups randomly created surrounding the Firm and established a protocol for ownership and branding Currently have three active groups focused on Discovery, Associates and Alumni LinkedIn Company Profile Enhancements Regular updates on Firm news, products/services, sharing links to posted newsletters, special publications and event updates Creating more engaging posting campaigns related to Firm events numerous weeks prior to help set the stage (promote key speakers, special sponsors, interesting location such as sunny Florida) Moving toward incorporating more use of images and ways to showcase community service and support 9

10 McDermott Discovery Launches LinkedIn Group Seized a LinkedIn Group Opportunity Started McDermott Discovery LinkedIn Group Focused on discovery and legal technology issues Resource to share news, article links, thought leadership Started in May 2013 and has grown to 190 followers Open for anyone to join and includes staff and lawyers from McDermott, other law firms, professionals from discovery vendors 100% McDermott Discovery participation Active management and contributions Cross-office and cross-practice connections Industry interaction and networking 10

11 McDermott LinkedIn Partner Initiative Where We Are Now 90% of our partners have profiles on LinkedIn Shared LinkedIn training tools/resources with Firm associates and integrating profile link with online bios Requesting LinkedIn data from our new lawyer hires Enhanced the activities/postings being made to the Firm s Company Profile and created targeted social networking campaigns surrounding large events or sponsorships We have seen a 56% increase in followers to our Firm s LinkedIn Company Profile in the last 8 months 11

12 McDermott LinkedIn Partner Initiative Where We Are Now (cont.) Encourage lawyers to share Firm client alerts and other special reports or event announcements on their individual LinkedIn profiles The Firm s website and external communications promote our social media presence on LinkedIn Lawyer biographies have LinkedIn icons on individual bios (for those who opt in) LinkedIn icon has been added to Firm branded signatures which links to the Firm s profile page or individual s profile 12

13 Success Stories Lawyers have reconnected with old schoolmates and colleagues, opening up a dialogue and have gained business and referrals Lawyers have connected with others they ve admired in the industry which then in turn has opened up new opportunities for speaking and writing engagements Partners have been surprised to find the path to an introduction to a new prospect can come easily just by connecting with associates 13

14 LinkedIn Group Success from a Practice Group Leader s Perspective Manages Twitter and LinkedIn group accounts concurrently Demonstrates equality of group membership and contribution Links my team with McDermott s marketing team Creates a forum to broadcast achievements, accolades, articles and promotions internally and externally Establishes de facto McDermott Discovery alumni network Improves the group s brand and reputation Enables targeted sales and marketing; pre-and-post pitch connections 14

15 Keeping the Momentum Collect and share the Firm success stories of how LinkedIn has worked as a business development tool for our lawyers Keep the content fresh across Groups and Company page, continue to encourage the lawyers to share relatable content Keep the momentum going across the partnership with communication reminders Share training and resources with associates and other nonattorney administrative staff with the idea we are one law firm Keep the attention and support of law firm leadership to encourage and reward participation in the LinkedIn initiative 15

16 Questions & Answers Thank You! Geoffrey A. Vance, Partner & Head of McDermott Discovery / gvance@mwe.com Ann S. Meyer, Technology Manager, Marketing & Business Development / ameyer@mwe.com Jackie B. Sinn, Senior Communications Manager / jborta-sinn@mwe.com 16