& Co. improve?
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!
strategy. They are consistent, in terms of Open the channels of communication
quality and quantity of output, and have
with prospects
a strong following (even if there is room
Overall, Wragge Lawrence Graham &
for improvement).
Co. has a very good Twitter account but
they fail to instigate dialogues with their followers. Their tweets are generally of
a high quality - and yet there is very little evidence of the firm speaking direct-
ly with online users. This is potentially
problematic because they are not max-
imising the opportunities of social me-
dia.
!
If a legal firm wants to increase their
brand awareness and improve on their
client relationships, then it’s important
to make a systematic effort to speak
with followers. Sending reports and
newsletters directly to prospects will in-
crease your chances of it being read and
shared.
!
It’s much easier to sign on new clients if you’ve already established a long-term
relationship via Twitter.
!
Improve brand awareness
For an established London legal firm,
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. don’t
have as many Twitter followers as you
might expect. This could be due to a va-
riety of reasons, but it’s apparent that the firm need to do more to increase their
brand awareness in the digital sphere.
!
Overall, however, Wragge Lawrence
Graham & Co. have a very good pres-
ence on Twitter and have established for
themselves an effective social media
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!
Eversheds
!!
@Eversheds
This is a common problem in any large
!
Twitter account, but it means that Ever-
Eversheds are one of largest legal firms
shed’s following should be considered
in London - both in terms of size and
to be roughly 7,ooo.
annual profits. They have a plethora of
!
offices across the world, like many of
Nevertheless, this is still very impres-
the firms in this report, but Eversheds
sive and is a testament to Eversheds’ sta-
are truly diverse. You can find their of-
tus as thought leader in their sector.
fices everywhere from Germany, to
There are a variety of reasons why the
Tunisia, and even Iraq.
firm has enjoyed so much success up
!
until this point in time.
As a reflection of this diversity, Ever-
!
sheds don’t have one area of expertise
Variety of quality content
and instead cover a breadth of practice
Eversheds have realised that their ser-
areas, including:
vices are applicable to a wide range of
!
industries, so their Twitter account and
• Corporate finance
its content reflects this diversity too:
• Employment
• Government
• Litigation
!
Given the scale of Eversheds, it seems
logical that the firm have a substantial
following on Twitter:
Eversheds are very good at sending out
What do Eversheds do well?
content which has mass appeal and can
!
be used by a wide range of online users,
With nearly 14,000 followers at this cur-
even if they don’t work within the legal
rent point in time, Eversheds have one
sector. This is a huge advantage for
of the largest followings of any legal
Eversheds and goes some way in ex-
firm in this report. However, it should be plaining why the firm have been so suc-noted that over 50% of their followers
cessful on Twitter.
!
are either fake or inactive:
In addition to this, the content itself
originates from the firm’s press office
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and is widely popular due its high quali-
!
ty. Given how regularly this content is
How can this be replicated?
distributed, Eversheds has managed to
!
establish itself as a consistent provider
Devote quality time to updating Twitter of useful and engaging content.
Eversheds are proficient at tweeting to
!
their followers on a consistent basis,
Frequent distribution
both in terms of frequency and quality.
Eversheds are also very good at updat-
This is something that many legal firms
ing their Twitter account regularly and
fail to do; meaning that they aren’t max-
providing their followers with the most
imising the opportunities of social me-
current news available. The account is
dia to its fullest potential.
used primarily to promote corporate ma-
!
terials, but the tweets themselves are
For those firms who want to update their
very diverse and make this fact less ap-
Twitter more regularly, then it’s impor-
parent.
tant to establish your social media pres-
!
ence through informative and entertain-
Regardless of the legal firm, in business, ing tweeting. This is how you help to
it’s vital to use Twitter in a frequent and build up meaningful relationships with
consistent manner. This is how you
clients.
build meaningful customer relationships
!
and increase brand awareness.
Nurture universal appeal in social con-
!
tent
Event promotion
Although there are potential downsides
In addition to these points, Eversheds is
to Eversheds only having one Twitter
very good at utilising their social media
account, they have managed to over-
account to effectively advertise their
come this problem in a very effective
corporate events. Their Twitter page is
way. Their social media content isn’t
filled with useful information about up-
dedicated to one particular topic or tar-
coming events and other interesting oc-
geted at an individual sector. Instead, the casions:
account has universal appeal through
sharing a variety of different interesting articles.
!
How can Eversheds improve?
!
This type of social content is helpful,
Communicate more with clients
engaging, and very informative for
Eversheds could improve upon their
Eversheds’ Twitter followers. It also
Twitter presence by making a real effort
helps to break-up the more general
to engage directly with users. Although
tweets which promote corporate materi-
their social content is always well-re-
als.
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ceived, the firm fails to communicate
Devote time to students
with their followers on a regular basis.
Many of the firms in this report have in-
This is unfortunate because Eversheds
dividual accounts dedicated specifically
are potentially failing to maximise the
to graduates and cultivating potential
business potential of Twitter.
recruitment opportunities for the future.
!
Although Eversheds is a popular choice
To combat this problem, Eversheds
for prospective employees, the firm
could consider sending their publica-
doesn’t have a Twitter account created
tions directly to their followers who
for this purpose. This is an unfortunate
need it the most. This would increase
omission because it means that gradu-
their chances of generating leads and
ates might be dissuade from contacting
help them to reinforce their brand
Eversheds for this very reason.
awareness across a wider platform.
!
!
Their main competitors have graduate
Create a separate account for different accounts, so it makes sense that Ever-countries
sheds should do.
As a global brand which spans multiple
continents, it’s surprising that Eversheds don’t have more than one Twitter account. At this current point in time, their account is designed to appeal to a mass
group of individuals across the world
from multiple sectors. This is somewhat
problematic because not all of their so-
cial content can be universally relevant.
!
If Eversheds want to change this, they
might want to create separate accounts
which target different audiences in a
more direct way. For example, Ever-
sheds have three offices in China alone.
They also have multiple offices in the
Middle East. If they want to appeal to
foreign prospects more directly, then it
would be useful to create Twitter ac-
counts which segment and targeted these
individuals in an efficient manner.
!!!
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Consistency
Skadden,
One of the reasons for Skadden Arps’
success is that they are consistent in de-
Arps, Slate, livering quality tweets to their followers.
On the pragmatic level, all of their so-
cial content serves a very practical pur-
Meagher & pose: to share corporate materials with online users. As a result, the Skadden
Arps Twitter account is very useful em-
Flom
ployees and investors in the legal indus-
try.
!
@SkaddenArps
!
Universal content
Given that Skadden Arps are a global
Skadden Arps are a London-based legal
legal brand, they have used their Twitter
firm who have gone from strength to
account to communicate a variety of
strength in recent years. They have 23
topics which are relevant around the
offices across the globe, including in
world. Although there are potential
every major financial centre, and they
downsides to this method, as this report
are continually rated highly in terms of
will soon explore, this also gives Skad-
professional excellence.
!
den Arps a significant advantage.
!
In addition to this, the firm also have a
bold approach to social media as part of
their wider business strategy.
!
The Skadden Arps Twitter account is
undoubtedly successful; for a company
that does not follow a single user, they
have amassed over 6000 followers at
this current point in time.
!
Arguably, one of the reasons for their
success is that their content has such
universal appeal. It doesn’t matter what
Overall, this a testament to the firm’s
sector you work within, or where you’re
status as a respected leader in their field.
!
based, this Twitter account is very useful for gaining a clear understanding of the
What do Skadden Arps do well?
!
legal climate on an international level.
!
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Nevertheless, it should be noted that
is a good example of a business ‘know-
having this level of general appeal can
ing’ what their audiences want. Howev-
also be problematic too. By attempting
er, this system obviously works for
to appeal to everyone, it’s possible that a Skadden Arps who have amassed a sig-firm won’t create any meaningful rela-
nificant following on Twitter.
tionships in the process. This might
Although there is definite merit in seg-
partly explain, therefore, why the firm
menting your audience and targeting
never engages in active dialogue with
them individually, it would seem that
other Twitter users.
the opposite approach can also work.
!
Creating a Twitter account which has
How can this be replicated?
popular appeal achieves exactly what it
!
sets out to do: accrue a large following
The numbers speak for themselves - the
over a range of customer types.
Skadden Arps Twitter account is hugely
!
popular across the world. If other firms
How can Skadden Arps improve?
wish to emulate this success, then there
!
are certain lessons they can take from
Tweet more regularly
the Skadden Arps example.
Generally, the Skadden Arps Twitter ac-
!
count will only tweet when they have a
Always promote your publications on
new publication to promote. This means
that their followers can expect to hear
The bread and butter of any good corpo-
from the firm once every few days.
rate Twitter account is using it to pro-
!
mote corporate material. This is some-
To create a more substantial and loyal
thing that Skadden Arps excel in doing;
following on Twitter, then it would be
in fact, they are able to update their so-
beneficial for Skadden Arps to commu-
cial content once every few days to
nicate with their followers more regular-
achieve this task.
ly. This means taking the time to com-
!
municate with clients and prospects
If your firm is looking to appeal directly when not self-promoting.
to others in the legal industry, then ad-
!
vertising your publications on Twitter
Overall, this may help the legal firm to
can both convenient and very easy to do.
increase their following further and im-
It doesn’t require much energy and your
prove their brand awareness.
content can reach a huge audience num-
!
ber within the click of a button.
Communicate with others
!
The Skadden Arps Twitter account is
Know your audience
only being used to inform followers
It’s difficult to say whether a generalised about publications and news events sur-Twitter account, which has mass appeal,
rounding the firm. The account does not
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follow any other users and there is no
The content itself is of incredibly high
communication whatsoever between the
quality, however, the tweets are other-
firm and its clients.
wise unengaging and not always infor-
!
mative enough.
This is a significant problem. One of the
!
main reasons that companies turn to so-
Here is a good example of this problem:
cial media is to improve their business
relationships. Twitter provides legal
firms with the opportunity to share con-
tent directly with individuals who are
invested in the brand. Over long periods
The tweet isn’t descriptive enough to
of time, this helps to generate leads and
catch the reader’s attention. There is no
increase brand awareness over a large
indication about what the report will en-
social platform.
!
tail or who it was written by. For this
reason, the firm could benefit from en-
However, this is an opportunity that
suring that all of their social content is Skadden Arps is not currently maximis-consistent in quality and its usefulness
ing to its fullest potential. At this current to the reader.
point in time, their Twitter account is
!
more like a bulletin board, rather than a
Rather than just tweeting about their
social media platform.
!
publications, Skadden Arps should con-
sider communicating about a variety of
If the firm wants to improve upon this
different (related) topics and sharing
problem, then they should consider
useful content from other sources.
making a systematic effort to develop
!
meaningful business relationships over
It’s much easier for prospects to recog-
Twitter.
!
nise a client’s prestige if they can imag-
ine the brand within a wider business
Mix things up
context. At this current point in time, the Skadden Arps’ Twitter account could be
Skadden Arps is entirely cut off from
improved by being less conservative in
communication with other thought lead-
its demeanour. The account is currently
ers.
being used as a promotional tool to ad-
vertise the company’s corporate publica-
tions. This is incredibly for useful for
Skadden Arps’ clients and prospects, but
the overall account lacks any overt sense
of personality.
!
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