The brief
A quick overview on the firm: Shoosmiths is a top 20 law firm, supporting clients across the UK and internationally.
1,500+ members of staff, 14 offices… it’s a big business. But it was a business that had yet to employ a dedicated social media specialist.
That’s where Ryan came in.
Brought in to lead social media management, the brief was to raise the profile of the firm through strategic content with a particular focus on growing the firm’s LinkedIn presence.
The business had previously focused its external efforts on PR and communications, producing news stories and blog posts for its website and then using LinkedIn to point to them using stock imagery – a common approach for many B2B organisations and law firms specifically.
It’s an approach that had seen the firm pick up a respectable 22,000 followers on LinkedIn. But the potential was there for more. A lot more.
Success at a glance
Our approach to B2B social media management for Shoosmiths
One of the first things that stood out was the firm’s desire for social media content.
But desire alone doesn’t deliver results – it needed a strategy, not a scattergun approach.
So that came first: understanding what Shoosmiths was trying to achieve on LinkedIn, what it wanted to be known for, and who it was trying to speak to.
First, we looked at what content we had the resources to produce, what content would resonate with our target audience, how we wanted the firm to look and feel on social, and how employees could come to life as advocates.
Then it was time for action, delivering organic B2B social media management, covering:
- Strategy
- Content creation
- Day-to-day management
- Employee advocacy programme
- Comment and inbox management
- Monthly, quarterly and yearly analysis
The quality over quantity approach to LinkedIn
More content doesn’t equal more views or engagements – our guidance for LinkedIn is one post a day, max.
Shoosmiths had been posting two, three, sometimes even four times per day.
So, to reduce the output, we defined what the business’ social media content was, and came up with a framework that every post went through before it was published.
This meant the firm would position itself as the law firm it wanted to be, controlling the narrative on social media, and producing social content that our audience cared about.
It also meant we were able to focus on quality over quantity, maximising the potential of all content that was created by giving it time to breath and do its thing.
↳ The result: A decrease in posts by 43% to ~400 per year, while increasing followers, views, and engagements.
Social-first content
Remember the blogs and press releases? You know, that common B2B approach to social media → link back to website, always!
Well, that approach shifted. Those blogs and press releases were still published – but the way they were distributed was transformed.
They became branded carousels on LinkedIn, with key quotes and images; podcasts, bitesize videos, long-form text posts…
The content was repurposed from the website and came alive on social media.
↳ The result: A branded, social-first feed which picked up an average of ~15k engagements and clicks every month.
The diversification of content also meant we could expand seamlessly from LinkedIn onto Instagram – a visually led platform.
And so, the firm’s Instagram channel was launched.
LinkedIn employee advocacy programme
A business’ employees are the vehicles on LinkedIn that can drive eyes and ears to the company page.
Think about it: People follow brands on LinkedIn, but they engage with the people behind those brands.
And the firm had 1,200 employees ready to be activated.
That’s where the LinkedIn employee advocacy programme came into play – empowering the firm’s people to be active, visible voices on social media.
Ryan delivered 50+ presentations, workshops and drop-in sessions to support 300+ employees with making the most of their LinkedIn profiles and activity.
He even wrote a detailed guide on how to introduce an employee advocacy programme so you can encourage your staff to post on LinkedIn and increase your company’s social media visibility.
↳ The result: The firm reached a high of seventh in the world for the most active legal professionals on LinkedIn, with 21.1% of employees posting per month (industry average: 11%).
"The impact Ryan had on the firm's social media has been transformative. Put simply; he is a magician at work - not only in the way he reuses content in a slick and digestible social format but also in the way he is proactive about creating new content, with strategy in mind, always. Aside from the content creation, posting and inevitable soaring engagement, Ryan is also a master at de-bunking social myths and training up all those who require it in a way that leaves those learning wanting to engage. Ryan is also totally on top of changes in the social media environment such as algorithm changes."
Kara Shadbolt
Senior PR & Communications Manager
Shoosmiths
