Good2bSocial's 2023 Social Law Firm Index
How Well Did America's Top 200 Law Firms Leverage Digital Marketing in 2023?
About the Whitepaper
The Good2bSocial 2023 Social Law Firm Index takes a deep dive into how the nation's top 200 law firms (as ranked by American Lawyer) are using digital marketing to connect with and engage the target audience each needs to drive business development success. To determine how each is leveraging its online assets, we’ve spent months analyzing and measuring every firm's effectiveness and reach across all major social media platforms and content channels.
Within the pages of this report, you'll find:
Each firm's overall digital ranking, along with individual rankings for each social network: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Evaluations of each firm's use of thought leadership content and SEO on their websites.
The answers to your most pressing legal marketing questions directly from Good2bSocial's Founder & Executive Vice President of Strategy, Guy Alvarez
Key findings for the legal marketing industry
Rankings
We published our first Social Media Law Firm Index nine years ago when digital law firm marketing was still in its infancy. In fact, many firms were just beginning to understand the various tactics available to them. For most, a digital marketing strategy wasn't even a reality.
Much has changed since that first Index was released. Digital and social are now required components for any law firm marketing plan. Every Am Law 200 firm now has a social media presence; most leverage at least two digital media platforms.
So, which firms are making the best use of digital to reach and engage with their target audiences in 2023? Here's a summary of what we found:
First Place Overall Winner
Our 2023 first place winner Latham Watkins has successfully approached each platform to connect with their targeted audiences. Explore how the firm has created and delivered engaging and high-value content to a number of audiences.
Reed Smith has evolved its LinkedIn presence to begin focusing its communication through more Showcase pages for niche content. It now features more than 20 pages and climbing. Check out how segmenting its audience has led to better engagement for this year's first place winner.
Over 87% of Attorneys and
Law Firms are active on LinkedIn
No amount of chaos and upheaval could slow down Brown Rudnick on X/Twitter. Once they figured out there wouldn't be a mass exodus, they got more creative with their strategy and content, experimenting with different approaches. Discover what the firm did to make its Twitter presence worthy of our #1 ranking.
SEO
K&L Gates implemented an SEO strategy designed to enhance its online visibility, attract high-quality traffic and establish credibility. Discover what the firm has done to earn Google’s attention, as well as our #1 ranking for SEO.
60% of marketers say that inbound (SEO, blog content, etc.) is their highest quality source of leads.
DLA Piper effectively leverages Instagram to highlight their commitment to colleagues, clients and communities. Adopting more videos and reels into their presence helped drive engagement and earn DLA Piper our #1 Instagram ranking for 2023.
Instagram accounts for 7.51% of web traffic referrals from social media
Thought Leadership
Baker McKenzie takes thought leadership very seriously, constantly asking how can we add a fresh perspective? Explore how this firm uses thought leadership to stay on top of market developments and assess their impact on different sectors.
81.4% of thought leadership content results in organic traffic
Littler Mendelson has built an award-winning Facebook presence. They use the platform as a way to connect with potential recruits and to showcase the culture and human face of their firm. Dig in to see how a mix of videos, honors, displays of firm culture and other engaging content drove them to first place.
YouTube
Using curated playlists and trending series has pushed Mayer Brown to our #1 spot this year. Check out how producing practical and high-quality content led them to connect with a growing list of clients.
91% of businesses use video
as a marketing tool
Podcast
Norton Rose Fulbright has been creating podcasts long before they were the thing to do. Explore how this year's first-place winner uses their podcasts to establish its expertise, drive traffic to their website and keep listeners coming back.
68.5% of law firms
have podcasts
Most Improved: Bracewell
Predictions for 2024
Law firm digital marketing has evolved significantly since we first published our Index in 2013. Now that nearly all firms understand the importance of social media to their overall marketing strategy, we expect the field to evolve even further and anticipate that firms of all sizes will continue to discover ever-more sophisticated and creative ways of leveraging their digital presence.
Are you sick of AI yet? Hopefully not, because we know there will be a lot more of it in the coming year.
It's time for law firms to start exploring TikTok to keep connecting with prospective clients. It's not just for dance or makeup tutorials anymore.
Speaking of video, with coming technological advancements, video marketing is poised for a major overhaul.
Deepfakes have already permeated the courtroom, and they will only get harder to detect and have the potential to throw a wrench in the traditional understanding of evidence in courts.
New metrics will shift how marketers determine what's successful and what's not. With Google doing away with third-party cookies, the challenge most marketers see is that the loss of cookies effectively removes their tried-and-true method of tracking online conversions.
About Good2bSocial
Good2bSocial works with lawyers, law firms, and legal marketers serious about growth but who often become frustrated because the time, money, and effort they’ve spent on their digital campaigns doesn’t generate the returns they expected.
We offer a full suite of services, including high-impact content marketing, PPC, SEO, paid social, email marketing, marketing automation, website/microsite development, social media management and training. As the leading digital marketing agency serving the legal industry, Good2bsocial leverages unmatched industry experience with the latest technology to deliver and execute measurable marketing and business development strategies capable of helping our clients achieve their business and marketing objectives.