Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, MinterEllison partner Paul Kallenbach said the firm’s online marketing strategy has changed significantly since the inception of social media, which has forced it to adapt to a new way of operating and attracting clients.

“Our corporate website plays a different role to social media. The website is a more traditional way of communicating, offering opportunities to communicate corporate information, content and thought leadership, as well as profiling specific areas of the firm and its expertise, credentials and capabilities. It allows us to broadcast messages to our audience,” Mr Kallenbach said.

“Social media has changed the dynamics of how we interact online. With social media, we can interact and talk with individuals on a one-to-one basis.

“The ideal situation is to have social media and website content aligned, so that clients can access a rich suite of content and see the full scope of the firm's expertise and capabilities, and then also engage in two-way communications with the firm in a way that is tailored and meaningful to that client.”

Mr Kallenbach noted that Minters has many online channels it leverages to reach current and potential clients.

“[These include] specialist blogs, LinkedIn, Instagram, SlideShare, Twitter and Facebook, and so for us, online simply offers additional channels we can tap into,” he said.

“Because we think about online in this manner, it means our online marketing strategies are tightly integrated into our marketing planning. It is important that all of our marketing channels are aligned, online and offline, to ensure we portray a consistent brand, with consistent messages, across all of the channels we leverage.

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“We are also very aware of interacting with channels for specific purposes, and that we know will reach the desired audience. For example, LinkedIn is very much a business tool, and we interact with it extensively to reach current and potential clients. Facebook, however, is a great channel for communicating with law graduates, but I wouldn’t expect to use it to reach members of the C-suite. It is really important to be specific and be clear on who you want to reach, and the best channel or channels to do this.”

However, Mr Kallenbach noted that relying on a personal social media account is not enough. He said it’s important to leverage employee networks to reap the most rewards.

“Relying on your own social media account is not enough. Leveraging your employee networks to like/share/comment on your content is a powerful way to reach many networks that you wouldn’t otherwise reach,” he said.

“If your people are endorsing your content, chances are their networks will want to know more and will follow you too.”