Most law firms engage in various forms of content marketing. Fewer actually practice true thought leadership marketing, however. Content may generate clicks but thought leadership establishes expertise, deepens relationships, and leads to new business. My strongly held beliefs about thought leadership marketing for lawyers are based on a decade’s worth of experience. As a lawyer myself, I don’t fault you for wanting more objective evidence. So here goes. What follows are seven statistics that speak to the importance of thought leadership. 

I live in Traverse City, a small town on the shore in northern Michigan. In the summer, we swim in Lake Michigan. In the winter, we hit the slopes. If I want to keep my beer cold at the beach, I buy a Yeti. If I want to keep my body warm while skiing, I buy North Face. I don’t shop around for the lowest-price cooler or jacket. I invest in the best product that I know is going to solve my issue, and I’ll pay the premium price the brand commands. Similarly, while few clients relish the idea of hiring a lawyer, they desire the outcomes that only a lawyer can deliver.

The old trope that “clients hire the lawyer not the law firm” still holds true, but it’s the lawyer’s expertise, not personality, that clients care most about. Sure, all else being equal, a client prefers to both trust and like their lawyer. However, between the alternative of an affable generalist and a curmudgeonly expert, the client will opt for results rather than rapport every time. It’s no longer (if it ever was) a relationship game, it’s an ideas game, and experts are winning. In 2020, thought leadership is more important than ever.

A new year is upon us. Will 2020 be the year you start getting serious about marketing and business development? Isn’t it time to be more purposeful and intentional about building your network and establishing yourself as an authority? Nothing is stopping you other than a limiting belief that it’s someone else’s job to bring in business. The good news is that you don’t have to be perfect. You just need to get started.

Thought-leadership marketing will play an increasingly important role in law firm marketing and business development in 2020. A lawyer may be an expert, but unless they share that expertise in the marketplace of ideas, their expertise won’t be visible. As a result, their practice will suffer. 

There is one marketing tactic that will help raise your profile, establish you as a thought leader, broaden your network, and fuel your business development better than any other in 2020 — starting a podcast. Rewards await.