A brief look at how some leading professional services firms use LinkedIn.

1. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRMS ON LINKEDIN – A BRIEF OVERVIEW
September 2011
Professional Services and Management Consulting firms, like others, use LinkedIn as a key component in
their Social Media strategies. However, given the areas they consult on (such as risk management, audit,
corporate governance, and other sensitive areas), they need to be particularly careful about their Social
Media presence.
This does not however restrict them from using many of the tools available to help build their
businesses through Social Media. Given the B2B nature of their business, LinkedIn can be an important
part of their business-building strategies.
A sample of some of the leading professional services and management consulting firms (e.g. Deloitte,
PWC, KPMG, Ernst and Young, Grant Thornton, Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Mercer
LLC, Deloitte Consulting) suggest that these firms use their LinkedIn Company Pages for any or all of the
following –
 Company recruiting
 News items about the company
 Company summary overview
 Stock information
 HQ address
 Company personnel activity on LinkedIn
Mercer stands out by virtue of running LinkedIn ad campaigns (announced on its Company Page), and
Company Twitter feed.
While it would be difficult to determine how all these firms are using the paid advertising features on
LinkedIn, a review of their pages suggests that there are opportunities to enhance their LinkedIn page
presence. For example, there could be enhanced sections for Products and Services, including video
content. All professional firms strive to be thought and knowledge leaders in their respective areas of
expertise, and perhaps this section could be creatively used to further their reputation.
Other LinkedIn features can be synergistically used in conjunction with enhanced Company Pages, such
as LinkedIn Answers (where a firm can sponsor contextually relevant topics for their target audiences);
LinkedIn content ads (in which tweets, blogs and videos etc. can be shared); and significantly, LinkedIn
Events, which can be used to promote business conferences and webinars, as well as other types of
events.

2. Given the ability to precisely target prospects, and LinkedIn users’ high level of engagement (e.g. in
terms of time spent per visit - Source: comScore Canada Media Metrix January 2011), there may be an
opportunity for professional firms to further leverage their LinkedIn presence.
If you’d like to check out the LinkedIn Pages of a number of major firms, you can follow this link:
http://www.stormscape.com/inspiration/website-lists/consulting-firms/
If you’re a professional services firm in Canada and are looking to find out more about marketing
opportunities on LinkedIn, you can contact Gary Fearnall, Online, Mobile, Social Media and
Ecommerce Advisor, at gfearnall@linkedin.com