McKinsey to Professional Services: “Huge ROI From Social Media”

If you lead or do the marketing or business development for professional service firm (includes accounting, advertising and marketing, architecture, management consulting, engineering, IT, legal, and scientific research services) then know this:

The professional services industry has the greatest potential of any industry to see huge return-on-investment benefits from social media.

That comes from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) 40-page report: The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity through Social Technologies — Professional Services (PDF) and according to MGI:

Professional services firms, more so than other businesses, are innately social organizations. They depend very heavily on social interactions — with clients and among professional colleagues — to carry out their work and develop new business.

The MGI report lays out your call to action:

• Externally, social media is a powerful tool to build overall brand strength and awareness and to signal subject matter expertise.
• At relatively low cost, professional services firms can establish credibility as thought leaders with a wide audience.
• Firms can use social media — home pages, tweets, blogs — to share knowledge initiatives, circulate press releases or video interviews, stimulate debate around topical issues, and build public awareness about what they do.
• By creating and sharing valuable content such as white papers, case studies, or how-to videos, even smaller professional services firms can create significant visibility and recognition as experts.

I could say more but you might absorb less.

How are you using social media to signal your subject matter expertise?