Consultancies rely on socialmedia

Platform helps to build up a public profile that can be used to win clients

Consultants have always spent a considerable amount of time promoting their ideas and expertise by speaking at conferences and writing in journals. And now, increasingly, they are turning to social media to get noticed. “Two years ago, only one or two people at the firm were using it that I knew of. Now everyone is beginning to realise it is a good way of promoting themselves,” says William Grobel, a manager in Deloitte’s marketing insights practice. Grobel says his own extensive use of social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter has not only helped him be noticed by clients but has also boosted his profile internally within Deloitte. “The more you get known as an expert, the more likely people are to come to you and include you in a project,” he says. Consultancies have little choice but to turn to social media. Many of the journals that once published consultants’ papers have closed, shrunk or moved entirely online. Social media are often the only outlets left. “It is hard to pitch articles now and we often encourage partners to use social media, because the other pool is so small,” says Adrie Voges, a press manager at relations Deloitte. According to the AMCF/ Bloom Group study 43 per cent of buyers of consulting services said a social media mention would at least “moderately” influence their opinion of a consulting firm they had not used before. In addition, Patrick Pordage, marketing director at Cambridge Consultants, says social media have some unique advantages for consultants. “Social media platforms let personalities shine through in away that a highly polished press release can never do,” he says.