Go back to March 2022. 6 months ago. We went on LinkedIn to look for digital marketing managers at law firms. We found 653. Fast forward to September 2022 — we found 1,217. An impressive 87% jump — and over 100% annualized.

And law firms are looking to add more. We found another 265 openings on the LinkedIn job site alone.

Even with this growth the digital strategy is understated in law firms. The most successful digital strategies create an ecosystem where each component supports and feeds the others. The key components of the ecosystem include:

• Website
• Thought Leadership
• SEO
• SEM (paid search)
• Blogs
• Firm LinkedIn Site
• Attorney LinkedIn Profiles
• Twitter
• Podcasts
• Video
• Business Development

Each of the tactics above can generate engagement and leads — but taken as a strategically designed set of supporting initiatives — it increases the engagement and inbound lead rates by multiples.

Note how business development is part of the digital ecosystem. The business development approach for leads generated through digital marketing is different than traditional marketing. The digitally generated leads expect the attorney with whom they speak to be knowledgeable about the thought leadership that originally captured their attention. This expectation will drive a new approach where law firms ensure these inbound leads get to the appropriate attorney.

The new marketing managers will help bring order and multiply the impact and benefit of current efforts. Digital marketing has the power to redefine market perception, brand, and value proposition. You can also use it for more targeted follow-up and to target the clients you really want.

The hiring frenzy suggests law firms are on to all this. We are likely to see a wave of epic success — where a few law firms will drive outsized growth and become a magnet for premium leads. These are the firms who will set the pace. The digital marketing race has become a lot more serious than it ever was — but not even close to what it will be.