Greentarget

Noah Kerwin

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We hear it all the time: the next generation of talent—and leadership—wants more. More balance in their careers. More alignment with their values. More engagement with social issues.

The world of professional services firms—buttoned-up places that have traditionally skewed white, male and older, especially in leadership ranks—is particularly vulnerable to emerging stakeholders’ preferences. In a recent poll, less than 40% of Gen Z lawyers said they would like to join one of the U.S.’s largest 200 firms, down from nearly 60% just three years prior. Meanwhile, recent news out of law firm Barber Ranen involving the name partners’ racist, sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic emails (and those partners’ subsequent exit from the firm) is just one more indication that times are changing. Behavior that might once have been papered over now (rightly) carries significant consequences.

The question, then, isn’t whether these generational shifts are here or will have an impact. That’s a fait accompli. Rather, today’s business leaders should be asking how they can best communicate with their younger workers and clients to mitigate risks and set themselves up for success for years to come. Here’s how.  

Get to Know This New Audience

You can look up all the statistics you want: that younger employees care more about corporate culture; that almost 90% of millennial lawyers want flexibility and work-from-home options; that roughly half of accounting and finance students and young professionals cite personal well-being and mental health as a concern and think a great work-life balance is a key attraction factor for employment.

But while that’s a good start, it takes more to operationalize efforts at your own firm. Start by asking some key questions to help hone in: 

  • Who is our audience, internally and externally?
  • How quickly are their expectations evolving?
  • What messages do they need to hear and who should they hear them from?
  • How can we support our messages with tangible actions? 

 Social media listening, focus groups, surveys, and routine conversations with teammates and clients are extremely helpful tools for answering these questions.

For instance, one major law firm we work with held a series of focus groups last year to create messaging that would help attract and retain attorneys in a post-COVID landscape. The resulting messages—highlighting alternative career paths, the firm’s supportive culture, its initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, and a robust benefits program—were in large part aimed at this next generation of lawyers. They also helped with the continued evolution of their sponsoring and mentoring initiatives and talent outreach.

You can do the same with clients: Voice of the Client research can help build a multi-faceted understanding of your client’s needs, expectations and pain points—and can update your approach to the coming generation.

Establish and Live Up To Your Firm’s Values 

What does your professional services firm stand for? Why do you do what you do? And what impact do you make in the community, the nation, and the world?

These questions may sound lofty or even squishy to hard-charging business leaders. But these are the elements that millennials and Gen Z care most about. And MIT research shows that even if companies have a set of values written down, far too few are translating them into action in any tangible way.

The good news is since many organizations don’t meaningfully connect their actions to their values, you have an opportunity to set your firm apart in the minds of emerging stakeholders. To do so, you’ll need to look at your existing mission, governing principles, and values and honestly assess how well you’re living up to them. 

For example, if your values state that you’re committed to creating an internal culture that’s welcoming and inclusive, evaluate what building blocks you’ve put in place to make that value a reality. Have you taken steps to attract and retain a more diverse workforce? Are you actively combating harassment at your firm? Are you elevating diverse voices and ensuring people from underrepresented groups have a seat at leadership tables?

You’ll also need to be able to read the room and pivot when necessary. One professional services firm we work with did just that – after a series of acquisitions, the firm realized it needed to step up its executive communications game, particularly when it came to reaching newer, younger and prospective employees. A content campaign of internal emails and byline articles from one of the firm’s leaders brought the organization’s values to life in a personal, authentic way—and aimed to infuse the firm’s work with purpose, meaning, technological innovation, and fun.

Embrace an Authentic, Transparent Approach to Communication

Finally, you’ll need to evolve your firm’s communication style to earn the trust of a younger audience. Follow these best practices as you get started:

  • Carefully consider who to appoint as your firm’s spokesperson in each PR situation. Your CEO or managing partner may not always be the ideal choice, even when you’re countering negative press. A community leader, boots-on-the-ground manager, or third-party expert might be better suited to make your case and establish (or reestablish) trust.
  • Be strategic about the channels you use when communicating with younger audiences. Social media channels—especially YouTube and TikTok—are more effective at reaching Millennials and Gen Z than traditional media outlets. When you do communicate using these channels, be sure to keep a close eye on your audience’s comments and reactions. Staying engaged even in the face of criticism or intense questioning is key to demonstrating trustworthiness.
  • Avoid jargon and corporate speak. Use clear, straightforward language that paints a compelling picture. Don’t be afraid to pull back the curtain on your decision making process or draw on personal experiences. Younger audiences in particular roll their eyes at any hint of obfuscation.
  • Back up your words with action. Authenticity doesn’t just come from words—it comes from meaningful and concrete actions that support those words, whether it’s new hybrid working policies, benefits programs, mentorship opportunities, or DEI initiatives.

The Future is Now for Better Communications and Better Business

It’s imperative that professional services firms recognize the capabilities of Gen Zers and millennials, and work towards meeting their needs as soon as possible. That makes sense from more than a recruitment standpoint. Soon, those generations will also be in need of your services—but only if you take the time to establish trust now.

Taking steps to develop and adhere to strong corporate values, operate transparently and ethically, and understand stakeholder sentiments just make good sense, for your operations today as well as for the future of your business.

Greentarget knows how to develop PR strategies that speak the language of every generation. As a full-service communications firm, we’d love to help you position your firm for success now and down the road. Let’s talk.

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In today’s digital-first environment, people are empowered to seek out uniquely meaningful information from an ever-growing pool of sources. Counter to this growth in choice, however, is the declining trust in traditional media channels, with business emerging as the most-trusted institution.

That’s according to Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer. For organizations, notably professional service providers, this is an opportunity – maybe even an obligation – to provide answers in times of great uncertainty through owned content channels. To be clear, traditional earned media engagement remains an invaluable tool and likely always will. But increased trust in business means that every research report, blog post, white paper, or podcast demonstrates your firm’s ability to meet the specific needs of your audience, helping them make sense of an increasingly chaotic world.

As such, some of the things that we (along with others in the public relations and content marketing space) have been saying for years about the importance of producing owned content – and producing it well – have never been more salient.

1. Quality, Self-Published Content Establishes Your Firm’s Authority

The experts at your firm know your industry inside and out. They possess valuable insight and experience that benefit your clients every day. And their deep knowledge empowers them to communicate positions of authority that differentiate your firm from the competition.

It can seem counterintuitive to give some of their hard won expertise away for free. But that’s exactly what effective content marketers do. They identify topics and ideas that will resonate with prospective clients and provide useful information to help solve their toughest challenges. This establishes credibility and sparks the prospect’s interest to learn more. 

How Sharing Expertise through Content Generates Business

Here’s a real-life example of how the content marketing dynamic works. I’m an avid runner, and I recently began experiencing hip pain that slowed me down. I turned to Google for answers. My search brought me to an article on the Treadlabs blog that explained how different types of foot arches can influence a runner’s gait. I scoured their site to learn more about what might be causing my issues. After reading several of their in-depth, thoughtful articles, I deduced that my high arches were the culprit. As a result, I purchased insoles from their site. They gained a happy customer, and I found a solution to lessen my pain. 

Although this is a B2C example, the same principle works in the B2B space. Communicating your message directly to your audience in a way that’s useful and informative draws them in and shows them the value of becoming your client.

Your Owned Media Program Must Function Like a Well-Oiled Machine to Be Effective

As you create an owned media/content marketing program at your firm, be aware of the pitfalls that can hinder your progress. For one thing, generating content takes a tremendous amount of time and attention. As such, it’s crucial to think like a publisher. Stay hyper focused on your content plan. Determine what questions your target audience needs answered and set deadlines to publish content regularly. Consistency is the name of the game. 

Additionally, it’s unlikely your subject matter experts have the bandwidth to author their own content without significant support. They have myriad priorities competing for their professional attention. And without a plan, your owned media goals can easily fall to the bottom of their lengthy to-do list. 

As a marketing leader, it will take a concerted effort on your part to draw out your colleagues’ expertise. Furthermore, you will have to think through how to position their ideas in a way that matters to your audience. You may find it necessary to hire an employee to focus on this effort or engage a comms agency to help. 

2. Content Marketing Gives You a Direct Line to Your Target Audience 

Media attention can be a cause for both celebration and concern. Yes, it’s exciting when a journalist picks up your story. But at the same time, you ultimately have no control over how that news outlet communicates your message. They might shorten a quote, leave out salient information, or pick and choose what to focus on based on their own editorial needs. 

Furthermore, it’s difficult to track the effectiveness of these PR efforts. Given the multitude of media outlets available today, there’s no guarantee earned media coverage will reach your target audience at all.

By contrast, a solid content marketing strategy allows you to craft the right narrative using your own brand voice and style. For example, let’s say you want to communicate your firm’s position on a hot button social issue. Owned media allows you to contextualize and fully flesh out your position so that your meaning is crystal clear. 

Using keywords and smart SEO tactics help your audience find the information they’re looking for. But you don’t have to wait for organic search to bring you prospects. Using paid media and social channels, you can share and promote content to attract your target audience. Additionally, because your insights live on your site, you can easily track what prospects read, see how much time they spend on each piece of content, and observe whether they take the next step to subscribe to your emails, fill out your contact form, or request more information. 

3. Owned Media Can Generate More of the Earned Media Coverage You’re Looking For

It won’t happen overnight, but once you’ve established a consistent owned media program, you may find that it generates meaningful earned media coverage, too. Highlighting your firm’s expertise while simultaneously providing useful insights to your audience has the potential to command attention. 

As part of our own content marketing program, Greentarget has written and spoken about fake news and its impact on journalism for the past two years. We’ve conducted and published in-depth research and shared our POV on the topic with our audience in various channels. As a result, MSNBC picked up the story and used it as a basis for further exploration of and conversation around the topic.

We’ve worked with clients to achieve similar results with their owned media programs as well. It takes time and dedication, but the results speak for themselves.

Make Owned Media Part of Your Multi-Faceted Communications Program

Owned media isn’t meant to supplant your other communication efforts. Rather, it should work in tandem with your paid, social, and earned media efforts to function as part of a vibrant ecosystem. You write quality content and promote it via paid and social media channels. Your audience engages with that content by visiting your site and perhaps sharing insights with their own network. And when that happens, you’ve created the right conditions for journalists to use your content to craft compelling earned media stories. 

Do you need guidance thinking through how to tell your firm’s story while highlighting your talent’s expertise? We’d love to help direct conversations that matter as part of your comprehensive media strategy. Let’s talk.

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