As you scan your analytics, take note of the company and industry data reported for your readers and consider its relevance to your business development strategy. Ask:
1. Do we work with anyone in this company?
If yes, ask: do we serve them for the issue(s) discussed within this piece of content? Whatever the answer, share with your team supporting this client any relevant data points you can. Take note of how many times the company has read your post. A high number likely indicates that people are sharing your post internally; something has struck a chord. (Is a company you serve for tax issues reading your content about cybersecurity? Your don't need names to know it's time to offer that valued client's team a webinar on cybersecurity best practices!)
If you're not yet engaged with this company (and I assume you might want to be, since it caught your eye in analytics), you now have a general data point about what interests the leadership team within the organization. Share that with the relevant BD or pitch team; make note of it in your CRM.
A strong next step: consider accessing a Beacon Insights report on that company, looking at even wider readership (aka legal need and interest) within that organization from across the entire JD Supra platform. More on this below.
2. Does this suggest an industry trend?
You see that a reader at an interesting company within a strategically important sector engaged with your content. Could this indicate a trend that you should know and monitor, going forward? There are multiple ways to follow up on this.
First, filter your reader reports by industry (a drop down menu choice in your analytics), filtering by the industry given for this one reader. In other words, turn that single reader data point that caught your eye into a quick look at readership within an entire industry. That is always a worthwhile next step.
Do you serve clients in that industry? Are people in that sector reading about the issues for which you are known, and available? Are you seeing interest in matters that surprise you (ie, are you seeing potential growth opportunities)?
Share your reader report on a specific industry with relevant people within your firm. Consider a Beacon Insights report for an even deeper dive into reader interests within that industry; look for emerging/trending opportunities in the wider reader data. Who knew that cybersecurity was such a hot issues in the energy sector? Well, today, everyone does. Three years ago, it would have been the people paying attention to early data. Find your firm's next growth opportunity. Speaking of which...
3. Is this an unexpected content opportunity?
Did you write your post (or series of posts) with this industry- or company-specific audience in mind? This type of question gets to the heart of your content strategy, and its relationship to the firm's business strategy.
Ask: Is the company/industry engagement a happy surprise, a potential opportunity?
If yes, engage in conversation with the author. Why would someone in this space be interested in the work? What next writing might deepen our visibility, and help us understand interests and trends, within this company/industry?
If no, talk about which companies you actually want to be read by, and begin profiling their specific interests (hint: you have data to help with this). If the readership does not exactly resonate, you may need to adjust focus. Answers to these questions (and related) inform next steps by your thought leaders.
Armed with industry and company data in the aggregate, attorneys are able to ask probing questions in upcoming client conversations. Time well spent by everyone