Can Social Media Pull Consultants into the 21st Century?

When it comes to adopting new trends and technologies, it’s not unusual for consulting firms to lag behind everyone else. And the rise of social media platforms for marketing is no exception.

After clients paved the way with their own programs, consultants now seem ready to get on board. That’s according to a study of 74 consulting firms conducted by Bloom Group, BlissPR, and the Association for Management Consulting Firms.

“The study shows that consulting firms are beginning to use social media to rethink the very marketing practice they pioneered years ago–what increasingly is referred to as thought leadership marketing,” said Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group.

Two of the study’s findings caught my attention. First, according to the study, consulting firms are expanding their budgets for social media to an estimated 18 percent of marketing expenses. This run up is happening even though “…a majority of consulting firms are still unsure about how to best market their ideas,” said Meg Wildrick, managing director at BlissPR.

Second, the emergence of social media could transform how consulting firms market their businesses. Five years from now, social media programs are projected to account for about a third of consultants’ marketing budgets. That’s about the same amount as firms currently spend for offline and “traditional” online thought leadership marketing initiatives.

If you’ve hesitated to add elements of social media to your marketing mix, this study should be your wake-up call: Thought Leadership Rewired: How Consulting Firms are Using Social Media to Market Their Ideas.