The head of your firm’s newest practice group just asked for help producing the "perfect" event: a day of in-person panel presentations and discussions around the key issues that matter to clients and prospective clients.

There's no argument that law firm events continue to be a vital asset in the marketing and business development toolbox. Events help your attorneys to engage directly and meaningfully with in-house counsel, business leaders, and others within your target sector(s). We all know this already, but...

How to put on the perfect program?

Start by seeing what data tells you to do. Here's how, with JD Supra's Beacon Insights:

1. Use Data to Focus Your Event's Programming

Among other things, the data within Beacon Insights industry and company reports helps you to see exactly what your clients and targets care about most. 

Log into your Beacon Insights dashboards to see industry and company interests across the entire breadth of JD Supra reader data (not just your own metrics) to draw up a list of potential topics for your event.

For example, let's say you're planning an event at the intersection of the Internet of Things and the law. Per the data issued in this report on Connected Items (and taken from Beacon Insights), you see that people interested in the topic care about cybersecurity (naturally!), but also have an interest in product liability, digital assets, COPPA, and EU regulations, among other things.  

Present those topics to the lawyers who will be participating in the upcoming event. It's likely a no-brainer that, to be relevant, any event about the Internet of Things will cover cybersecurity. The data supports that gut instinct common knowledge, and also shows that you might want to dedicate some time for your product liability team to step in and offer their insights on the burgeoning field of connected items. The data supports that, too.

There's nothing quite as powerful as building a program around the actual issues that matter to your attendees. Data helps to build internal consensus around the topics your lawyers should address in your programming - especially when you identify topics of interest that connect directly with the core offerings of your firm.

This type of dive into need-to-know concerns can be fruitful, no matter what your topic or industry focus.

[*Bonus tip: the data can also help you to develop a mini-campaign for promoting your event using blog posts and articles. The data identifies what to write about, how to frame the issues you’re covering (look at the titles of the most successful content on the topic), etc. At the end of each thought piece, promote your upcoming program and link to your registration page.]

2. Use Data to Identify Whom to Invite

The data available in Beacon Insights lets you go beyond the tired and possibly out-of-date firm invitation list. 

Use your data dashboards to identify the sectors and companies that are already most interested in the topics your lawyers will cover in the event.

For example, borrowing again from this brief on Connected Items, we see that interest in the topic extends into the healthcare sector, one of your key targets. You can take it a step further and also look at the specific companies within an industry interested in the topic at hand.

Here's the beginning of your invitation list, especially when combined with other data points already available to you (like client and prospect lists within those same sectors and companies). 

Expect to be pleasantly surprised by the data. Suggest to your practice leaders that you expand the event invitation list to include people in industries and companies now on your radar because of what you learned. You might not have considered them a good fit before seeing the data, but you now know that they have proven interest in what you'll be covering.

[Bonus tip: If the data identifies a client or target that is reading about topics on the agenda but can’t attend your program, the firm can still exploit the opportunity. Use LinkedIn to explore firm connections to identify who can reach out to those engaged, warm leads. Does it make sense to offer a webinar to out-of-town prospects?] 

3. Use Data to Determine Who In the Firm Should Participate (And How)

Beacon Insights can also tell you who from the firm should attend – and who should speak – at your program. 

For example, drawing from the Connected Items report again, as mentioned above, it might make a lot of sense to give your product liability team the stage for some period during the day's programming. Or, based on what you learn upon further discussion, your team focused on EU regulations or the FTC might have valuable insights for the program.

Knowledge is power - and the knowledge you are able to derive from Beacon Insights can help your team prepare for a successful event beyond determining who should speak on what topics.

Using our Connected Items report again, if the data tells you that people interested in this topic also care greatly about artificial intelligence, make sure that key attorneys focusing on AI within the firm are present in the room to field any audience questions that may come up during the day (regardless of whether they formally take the stage to present to the audience). Similarly, invite key attorneys to attend the post-event networking reception so that they can address any related queries that come up in the social gathering, when the best conversations actually take place.

"We want you to be on hand for this event because the people attending have shown an interest in your subject matter expertise."

[Bonus tip: Armed with the registration list, you can also help your lawyers develop talking points for various conversations they anticipate having during the seminar, on topics most relevant to attendees, on key issues for the industry, and more. How? Let the data guide you.]

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[Paul Ryplewski is JD Supra's VP of Client Services. Ask him about how your firm can access the power of Beacon Insights data dashboards.]