From Data to Deals - Packaging Content Intelligence for Lawyer Action (Part 3)

Packaging the Intelligence

In the first two articles of this series  (Part 1, Part 2), we covered contextualizing content data (understanding what data points matter and when) and mapping data (connecting those points across platforms to identify patterns of genuine interest). Now comes the payoff: packaging that intelligence into actionable steps for your lawyers.

This is where all your analysis becomes useful. The best data analysis in the world means nothing if your lawyers don't understand it or act on it

What type of intelligence you package and how you do it will depend on a couple things:

• Your lawyers: what they find interesting or what they understand most easily. Most lawyers are going to lose interest in numbers, and that usually means charts and graphs. I’ve found that telling a story works best, inverted pyramid style–starting with the good stuff and providing evidence of how I came to that conclusion.
• What time interval you’re on: what you glean or focus on monthly might be different from what you do yearly. Shorter intervals tend to direct content strategy, while longer intervals reveal patterns, provide more context, and garner more confidence in your lawyers when it comes to direct outreach.

Let’s go back to our scenario we created earlier in the series. Here’s a quick overview of the data analysis:

One of our key industries is retail. Quarter three review shows Company A, a national retailer, showed up in our results for the third quarterly review this year. They were not on our initial target list, but they’ve appeared on our JD Supra reader analytics, email newsletter as subscribers, and in our LinkedIn ad results. First, just a single data point on JD Supra with no name. Later, showing up with a name and title alongside individuals from that company who have read our DE&I-related content or subscribed to our newsletter. One contact fits our target profile: Jane Doe, senior employment counsel at Company A.

Creating the Intelligence Package

Research the individuals who fit the target profile. In this instance, do a general search for Jane Doe. The search engine results might tell me what organizations she participates in, what she might write about, speak about, awards received, where she went to college. This information can be used to find connection crossovers or “touchpoints” for direct outreach. Maybe Jane graduated from the same law school as one of our lawyers, or is an active participant in the same industry association we’re a member of.

Head to LinkedIn to find people connections. Expand your search pool to any individual name from that company who showed up in your data results. Note if there are any connections to any lawyers at your firm.

List possible connection methods. Start with an exhaustive list: who’s connected to Jane Doe or a company contact, and some of the basic facts about the company targets. To the best of your ability, order the list from most to least viable option.

Use data points to assemble the user journey. Based on the expanded scenario, I can assume that one person from the company initially read an article on JD Supra and likely shared our content or mentioned us to a colleague. Eventually, contacts signed up to receive JD Supra content and our email newsletter. Because the niche topic results started off with a single company interaction and expanded to others, we can guess that the content and topic resonated, and it was useful enough to share with others.

Compare relevant metrics across time. By relevant, I mean metrics that support the user journey intelligence. If you’ve been benchmarking data, you can aggregate the number of reads in that niche topic to show an increase over time, alongside when in the timeline they and others subscribed to the newsletter and interacted with LinkedIn content. If you’re going to use your charting skills, an exponential increase in reads from a company or company contact is the perfect place to use them.

Highlight milestones. Note major changes in behavior: this company went from one anonymous read on one DE&I article to content subscriptions on multiple platforms. The contacts reading our niche content went from one to five. This illustrates how this content strategy led to increased interest in our offering, reinforces why the group should continue to follow this content strategy, and adds to the credibility of the recommended actions.

Presenting the Intelligence

Given that the scenario takes place in quarter three, the lawyers you're presenting to should be somewhat familiar with the overall DE&I content strategy and the reasoning behind it.

I usually lead with a preview of the lead: the important, actionable intelligence from current clients and potential new targets who fit the profile.

Example: We should directly connect with Company A–they fit our target profile, and multiple people in their HR department have demonstrated interest in our DE&I work. I’ve found a few connections that are worth exploring to get on their radar.

Once you’ve given them a reason to listen, tell the story of how you arrived at that conclusion.

Example: In Q1, Company A read “Article 1.” Q2, Jane Doe read four of our six DE&I articles on JD Supra and signed up for our newsletter in April. She forwarded our Q3 newsletter three times; two HR department colleagues signed up for the newsletter. Across nine DE&I articles, we have 100 views from Company A; we now have three individual names who appear to have decision-making authority in this area. Information from our LinkedIn ads also shows that the content is being consumed by HR-related professionals on that platform.

Use visuals when it provides an impact, like a number increasing over time or a public interaction between our content and a key target.

After you explain your reasoning, start with your most viable connection options: direct connections.

Examples:

• Peter Thompson in corporate does Company A’s work. Will someone reach out to them to see what the relationship is and whether they’d be willing to gather intelligence or make an introduction?
• Jenny Hanson in tax is connected to Jane Doe, and from what I can tell, they graduated from the U of M the same year. Will someone reach out to Jenny?
• Jane Doe is actually a member of the DE&I section of the same HR association we are–if no one knows her, we should make a plan to meet her at the upcoming association conference.

If direct connections don’t exist or aren’t viable, that’s where you can go further down the list of options.

For some direct connections, the next step is obvious. Outstanding questions may need to be answered before outreach happens, but the closer a firm contact is to the target contact, the easier it’ll be to find an entry point into getting this work.

Others might require more thought and strategy–this is where your general intelligence may be useful. The best-case for this scenario is probably a timely lawsuit or article.

Example: Company A announced it has formed a committee dedicated to implementing a DE&I program.

This is the perfect entry into direct outreach. The trick is having a BD-savvy lawyer who doesn’t mind making a pitch. Here’s how that outreach could go:

Jane Doe is active on LinkedIn. DE&I attorney Joe Harris volunteered to send Jane the following direct message:

Hi Jane, I read your company press release and wanted to congratulate your team on launching a DE&I program. Not an easy program to implement nationwide! Our team at Firm has advised national retailers in the execution of these programs, and we developed an implementation checklist that might be helpful as you roll this out. Happy to answer any questions you may have. Our firm actually writes a quarterly newsletter on the topic, if that’s ever of interest.

The intelligence and research you’ve gathered should be able to help you identify ‘hot’ targets and provide options that allow your lawyers to confidently pitch these targets at an opportune moment.

Putting It All Together

Content analytics for business development isn't about tracking every metric or drowning in spreadsheets. It's about a systematic approach to transforming the data your content already generates into genuine business intelligence:

• Contextualizing helps you focus on data that actually matters—the right platforms, the right timing, the right metrics for your strategic priorities.
• Mapping reveals patterns that isolated data points can't—repeat engagement, cross-platform behavior, growing organizational interest over time.
• Packaging translates those patterns into stories and connection opportunities that give your lawyers confidence and context for strategic outreach.

Start small. Pick one strategic content initiative. Track data for your highest-priority targets. Map their engagement over one quarter. Package what you find and present it to one practice group. Build from there.

The intelligence is already there, waiting in your analytics platforms. The question is whether you'll use it to transform your content program from a brand-building exercise into a genuine business development engine.