Facebook is the leading social media platform – by far – with over 2.8 billion monthly active users. That’s why over 3 million businesses actively advertise their products and services on Facebook. But what about legal firms? Is there a way to promote your services to an interested audience, without breaking the bank? And is it a total waste of money?
The answer is no – Facebook marketing is an easy, cost-effective way to promote your services, build your brand identity, and connect with interested consumers. The problem is that most legal firms don’t know where to start.
Create a Business Facebook page for your legal firm that highlights your experience and culture
Don’t underestimate the power of a Facebook page for your legal firm. Without a Facebook page, your firm is missing out on potential leads. Why is that? Facebook serves as a search engine for many. Consumers are likely to search social media for a business before contacting them. This allows them to verify aspects of the company and see if they like the company, before doing business with them. And if they can’t find you, they will move on to the next firm.
Setting up and maintaining a Facebook page doesn’t need to be time-consuming. But setting it up properly and updating it occasionally is as important as maintaining your website, SEO, and Google Ads campaigns.
Here’s what your Facebook page should include:
- Legal content that you’ve created, such as videos, blog posts, studies, photos, and other information about your firm, both business and social
- Showcase upcoming events
- Content that is engaging and encourages your audience to connect with you for questions, assistance, or support
- Demonstrate your firm’s credibility and results
Define what the goal of your Facebook ad is.
It’s a good starting point, right? First off, what you need to consider when setting up a Facebook ad is, “What is the goal of this ad?” Do you want it to increase Brand Awareness? Then it will be shown to people who will like your page or remember it. Is your goal website visits, increasing your SEO, and getting more people to view your blog? Then you’ll want a Traffic ad, which targets people who are more likely to click the link. Are you looking for leads who are actively looking for legal advice to go to your website and convert on a landing page? Then you’ll want to choose Conversions, as it will show the ad to those most likely to do so.
Facebook has 11 different ad formats to ensure that the goal you set for your ad can be reached easily. And each one is charged based on how successful the ad is.
Promote ads that are highly targeted to your ideal audience
Facebook has one of the most extensive ad targeting options of any search platform. How extensive? Think borderline stalker. While this can make it a bit complicated, it can also ensure those who see your post are exactly who you are looking for. By spending some time getting to know Ads Manager, and considering your ideal target for every post you promote, you can reach more qualified leads.
The average reach of an organic post is around 5.2% – that means that only 1 out of 19 fans sees the unpromoted posts.
Why do you need to promote an ad?
Let’s answer your first question first – why do I need to promote ads? If I’ve created interesting content to the newsfeed of my Facebook page, isn’t that enough? Unfortunately, no. Back in the day when Facebook was young, that was enough. Nowadays, social media platforms are Pay-to-Play. Furthermore, organic reach (reach from a post that is not promoted) is in decline. The average reach of an organic post is around 5.2% – that means that only 1 out of 19 fans sees the unpromoted posts. Even your fans aren’t going to necessarily see your posts if you don’t promote them. How do you get a new audience to find you? You pay-to-play.
First, consider exactly who this ad is meant for. If you are posting a link for a new position your office has for a legal assistant, you won’t want your ad to find teenagers, people graduating from nursing school, or retired individuals. That would be a waste of your marketing dollars.
What are your targeting options?
Let’s consider that marketing ad for a new legal assistant. Who might the ideal marketing assistant be? If it’s an entry-level position, it might be someone between the ages of 25-40, men or women, who’ve just finished college in a legal profession and living within 25 miles of your firm’s main office. Through Ads Manager with Facebook, this is an easy match and the ad will only be shown to those in your area of interest.
What about something more dynamic? The sky is the limit. There are so many targeting options, you can pinpoint even the most unique search terms. Keep in mind the tighter you make the audience, the fewer people will see it – but the higher quality of that audience. For a quick idea of how big your search audience is, there is a graph on the right-hand side of the Ads Manager page that updates as you change targets and demographics. For the above ad setup, our audience is about 300,000 people, we should reach between 821 and 2.4k, and we can expect landing page views of 2-14. If these figures don’t line up with what you’re looking for, making changes to the budget, length of campaign, and audience can help narrow or widen your reach to fit your goals.
Make your ads engaging and relevant
Consider what you would click on when you are scrolling social media. Remember – social media should be social, fun, and entertaining. This is the platform to be creative and inject some humor into your practice.
Don’t go overboard though – you don’t want to offend or confuse your audience. When creating or sharing an ad, consider a few things:
- Is the language and tone you are using effective and appropriate?
- Is this the kind of content that appeals to your audience?
- Does it align with the brand identity of the firm?
- Does the message align with the goals and values of your firm?
- Will the audience and firm gain benefit from sharing this?
- What’s the goal of this ad? Engage? Entertain? Encourage a phone call?
Always include a Call-to-Action
Marketing 101: always include a CTA that moves your audience toward your intended goal. Is the goal to download a copy of a study? Make sure the link is clearly labeled, easily accessible, and accurate to where you want the audience to go. Do you want the audience to like your Facebook page? Make sure to select the right ad type and ensure the “Like Page” link is upfront and center.
What call-to-action garners the most response? According to Sprout Social, people still love to be entertained, first and foremost, on social media.
Include powerful images that resonate with your audience
An image is worth a thousand words – and choosing the right one can be the difference between a successful ad and a dud. When people scroll on social media, their attention span is short and the eyes will automatically scroll images first. Then, when something catches the eye, that’s when people tend to read the corresponding copy. Don’t believe me? Facebook posts with images see 2-3 times the engagement than text-based posts. So spend the extra time and find just the right image that draws your audience in, entertains them, and helps build a connection with your firm.
Experiment with other options like videos, carousels, and messenger ads
Once you’ve mastered the generalities of Facebook ads, don’t stop there! With so many options available, feel free to push the limits and find out which ads work the best for your firm. Videos are gaining popularity on social media and garner a larger viewing audience, so consider interviewing a past client or firm employee, sharing a video of a work event, or a branded marketing video. All can help bring your ideal audience closer and more connected to your legal firm.
Marketing means nothing without effective tracking
The mistake is made far too often by far too many businesses. We tend to just throw items out in the universe and hope they get traction. But with a little bit of monitoring, tracking, and understanding of your goals, you can ensure that every dollar spent is helping you reach your goals. So, what metrics should your legal firm track?
Engagement Metrics: These are how often and how your audience interacts with your post. Do they like the post? See the post? Click on the post? View the video? What matters here depends on what goals you set. You have a lot of options:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- Video Views
- Ad Frequency
Conversion Metrics: For those farther down the sales funnel, you’ll want to monitor different responses. Did they call? Did they submit information on their landing page? What goal did you have for the ad?
- Cost Per Conversion
- Lead Form Submission
- Landing Page Form Submission
- Telephone Calls
- Content Download
What’s next?
Facebook is a highly used social media platform that can help bring your legal firm front and center for your local audience and help you build your brand. With effective planning, goal setting, and tracking, your social ads can be seen by the right audience, at the right time.
When social media or marketing support is needed to attain leads, LeadingResponse is the industry leader. Over 500 firms nationwide trust LeadingResponse to provide consistent, exclusive leads that help them grow. And we can do the same for you. As Meta Business Partners, we know the ins and outs of all things social. Can we help your law firm succeed? When you’re ready, we’re ready.
