Is Facebook Marketing for Law Firms Worth It?
Social media marketing is a tremendous way to increase the digital footprint for your law office. In recent years, Facebook in particular has opened up a whole new world as far as targeted online advertising for law firms both large and small. TV and radio seem to be saturated with attorney advertising commercials but Facebook is still a viable although competitive medium for lead generation.
Facebook offers a central marketing hub and a fantastic way to connect with your audience while cultivating brand awareness for your firm. Just as importantly, if you're not on Facebook, your competitors are, and you don’t want to let them beat you to the punch.
The legal industry is one of the most competitive industries in the digital marketing arena. If you're not setting up your campaigns properly, you can burn through cash in a hurry. We picked the brains of the marketing experts at law firms such as Marc S. Albert and Pegalis & Erickson and also spoke with 11 other Facebook marketing experts. They've provided a glimpse into their most effective strategies to help you generate leads and save money.
1. Charitable Giveaways
“We use Facebook giveaways to increase brand awareness and favorability for our personal injury clients. Every month, our clients give away a free, high-quality children's car seat to someone that likes their page and is located in their area. The program increases goodwill and promotes safety.”
By Mel Cagle of Clicks and Clients
2. Facebook Groups are Fantastic for Referrals
“Joining Facebook groups that are specific to your demographic, location, or area of practice can be a great support system when you have questions. Attorney members also swap referrals in these groups. Being a participant in the conversation can earn friends and referral sources on Facebook. If there is no group for your specific area, start one!”
By Jane Muir of J. Muir & Associates, P.A.
3. A Glimpse into Office Culture
“As Facebook makes the shift towards a more communal social space, attorneys should be producing and sharing content that exhibits their day-to-day life in and out of the office, in addition to informational content related to their core practice areas. One way to do this is by highlighting their involvement in the community to call attention to the practice's corporate social responsibility, or by sharing something as simple as a photo of the staff out to lunch to appeal to a user's self-image. The big idea here is to share personable content that users can relate with, and therefore will engage with.”
By Shannon Doyle of Page 1 Solutions, LLC
4. Facebook Lookalike Audiences
“The trick to a winning Facebook ad campaign isn’t what most people think it is. The key differentiator revolves around the method of audience targeting, so that you only serve ads to your ideal prospects. The trick here is with lookalike audiences, which are a Facebook algorithm that identifies others whose interests and demographic profiles are similar to those of your existing clients. To implement lookalike audiences, simply import email data from your CRM, and in under 3 minutes you’ll be running profitable Facebook ad campaigns.”
By JD Parkman of Marketing Media Wizard
5. Branded Hashtags and Imagery
“Create ‘post channels' and brand them with a firm-related hashtag and image that includes your firm logo/branding. Every time you post content for that ‘channel' include the hashtag and image. For example, you might post #RayRecalls to alert your users of recent recalls, or every Tuesday post #TortsTuesday. The key is to be consistent with the hashtag and image. The method helps followers associate your brand with certain topics (torts, recalls, etc.).”
By Allison Gagliardi of Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Prather & Littky-Rubin
6. Lurking before Working
“Know the medium. Spend some time “lurking” on the social media you are considering before you dive in and start posting. It is important to understand the primary use of the social media, the demographics, the tone and personality of the social media you plan to engage on. While you want to always portray your professionalism, you also don’t want to come across as too sales-y. You don’t want to be like the person at the cocktail party only talking about your business and your career. Social media is at first social and then it can also be used for business so this is a place to let your personality shine through and connect with people.”
By Sharyn O'Mara of Wisselman, Harounian & Associates, P.C.
7. Take Advantage of Facebook Live Videos
“Use Live Video. Did you know your Facebook live videos reach as many as 5x more people than your standard text or picture posts? Consider doing a Facebook live session sharing such things as legal tips geared for your customers and potential customers. Other than reach, these live videos will let people get up close and intimate with you.”
By Burton Kelso of Integral
8. Pay Attention to State Mandated Attorney Advertising Requirements
“The best tip for law firms wanting to market via facebook is to remember to educate the person who is actually going to be doing the posts on what the ethical rules and advertising rules are that pertain specifically to lawyers. For example, in Texas every advertisement you post whether it be a video or banner ad must be approved by the State Bar Advertising Review Committee. If you hire a company that does marketing on your behalf, it is your obligation to make sure every ad they use complies with the advertising rules and has been submitted for approval.”
By Paul H. Cannon of Simmons and Fletcher, P.C.
9. Set Up your Funnel Properly
“Facebook can be a fantastic platform for attorney's looking to market their services and move prospects down the pipeline. For our clients in the legal industry, we always recommend to start Facebook marketing at the bottom and middle of the funnel by targeting prospective clients that are familiar with the firm and visited their website, but still making their decision or comparing with different firms. Facebook's platform provides a variety of robust tools that allow you target within your demographic's geography and job title, but more importantly, by targeting people who have engaged with your Facebook page and website. You can even target people who have visited a specific page of your website (i.e. Construction and Lien Law). Paired with effective creative, and value-adding resources that live on the firm's website, Facebook marketing can be extremely effective for law firms.”
By Scott Wells of Rocket55
10. Be a Problem Solver
“An area we have seen as a big issue across legal marketing on Facebook is that lawyers will often use creative formats and ad units that highlight their expertise and credibility over and above the issue that the potential client is facing. In other words, Facebook creative formats that do not at all relate to the problem their clientele is facing, but simply selling themselves on broad based expertise. Crafting creative units that highlight and delve into solutions to specific niche problems faced by prospective clientele will see an incredible level of increased engagement and attention that most lawyers do not receive.”
By Zachary Weiner of Emerging Insider Communications
11. Reviews and Testimonials Lend Credibility
“Does Facebook marketing work for lawyers? Short answer – it does. It works for any company including law firms if done right. Facebook has a remarkably large user base, and most of these users prefer to use Facebook as a search engine when looking up businesses. Failing to include Facebook as part of your marketing strategy means that your company will be missing out on much. One of the ways to use Facebook in your brand awareness and, even more important, building trustworthiness is by asking your clients to leave reviews and testimonials on your pages and websites. Let them know that it can really help your business. Asking for a favor, sometimes, is all that’s needed to help you build up your online presence. In this way, you will obtain not only the users’ credibility but also their word-of-mouth assistance which plays a crucial part in building public awareness of your law firm.”
By Oksana Chyketa of Albacross
