These days, it isn’t a question of whether your potential clients are online, but rather what you are doing to reach them. Facebook, the world’s most popular social network, can be a great lead generation opportunity for the right kind of lawyer with the right kind of practice. That’s right, not every social network is ideal for every attorney / law firm. It’s crucial that you are spending your time on the social media sites that contribute client development. If you’re confused about which social networks are right for you, give our team of legal marketing experts a call.
But back to Facebook… If you have determined that having a strategic presence on the social networking giant will provide you with a sharp return on your marketing investment, it’s time to consider Facebook ads. Unfortunately, organic reach is declining as paid ads increase and, generally speaking, law firm pages don’t attract the kind of cult following seen with your favorite band or indie actor, meaning you have to be proactive about driving prospective clients to your business page instead of hoping they come to you.
As with any type of marketing, your advertising campaign will be as successful as your knowledge of your target audience. Before you begin, you need to answer:
- Who are the are clients you want to attract?
- What do they care about?
If you arbitrarily show ads to everyone, or to those not interested in your services, you’re likely to conclude that the social media doesn’t work for client development.
Before running a Facebook ad, determine your objectives.
Because Facebook users generally are not using the social network as a search tool (aka Google), your advertising strategy will be different than a typical PPC ad (more on PPC advertising, including cost, here).
Lead generation using Facebook ads
To increase the user experience and save potential clients from having to click through various links in order to contact you, potentially losing them, you can create ads inside Facebook’s native platforms. This allows the individual to reach out to you directly through your advertisement (which hopefully takes into consideration your State Bar’s rules on advertising). Be sure that your ad’s call-to-action button matches your targeting, messaging, and objective, or don’t be surprised when very few people click on it.
When it comes to Facebook advertising, there are 3 main audience types:
- Demographic / psychographic audiences – An audience of people based on location, age, gender, interests, and more.
- Custom audiences – A list of contact information like emails, phone numbers, or visitors.
- Lookalike audiences – An audience of people on Facebook who share traits with an existing custom audience.
One is right for you.
Facebook advertising guidelines
Once you’ve narrowed down your target audience, it is time to create an ad. Here is where things can get tricky for the average layperson, as Facebook has some very specific requirements, including:
- Recommended image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels
- Image ratio: 1.9:1
- Text: 90 characters
- Headline: 25 characters
- Link description: 30 characters
- Your image may not include more than 20% text
While this may seem a bit overwhelming, remember, there are professionals available to assist you. Discuss how to create an effective Facebook ad for your law firm with the legal marketing team at WebPresence, Esq. today.
