Facebook Ads — A How-To for Attorneys

You’ve probably wondered at some point if Facebook would be a worthwhile investment in terms of adding it to your social media strategy. The answer to that is “yes”… but it comes with a major caveat.

Facebook is a must-have in an attorney’s social media strategy, but it must be handled with care. Because Facebook regularly changes its algorithms, and it’s more and more growing in favor of those willing to pay to play, it’s important to adjust your strategy to align with Facebook’s “rules”.

Facebook may not officially be a pay-to-play platform, but there’s no way to make any progress with its audience if you don’t. At least to start. Facebook isn’t the only one doing this either. Google has given more of its precious real estate to those willing to pay for ad placements. Amazon has now begun to do the same. This is the marketing landscape nowadays.

That said, just because the system seems to favor those with money to spend, doesn’t mean you have to be a big spender in order to win. Facebook advertising can be both cost-efficient and effective. You just have to do it right.

How to Set up Facebook Ads the Right Way

Facebook advertising isn’t one of those things you can throw money at and it will instantly work in your favor. Some time and consideration should be put into strategizing a Facebook ad campaign.

Here is what you need to know about how to set up Facebook ads the right way:

1. Understand Why It’s So Effective

Facebook ads are unique within the context of marketing. Think about it like this:

This is typically what a Google ad looks like. It’s not too exciting. Just a page title, a brief description, and maybe some extra details regarding the business. It’s effective in reaching more people simply because it sits at the top of search results pages… but is it enough to set your law firm apart from the sea of others?

Now, here is an example of a Facebook ad:

 

Your company name sits at the top of the dedicated block in which your ad is encased. There is a custom-written message that’s short and to the point directly below it. There’s a visual element included, too. This one happens to use a mouth-watering video. And, below that, you have an opportunity to share a compelling call-to-action.

Oh, and targeting an audience with Facebook ads can go much deeper than other platforms, as you might imagine. Facebook gathers a lot of data on its users. Demographics. Geography. Interests. Behaviors. Search history. And more. Reaching prospective clients with ads of real interest to them could greatly improve your chances of success.

2. Create Your First Ad

If you have a Facebook Business page, you are now eligible to start running ads from it. To do this, go to your business page on Facebook and locate the Ad Center tab.

Click on Create a Promotion to view the available options for advertising on Facebook. These include:

• Boosting a post that already exists.
• Promoting your Facebook Business page.
• Promoting a call-to-action on your Business page (like “Message Us” or “Visit Us”).
• Promoting your website.
• Creating a custom ad.

Your goal here isn’t just to get a bunch of eyes on your ad. You want real engagement. People should be compelled to comment on or share the post with others. They should also want to click on the link to find out more about your offer. Learn more about your law firm. Sign up for a free consultation. Submit your questions on Messenger. Follow us for news related to workers’ compensation litigation. And so on.

Whatever sort of post you decide to put money behind, be sure it’s something prospective clients will find value in.

• Choose the right offer.
• Write an accurate, succinct, and engaging message for it.
• Use a custom and eye-catching image or video.
• Decide where you want them to go: stay on Facebook or visit your website?

Then, create it.

3. Focus on Targeting

As I said, there’s a whole lot of data to tap into within Facebook’s network of users. Make sure to put it to work for you as you target the ad.

As you can see, Facebook allows you to drill down based on characteristics such as:

• Gender
• Age
• Location – you can get much more specific than country or state if your firm serves a smaller geographic region

Facebook also lets you use more detailed targeting pertaining to interests, employment, behavior, and so on. Just be careful with this as too narrow of a targeted group will prevent you from achieving positive results with your ad placement. Thankfully, Facebook will tell you when this is likely to happen:

Be practical in your selection here, but also don’t be afraid to branch out a bit too. You know your client base well, but you may learn something new about who they are and what their user profile looks like on Facebook by running ads.

4. Set Your Budget

The final question Facebook asks is about your budget and timeframe. While it might seem like a good idea to run an ad indefinitely (after all, won’t a longer campaign lead to more views?), it’s not—especially if this is your first ad.

Tread lightly in this first go-round with Facebook. Set a small budget to start and run it for a week. Give the ad some time to stretch its legs and monitor it daily to see what sort of impact it’s having. At the end of the campaign, you can assess the results and use them to make future decisions regarding Facebook ad spend.

Wrap-Up

With the right setup, Facebook ads will get you in front of the right audience and will, in turn, help you land more clients. But this requires a lot of work.

Facebook may make the setup of ads seem simple enough, but there’s a lot of research, configuration, tweaking, and analysis that goes into succeeding with Facebook ads. Plus, if your Facebook Business page or WordPress website aren’t ready for the limelight, you’ll need to give them a professional polish before opening your wallet.

Trial Law Digital can help you create a killer Facebook ad campaign and fix up your site in anticipation of it. Learn how now.

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