Social media marketing has become a vital part of any organization’s customer outreach in this day and age.
This applies to almost every industry, and law is certainly no exception. If anything, solo practice lawyers and newer law firms require greater and more deliberate “rain-making” efforts than more established “legacy” firms.
Those practitioners and growing law firms should be utilizing social media (which is one component part of an overall holistic digital marketing approach) in order to better engage prospective clients and continually grow their caseload and referral based.
Don’t believe the lies that digital marketing can’t be used by lawyers or small law firms, or that even legacy law firms can’t benefit from digital marketing (and those seven lies are a whole other blog post coming up).
Here is a brief overview of some ways in which marketing on Facebook can help these firms and practitioners bring on a variety of new clients.
Targeted Marketing
With Facebook’s targeted advertising, law firms can focus their ads on certain people and specific groups that will be more likely to utilize their services.
Those in environmental law may choose to show their ads to Facebook groups dedicated to environmental activism, while tax attorneys could focus on keywords such as bankruptcy or “Tax Day” or target users who searched using the terms “tax help.”
With so many topics being consistently discussed on Facebook discussion threads and through public forums, any lawyer would be well-advised to use Facebook’s targeted advertising to get their name and practice regularly displayed before the most relevant social circles.
Direct Client Engagement
Facebook allows for direct message advertising, meaning that law firms can reach out to individuals who have express interest in their firms or discussed relevant legal matters or topics.
If someone has visited the Facebook page representing a firm or practice or that firm’s website, they can choose to automatically message the individual to provide a personal touch that may help persuade them to use those particular law services.
This direct customer engagement allows lawyers to reach out and provide services that can be personalized and customized to each individual’s needs while lending an immediacy and ease-of-use never before utilized.
Location Services
Using Facebook’s location services means that lawyers can become visible when a person is within a certain geographic distance of their working area.
If someone is searching for legal assistance in a certain region, these Facebook ads can help a lawyer gain exposure within your local market or specific zip code much like Google Maps, MapQuest, and Google My Business.
This is a great way to advertise as many people are choosing mobile devices over desktop computers when they are searching for information and well over 1.45 billion users are actively engaged in Facebook at any given time. That level of exposure provides an immediate range of promotional exposure that surely trumps anything print media could ever come close to.
Word of Mouth
When someone engages with a law firm on Facebook, there is a good chance that their friends or followers will see this interaction on their profile or timeline. Anyone in their friends’ list that is interested in legal help will be able to click on the law firm’s name and learn more about them. This is the first step in turning a prospect into a customer. As a result of Facebook’s enormous global reach, law firms can benefit from a wider network of potential customers thanks to the help of one single person.
This creates a spiderweb effect that allows more and more people to become aware of the law firm and its services. This may lead to online discussions which will reach even more people that are far outside the original reach of the first person to engage the firm. This is an excellent and organic way to increase exposure and convert more customers.