Attention Solo Attorneys: Facebook is a now ubiquitous medium.
Justin Timberlake even poorly acted in a movie about the company. In fact, more than 128 million Americans log into the website at least once a day. That is more than 40% of the country. It goes with saying that at least a few of those 40% will fall into your ideal client category.
How can solo attorneys reach their target client on Facebook?
The easiest way to reach your target demographic is by implementing a micro-targeted Facebook ad campaign. Not only is it easy, it is extremely cost and time effective. It generally cost much less to reach a wider audience than Google Adwords, and takes significantly less time than writing blog entries day after day.
This being said, Facebook advertising will most greatly benefit solo attorneys and small law firms when combined into an existing inbound marketing campaign. As the saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
How do Facebook ads work?
Facebook ads are targeted to an individual’s profile information. They take into account categories like age, gender, location, education level, person interests and tastes. Advertisers like yourself can then limit their advertisement to the aspects of each category that fits their needs.
Basically, the more a Facebook user “overshares” their interests, the easier it is to target them.
Example:
Let’s say you are an immigration attorney whose main clientele is Haitian immigrants who live in New York City.
By doing a little google research, or through past client experiences, you know there are large Haitian communities in Brooklyn, New York and Queens, New York.
Facebook advertising allows you to create an ad that will only be shown within a certain distance radius of a geographic location. This means you can control where your ad will be viewed, thus improving the probability that a member of your target audience will see your advertisement.
You can further refine your target audience by using advanced demographics. You can limit the advertisement to individuals who are bi-lingual, say in English and French. Even better, you can further limit the ad by age range.
You can also tap into a potential client’s sharing history to truly identify your target audience. You can limit the advertisement to be seen only by individuals who are originally from a specific geographic area. In this case, an immigration attorney can target ads to individuals who are originally from Haiti.
Finally, an attorney can tap into their target audience’s social behavior. Facebook has a feature called “Like.” Individual users can like anything from a musical artist to a particular cookbook. It is a reflection of the individuals taste. Lawyers can refine their advertisements to take into account an individual’s “likes.”
For example, the lawyer in the above scenario can limit their advertisement to Facebook users who have “liked” the category “Haiti.” It is a safe bet to assume that of the 60,503 users who liked the category Haiti, at least a few may be in the immigration attorney’s ideal client profile.
Advertising on Facebook is that easy, and cheap.
Money is always important when it comes to advertising. One of the many benefits of advertising on Facebook, is the relatively low initial spend. Attorneys can designate any amount of money used to promote their brand, a blog article, or their Facebook business page.
You can start with $20.00. Even if you choose to start with $100.00, it is still a low initial spend, especially in light of what many solo attorneys charge per hour. (Basically, you have to find an additional 20 minutes of work to cover the advertising spend.)
Advertising on Facebook gives solo attorneys a way to connect with users on a social, personal level in a comfortable, friendly space. Your campaign may not necessarily result in immediate client retention, but this is not the point. Rather, a Facebook advertising campaign is a way for your law firm to build brand awareness within a specific community. A Facebook advertising campaign can be a powerful tool for your law firm.
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