Legal Prominence in a Click: Facebook Advertising for Lawyers

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Sasha Berson

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9/23/2024

As the number of people using Facebook continues to grow, so does the potential for using Facebook advertising to reach new clients. Lawyers can create and optimize their law firm's Facebook pages for engagement and conversions, targeting potential clients who are active on the site based on their location, interests, and demographics. For example, you can use your attorney social media profile to target people who live in Chicago and have expressed an interest in legal issues in the workplace, after divorce, or in healthcare.

This article will go over the following topics:

  • How does target Facebook marketing work for lawyers
  • How to create an effective Facebook advertising campaign for lawyers
  • How to measure your attorney advertising campaign on Facebook

Do Facebook Ads Work for Lawyers?

Yes, many law firms and marketing professionals agree that compelling ads can be an effective way to reach new potential clients. Moreover, compared to keyword bidding in PPC advertising, Facebook advertising appears less expensive. While a Google Ad campaign can easily cost $100 for a single keyword, the lowest price for a Facebook ad is $2.15.

Facebook PPC advertising for lawyers is a form of paid advertising that allows you to target a specific audience with your tailored ad. As Google and other search engines become more competitive in the legal space, Facebook has become an increasingly important site for businesses.


19 Actionable Tips for Law Firm Facebook Ads

When selecting a Facebook ad strategy, prioritize quality over quantity. Limited users will see your ad in their newsfeed, so avoid wasting money on unnoticed ads. Instead, craft high-quality ads that capture your target audience's attention.

1. Optimize Your Business Law Firm Facebook Page

Lewinson law group
When optimizing their Facebook page, lawyers should consider including professional details, showcasing expertise, and posting relevant content

Law firms need business Facebook pages, not personal ones. A business page lets you communicate in your firm's voice and gather client reviews. At a minimum, create an optimized page with rich media:

  • Have high-quality, professional images and attorney videos on the page
  • Include interesting, engaging, and shareable content (legal blogs, case studies, guides)
  • Raise awareness by sharing news, hosting educational events, or other resources
  • Engage with your target audience through Facebook messenger 
  • Establish your business as a brand/promote the brand identity 
You might also like: Social Media for Lawyers

2. Define Your Attorney Advertising Facebook Goals

When running Facebook ads, there are various methods to reach your audience, like paid ads, sponsored posts, or organic reach. For your first Facebook ad, focus on setting a clear goal—what do you want the ad to achieve?

  • Brand awareness
  • Conversion rate increase
  • Lead generation
  • Increased traffic
  • Subscribe rate

Once you know what you're trying to achieve, you can design your ad accordingly. Your ad should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—SMART!
Many more factors go into successful Facebook advertising than simply setting up the right ad.

These include targeting your audience correctly, creating engaging content, and staying consistent with your ad schedule.

You might also like: Twitter for Lawyers

3. Set a Realistic Facebook Ad Budget

When it comes to advertising on Facebook, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. That said, setting a realistic budget for your attorney advertising on Facebook is important. Otherwise, you will be wasting your law firm marketing budget and not seeing desired results. A realistic Facebook advertising budget for your law firm should consider your goals, target audience, and competition. To get started, 

  • Define your goals as mentioned above. Consider what you want to achieve with your Facebook advertising campaign. 
  • Take a look at your target audience. The more you know about your target audience, the better you can target your ads to them. 
  • Research your competition. Knowing what your competition is doing will help you set a realistic budget for your law firm.

After these, calculate your budget to determine how much you need to spend. You can use various tools to help you determine how much you should spend on your lawyer advertising on Facebook.

One tool is the Facebook Ads tool, which allows you to set a budget for your ads and track your spending. Another useful tool is the Facebook Advertising Calculator, which will enable you to calculate your potential return on investment (ROI) and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) from your Facebook ads for lawyers.

You might also like: Instagram for Lawyers

Understand Your Budget Options when Running Facebook Ads for Lawyers

As a lawyer, budgeting is key, and the same applies when you create Facebook ads. Being strategic with your budget ensures your campaigns are cost-effective and successful.

You can use two main options: the time-limited and payment options. 

1. For the time-limited option, you can set a

  • Daily budget that will determine how much you're willing to spend on your campaign daily. 
  • Lifetime budget for your campaign, which will spread your spending out over the entire duration of the ad campaign.

2. The other option is to determine how you want to pay for your ads

  • You can pay-per-click, or cost-per-click (CPC), which means you'll only be charged when someone clicks on your ad. 
  • You can also pay per impression—cost-per-mile (CPM), which means you'll be charged based on every 1,000 impressions an ad receives.

4. Target the Right Audience for Your Practice Area

Targeting is crucial for success in promoting legal services. When choosing your audience, consider the type of law you practice, your firm’s location, and the clients you want to attract.

Target Audience For Your Practice Area
  1. You need to consider what type of law you practice. Are you a personal injury lawyer? A divorce lawyer? A criminal defense lawyer? 
  2. Once that is defined, you can narrow your target audience to their location. 
  3. It is also important to consider the geographic location of your firm. If you are located in a rural area, you may want to target clients in neighboring towns. 

More areas you can use to target your audience are:

  • Gender: male, female, non-binary.
  • Age range: Teenagers from age 14-18, Young adults from 19-24, adults from age 25-64, and lastly, seniors 65 and above.
  • Status: Student, employed, self-employed, unemployed.
  • Interests: This could include their hobby during their free time—cycling, going to the community library, volunteering, karaoke, etc.
  • Relationship status: Single, married, in a relationship, divorced.

So, suppose you practice criminal law, and your location is in Oswego in Chicago. In that case, you may want to target criminal defendants.

5. Use Lookalike Audiences to Expand Reach

For effective Facebook marketing efforts in law firm marketing, use lookalike audiences. Facebook creates these by finding users similar to your existing clients, based on interests, demographics, and behaviors. This helps you target ads to those more likely to engage and generate leads.

You can install a piece of code on your law firm's website - Meta Pixel, formerly Facebook pixel, which allows you to measure your actual audience, gather data, and optimize your ads to be shown the most to people who are likely to take action.

This process, called conversion optimization, can mean the difference between wasted advertising dollars and a successful Facebook ad campaign.

6. Launch Your First Facebook Advertising Campaign

Law firm advertising campaign in Facebook

Setting up law firm Facebook ads is easy and can be done in a few simple steps.

  1. You'll need to create a Facebook business page if you don't already have one.
  2. Once you have a business page, you can create an ad by clicking on the "Create Ad" button at the top. You'll need to choose your campaign objectives, set your budget, and target your audience. 
  3. You'll be prompted to choose your ad objective
  4. After that, you must fill out your ad creatively, set a budget, and target your audience.
  5. Once your campaign is live, you can start running it, tracking its performance, and making necessary changes.

7. Design Mobile-Friendly Ads

Make sure your Facebook Ads are designed with mobile devices in mind. By making sure your ads are designed for mobile devices, you can ensure that they are seen by the largest audience possible. Create ads that are easy to read and click on from a small screen, and you'll be sure to reach your target audience.

Design mobile-friendly ads
To optimize Facebook ads for mobile devices, use eye-catching visuals, concise a copy, clear call-to-action, and mobile-friendly landing pages

Designing mobile-friendly ads for your lawyer Facebook Ads can significantly increase your conversion rate and reach more potential clients. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when designing your ads

  1. Use short, concise copy that is easy to read on a small screen. 
  2. Include a strong call to action that encourages users to click on your law firm website or contact page.
  3. Use images that are clear and legible on a small screen. 
  4. Make sure your ad is properly targeted to your target audience. ​​

8. Write Appealing Ad Copy

After your images draw in a potential client, your text is the elevator pitch. You have just a few seconds to draw them in and sell them.
Even with Facebook's short character limits (40 characters for headlines and 125 characters for body text), you have room to sell your service. Several copywriting formulas work: 

Formula Components
The 4 C's Copywriting Formula Clear
Concise
Compelling
Credible
The 4 U's Copywriting Formula Useful
Urgent
Unique
Ultra-specific
AIDA Copywriting Formula Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

Of course, if you hire a digital marketing agency, you have expert writers making best law firm ads for you. If you write ads yourself, a formula can help develop compelling ad copy that converts your ad's target audience.

9. Target Ads for Each Sales Funnel Stage

As a law firm, you can use different sales funnel stages for your Facebook ads to target your audience effectively. There are popularly 5 stages in the funnel, including

  • Awareness
  • Interest
  • Desire
  • Action
  • Loyalty
How does sales funnel work

Clients may not always remain loyal, so it's crucial to target various sales funnel stages to convert potential clients. Use the awareness stage to reach those unfamiliar with your firm, the interest stage for those engaging with your content, and the action stage to attract clients ready to hire by offering free consultation ads.

10. Offer Gated Content

You need to provide compelling offers and gated content to increase leads and conversions on your website. By gating content, businesses can increase the perceived value of their products and services while providing an incentive for potential customers to provide their contact information. You can create a sense of exclusivity that will entice people to sign up for your email list or become a member of your site.

Compelling offers like free consultations, discounts, or exclusive content can turn leads into loyal customers and keep them engaged with your brand.

11. Incorporate Strong Calls-To-Action

A powerful call to action is essential for any law firm's Facebook ad. Without one, your potential clients may simply scroll right past your ad. But with a well-crafted CTA, you can increase the chances that they'll take the next step and contact your firm.

Powerful CTAs
"Learn more" is one of the common types of CTAs used when posting ads on Facebook

They grab the attention of your target audience and encourage them to take action. It should be attention-grabbing, short, direct, and to the point. For example,

  • Call us today for a free consultation
  • Click here to learn more about our services
  • Sign up for our newsletter
  • Read our blog
  • Download our ebook

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12. Go for Engaging Images

Use high-quality images relevant to your ad's message, and ensure they are placed prominently in your ad to be noticeable, whether an attorney blog post, press release, or social media post. Images that are visually appealing and interesting will grab people's attention and make them more likely to click on your ad.

Avoid using generic-looking stock photos and be sure you have the right to use any images. Images that evoke emotion or tell a story are often the most successful in getting people to take notice of your ad. Additionally, using relevant photos for your target audience can help increase the chances that they'll engage with your ad.

13. Add Videos to Increase Engagement

Provide video content
Using Facebook videos, lawyers can engage potential clients, showcase expertise, and provide educational content in an engaging format

Adding videos to your law firm's Facebook ads is a great way to engage potential clients and communicate your message. You can use videos to show off your firm's work, explain your services, or simply introduce yourself and your team. They are a great way to grab people's attention and give them a taste of your firm. Plus, they're easy to share, so your ad can reach a wider audience.

14. Experiment with Different Formats of Visual Content

Since you are using Facebook Ads to reach potential clients, ensure you know what content to use in your Ads. A good way to determine this is to experiment with different visual content formats to find the perfect formula for your firm's Facebook ads. But what kind of visuals work best for your ads? Try using:

  • Infographics. A visual representation of information that uses a variety of elements to convey messages at a glance, such as images, icons, text, charts, and diagrams.
  • Images with text overlay. Images with texts written on them. They can convey a message or represent a CTA. 
  • Short video clips. They are recordings too, but shorter. They could be quick guides or how-tos that can go on your story or reels. 
  • Animation. A technique for transforming still images into moving images. They can be more engaging and accessible for users to watch than videos. 

15. Retarget Potential Clients with Ads

Facebook ads are highly effective, especially when paired with retargeting as part of your digital marketing strategies. Using the Meta pixel, you can target people who visited your website but didn’t convert. For example, if someone viewed your car accident page, you can show them Facebook ads for lawyers specializing in car accidents, encouraging them to contact your law firm with a clear call to action.

There are a number of ways to retarget potential clients for your law firm using Facebook Ads. You can target

  • People who have visited your website
  • People who have engaged with your content
  • People who have taken a specific action, like subscribing to your newsletter
  • People who share similar characteristics to your existing clients

By targeting these groups of people, you can ensure that your law firm's ads are seen by the people most likely to be interested in your services.

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16. A/B Test Your Law Firm Facebook Ads

Even with experienced legal content creators, you can’t be sure your Facebook ad campaign is the most effective. The best way to find out is by split-testing ads. Facebook lets advertisers run two versions and compare performance, benefiting both you and Meta. Successful ads mean more confidence in the platform and likely continued ad campaigns.

Curious about your law firm's Facebook ads? Use A/B testing by creating two versions of an ad with different elements (copy, images, or call-to-action). Track engagement and conversions to see which works best and refine your strategy for Facebook users.

17. Build High-Converting Landing Pages

While it's easy enough to get your ads in front of Facebook users, the success of your ad campaign will hinge on whether your ads 'convert' your potential clients. One of the best ways to convert new clients is by directing them to a customized landing page on your website. Your ads will be most successful if your landing page is a direct extension of your Facebook page and the content closely aligns. 

Although your Facebook ad has a limited number of characters, you can continue selling to visitors once they land on your website. If you're running a law firm Facebook ad, you want to ensure your landing page converts visitors. Here are a few tips

  1. Design the page with a specific goal—getting visitors to sign up for your newsletter, download a free report, or schedule a consultation.
  2. Make sure your headline is clear and concise. Your headline should be the first thing visitors see when they land on your page, so make it count! 
  3. Keep your page clean and clutter-free. Visitors should be able to easily navigate your page and find the information they're looking for. 
  4. Include a compelling call to action. Your call to action should be clear and concise, telling visitors what you want them to do next.
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18. Track Your Facebook Ad Campaign's Performance

It is important to track the performance of your Facebook ad campaigns to see which ones are working and which ones need improvement. There are a few key metrics you should track to gauge the performance of your Facebook ad campaign for your law firm.

These include: 

  • Reach. The number of people who saw your ad during the campaign. 
  • Frequency. This is the number of times they saw it. 
  • Clicks. The number of times people clicked on your ad.
  • Conversion rate. The percentage of people who took the desired action after clicking on your ad.

Facebook Ads Manager vs. Google Analytics

There are a lot of options out there when it comes to tracking your law firm's online marketing efforts. Still, two of the most popular are Facebook's Ad Manager and Google Analytics. However, these platforms track users' metrics differently.

Facebook Ads Manager offers detailed insights into your campaigns but tracking conversions can be tricky as it counts every click (like, share, comment). Unlike Google Analytics, which tracks all clicks in a session using first-party cookies, Facebook doesn't rely on cookies for tracking. Managing your law firm's Facebook page with Ads Manager still provides valuable data for optimizing your ads.

19. Incorporate Facebook Lead Ads

If you're looking to boost your law firm's marketing efforts, incorporating Facebook Lead Ads is a great way to go. Facebook Lead Ads are a type of ad that allows you to target potential customers based on their interests. Lead ads make it incredibly easy for mobile users to fill out their information—email address, full name, number, postal code—by populating form fields.

The best part is that a user never has to leave Facebook to complete the form. They can directly enter their information into Facebook.

Plus, Facebook Lead Ads are simple to set up and manage - all you need is a Facebook account and a valid targeting demographic. Once you've set up your ad, you can start targeting potential customers with relevant ads. You can also use Lead Ads to create a more personal connection with potential clients, leading to higher conversion rates. 


Where Do Attorney Facebook Ads Show Up?

Through Facebook marketing, you can get the chance to connect with potential clients, showcase the best parts of your services, and build your brand. And beyond that, you can also create, optimize, and leverage your law firm's Facebook page to engage with your new/existing clients via Facebook Messenger.

Some of the places you can place your ads for an effective Facebook marketing strategy are:

  • Facebook Feeds. There are two types of ads you can create on Facebook: native ads and display ads. Native ads are text or image ads that appear in your feed, while display ads are images and video ads. Facebook ads can reach potential clients across their feeds. The interest-based targeting options allow you to target users likely to be interested in your practice, industry, and location.
  • Live Videos. With 82% of audiences preferring live videos over posts, this format is ideal for real-time communication with your audience, allowing you to host AMAs and other interactive sessions.
  • Stories and Reels. Share events or guides to showcase your practice areas, enticing potential clients to explore your page. Promote offers, webinars, or live AMAs in your stories. Use Facebook Marketplace to further engage with a wider audience.
  • Facebook Geofencing Ads for Law Firms. Facebook Geofencing Ads offer lawyers a strategic edge by targeting specific locations to reach potential clients effectively. With different ad formats through the Ads Manager, lawyers can tailor their campaigns to engage Facebook users near their offices or events.

Get More Legal Clients Through Facebook with Grow Law Firm

Facebook is a powerful tool for reaching new audiences and engaging clients. However, Facebook advertising for lawyers isn't one-size-fits-all; ads must be tailored to your audience and goals. Interest-based targeting allows you to focus on location, demographics, and interests while managing your page and engaging with clients daily.

This guide has listed tips on creating a targeted Facebook ad for lawyers and successfully doing it. If you want assistance tailoring targeted ads for your law firm, consider hiring a professional law firm SEO agency. Grow Law Firm can help you with Facebook advertising, create a Facebook page for your business, and manage it with ease.

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Stay Ahead of the Competition!

Compare your law firm's performance to Local competitors with our instant assessment tool

  • Get a clear picture of your firm's performance

  • Boost your online presence

Compare My Firm