When done right, paid ads can give you a considerable boost in traffic and conversions—two of the most crucial things in Lawyer SEO and law firm marketing. In addition, the most popular platforms boast vast numbers of active users, increasing the opportunity to find someone who might be interested in legal content or hiring law firms in their area.
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However, there are ways to do it wrong, too. Not well researched and planned, paid ads could bring a net loss, rendering them useless to your law firm marketing efforts. In other words, you can’t just post anything you want and expect a significant increase in your total digital marketing ROI.
So, let’s look at some crucial tips you need to consider before bidding or paying for your first law firm social media ads:
1. Choose Your Platforms
The social media platforms your ads will feature matter. So you should look into each platform and see which works best for you. Look into the user base, ad placements, pricing, and payment options.
Remember, you don’t just want people to see your ads; you want to find quality leads that will eventually become law firm clients. So, ensure your law firm marketing budget is going into a platform that will bring you the most ROI.
Of course, you can run ads on multiple platforms. However, there isn’t use in running a campaign on a platform that doesn’t attract the leads you want. So research each one if you’re planning to cast a wider net.
2. Research Your Target Audience
The platform’s job is to show the audience your ads; it is not its job to make them enticing. So, make sure you know who you’re marketing your law firm to by looking at their demographics, preferred content, language, and so on. Remember, even if thousands of people see your ad, you still need to get them to click or look you up to get the most out of your campaign.
One of the easiest ways to do so is to look up demographic data. You can start with the people who have already worked with your law firm, then move on to other demographics you want to expand to.
For example, if your target clientele is in the 20 to 30-year-old range, you can research their preferred tone, content, and delivery. Likewise, if you’re marketing to business owners for corporate law, you want to use the language and ads they like to see.
Another way to do this would be to start an email list. Here, you can collect information about your subscribers, giving you an idea of who you should be marketing to.
3. Plan And Create Your Ads Strategically
In most cases, you’ll have to make the ads yourself, so make sure you compose a good text ad line and write a great CTA.
If you need to submit an image as an ad, take the time to design and format it so the text is readable and the images are placed right. If you don’t have the time or skill to create a nice image for the ad, hire a professional to make you one. You don’t want to post anything that doesn’t catch the eye or can’t be understood.
3. Set A Budget
Some platforms will continually charge you until you manually stop the campaign. In some cases, it’s PPC (pay-per-click). Regardless of the payment options, you need to have a budget and stick with it.
Setting aside a marketing budget for small law firms is a huge step. So, you don’t want to overspend or bid on ad spaces you can’t afford. But, once you have a budget, you’ll be able to filter out ones you’re not ready for and options that suit you.
4. Have A Good Landing Page
When your ads catch people’s attention, they will click on them. They’ll be taken to a landing page you’ve linked when they do. This moment is crucial, as this is where conversions typically happen.
It’s not enough for people to click on your ads; you have to lead them to your marketing goal. In other words, they can still click off if your offer or your landing page doesn’t turn out to be as interesting or as valuable as your social media ad showed.
For example, if you post ads to find more personal injury clients, you must have the right landing page to deliver the information users want. You should also include CTAs to urge them to click on a link, make a phone call, or read more on your law firm’s website.
5. Audit Your Social Media Ad Campaign
Take notes during and after your law firm social media ad campaign. Look at the numbers, see if it’s working, and look into conversion rates and traffic. These notes will allow you to look at your performance, spot possible weaknesses, and find what works and what doesn’t.
Additionally, this data would be great for when you decide to have another run of social media ads. Then, you can compare the audit reports from different campaigns and determine what you can do to improve and change them up.
More importantly, the audit reports will also help you decide whether a campaign is worth it or not. For example, if you run ads on one platform that didn’t perform as well as your other attempts, you can consider not using the same platform again. As we discussed, not all platforms will have the same users and mechanics, so you should avoid the ones that won’t bring you any ROI.
Bottom-line
The success of social media ads highly depends on research, planning, and implementation. You want to ensure you’re showing up to the right audience, delivering suitable ads, and having a solid landing page to facilitate conversions.
As with any law firm marketing strategy, social media needs planning, solidified strategies, and regular performance auditing.
This also applies to when you’re buying ads. You want to research, plan, implement, and audit how your campaign went. This is how you identify what works, what doesn’t, and what you need to do next time.