How to Market Your Practice with Facebook: Our Story
In spite of popular belief, social media marketing is not a tool restricted to retail business promotions. In fact, social media can be used effectively in virtually any industry. As an immigration attorney, based in San Diego, we are a perfect example of a professional service provider who has been able to execute social media marketing tactics triumphantly to expand our client base and reinforce our credibility.
In the past, we have cited countless cases, strategies with you. Today, we would like to tell you about the milestone we embarked on with a Facebook post that received thousands of likes and reached more than two million people. Throughout the years, our social media development has encountered ups and downs, bitter and sweet. Today, we can confidently give ourselves a pat on the shoulder and say “well done”!
As a law practice we originally turned to social media as a vehicle for connecting with the community and attracting potential clients, which stays true till today. Given that some of the our competitors were already using social media marketing resulting in limited success, we developed new methods, hoping they would be more effective than conventional strategies.
Our firm uses multiple social media platforms to communicate with our target audience. To avoid the competition, we choose to concentrate our majority forces on channels that other lawyers are not using as frequently. For example, since a substantial number of lawyers are already on LinkedIn, our firm does not spend as much time or resources on LinkedIn as it does on other outlets. Last month, I wrote a blog on “Why Lawyers Should Bother with Google Plus” encouraging lawyers to think outside the box, which is another example of not going with the flow.
What distinguishes us from others is that we never copy and paste contents from one outlet to another. Originality is what defines each one of our social networking sites. We do cross marketing among our social media roles but each one serves a distinctive purpose behind a diverse set of rules monitored by various personalities.
Facebook was one of the first social media outlets we explored. In fact, I have been personally active on Facebook since 2008. We began using it professionally for business purposes in 2010, and we have been able to build a strong following. Although our firm’s first year on Facebook was tough, we have since learned how to engage with users, and here we are, hoping that you can learn a thing or two from our struggle and victory.
Through a process of trial and error, we have developed a model that works well for us. Although some retail businesses may be able to succeed by blasting information onto their followers’ newsfeeds, this bombardment strategy is not effective for lawyers. Instead of driving users away with overt sales pitches and useless information, our team approaches potential clients on a personal level. We regularly share stories about real cases and we rarely offer promotions or post about our services. We encourage you to check out a few of our recent posts here to assimilate the ideas.
To get the word out about the firm’s presence on Facebook, we actively promoted the page in every shape and form. We printed our Facebook address on the back of each of our attorney’s and paralegal’s business cards, on letterheads, and on the office’s entry door. You may not find this as usual as you think.
After we reached 10,000 organic likes, we began experimenting with Facebook ads. The initial ad budget was $1,500 per month, which allowed us to invest in five to seven ad types with different geographic locations. These paid advertisements led to a dramatic increase in our page’s fan base. In addition to paid advertisements, we also promoted our most engaging posts, which have generated even more traffic for the page.
Below is one of our proudest moments:
Facebook has proven much more effective for our firm than pay-per-click advertising. Pay-per-click clients are usually a one-shot deal, whereas clients from Facebook tend to be more loyal, many of them continue to stay in the family, and refer other potential clients even after their cases are closed.
Other Resources
Speaking from our own experience, we created an infographic on the mistakes lawyers make on Facebook. Here is a short video of me explaining why lawyers should be using social media for marketing. Below is the key takeaways from this video in the form of Q&A for those of you who prefer written notes.
Does Facebook have any value for legal attorneys?
– Facebook has been a major source of referrals, engagement, client retention for us, as well as a tool to understand clients, to engage with prospective clients. It’s like you go into a party, you watch people, you decide who is the person you want to talk to. Facebook takes time. Someone may have left a comment six months ago and is sending in inquiries now.
For those who don’t have a professional page
– They miss the opportunity to form a community to engage with people who are trying to learn about you. It’s a way to show you care. The best clients are the ones who have been following you for a while, who know your work and most importantly, you.
Three goals
- Create another marketing front on social media where they can see you;
- They want to learn about your attitude and your style. Videos help achieve this goal;
- Social media gives you social proof. The number of fans and check-ins help you forge this powerful social tool to prove to people how powerful your influence is.
In conclusion, Facebook creates the ability to build an exclusive pool of prospects. With the right message to the right person at the right time, prospects can quickly turn into paying clients. That is the value of an online community.
Always remember that you are an attorney, also a brand. I hope you enjoyed reading our story. If so, please share and subscribe to our updates.
