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Andrew Stickel

Sneaky Facebook Marketing Tips for Attorneys

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Facebook marketing for lawyers can be challenging.

There are many different options to choose from when defining a target audience in Facebook Ads Manager.

Most law firms choose to target anyone who is located nearby, but this is not the most effective legal marketing strategy.

There’s a sneaky trick that allows law firms to narrow their audience to people who are more than likely in need of legal services when advertising on Facebook.

How to Market on Facebook Using the Recent Location Feature

Instead of defining the target audience by entering a city or zip code, select the option that allows you to target people who have “recently been in this location.”

Now, think about where your potential clients typically are before contacting an attorney.

For example, a personal injury attorney’s potential clients would most likely be in a hospital prior to hiring an attorney.

If you are a personal injury attorney, look up the address of the hospital located closest to your law firm.

Enter this address into the location field within Ads Manager.

Facebook will automatically target anyone who has been within one mile of the address you entered within the last seven days.

This means anyone who has been involved in an accident and treated for their injuries at this specific hospital will be targeted with an ad for personal injury legal services.

Why This is the Best Way to Advertise Legal Services on Facebook

Using the recent location feature gives lawyers the best chance of reaching people who are truly in need of legal services.

If you choose to target the entire city instead of a recent location, the size of the potential audience could be in the millions.

Although more people will see the ad this way, it won’t be relevant to most of them.

The recent location feature will drastically narrow down the size of your potential audience.

The ad may not be relevant to a small percentage of people who see your ad, but it will be highly relevant to the large percentage of people who have recently been treated for their injuries at the targeted hospital.

These are the people who are probably starting their search for an attorney now, so they will see your ad at exactly the right time.

This is one of many advertising tricks that can be used to acquire new clients and it’s one of the most effective strategies for marketing law firms.

Be sure to track the campaign’s progress so you can analyze its performance and make adjustments prior to launching another one.

How to Get Your Law Firm on Google Maps

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Search for something on Google and you might notice three listings with contact information that appear next to a map.

In fact, these listings even show up before the paid advertisements.

These are known as Google maps listings, and every law firm should aim to land in one of these spots.

But unfortunately, there are only three local business listings near the map, so it will take a little bit of effort and the right legal marketing company to secure one of these spots.

How Google Chooses Local Businesses For Google Maps Listings

The listings that appear next to the map are not chosen at random.

Google chooses these listings based on the business’s proximity to the searcher.

For example, let’s say someone in the Upper East Side of Manhattan is searching for a personal injury attorney.

Ideally, Google would like to show this person three listings for personal injury attorneys in the Upper East Side.

Therefore, it’s important that Google clearly understands where your law firm is located otherwise you won’t appear as a Google maps listing.

How to Get on Google Maps

There are several steps that lawyers can take to increase their chances of securing one of these spots.

First, review your law firm’s website to determine if it has enough information to communicate your location to Google.

If you are a DUI attorney in Baltimore, the keywords “Baltimore DUI attorney” and “Baltimore DUI lawyer” should be found throughout your website.

Another way to show Google where you are located is to build backlinks from other local businesses or organizations.

Some lawyers choose to personally reach out to businesses in the community to ask for a backlink, but this can be fairly time-consuming and many small business owners might not understand what you mean.

Instead, consider contacting youth sports organizations in the city. Offer each of these organizations a small donation in exchange for a backlink on their website.

It’s much easier to build backlinks using this approach since the organization is getting something in return for taking their time to update their website.

The donation does not have to be large-most law firms donate between $150-300 when implementing this strategy.

Web marketing for lawyers doesn’t have to be difficult. Simply incorporating location-based keywords into your website’s content and building local backlinks will show Google how relevant your law firm is to the community.

Since showing relevant results is so important to Google, this could be enough for the search engine to add your business to Google maps.

Google My Business Category Tips For Law Firms

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Every law firm wants to know the secret to be one of the three businesses that appear in local search results underneath the Google map.

These spots are limited and the competition is fierce, which makes it incredibly challenging.

Google can be unpredictable, so there’s no way to guarantee that any trick will be enough to land your law firm in one of these spots.

However, there is one legal marketing strategy that can be implemented to increase your chances of getting a Google maps listing.

How To Use Categories

Visit your law firm’s Google business listing and take a look at which categories you have selected.

The categories are supposed to be used to describe what type of business you are in.

This isn’t just helpful to consumers browsing through local business listings-it’s also used by Google to figure out what you do.

The primary category on your Google local business page should be your main practice area.

For example, the primary category for a personal injury law firm would be “personal injury attorney” instead of “law firm.”

The latter is far too general to be used as a primary category since it doesn’t indicate which area of law you practice.

If you practice more than one area of law, choose the one that generates the most business for your primary category.

Next, choose secondary categories.

These categories should also be relevant to your business, but they will not be as specific as the primary category.

For instance, some of the secondary categories that law firms can use include lawyer, law firm, general practice attorney, trial attorney, and legal services.

These are some of the go-to categories for law firms.

But, if you want to browse the full list, simply click on the pencil icon and type in the word “attorney” to pull up all of the categories that are relevant to your business.

Be sure to save the changes once you have selected your categories.

It only takes a few minutes to make this change on your law firm’s listing, and it can pay off in a major way.

Now that this information is updated, Google will have a better idea of what legal services you have to offer.

This makes it easier for the search engine to determine when your business is relevant to the search query.

As a result, it’s possible this simple law firm web marketing strategy could help your law firm land in one of the coveted spots in the Google map rankings.

Unique Law Firm Advertising Ideas

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There are probably dozens of other law firms located in your area.

Many of these law firms use the same traditional marketing methods such as billboards and pay-per-click ads.

But, if you want to set yourself apart from the competition, you must think of unique law firm advertising ideas.

Everyone loves getting free stuff, so the best way to market a law firm may be handing out promotional items.

But, no one wants to receive a branded pen or stress ball that every other law firm in the state already uses to market their business.

The key to this legal marketing strategy is choosing items that people in your target audience actually want.

Find A Promotional Item Potential Clients Will Use Daily

Let’s say you are a criminal defense attorney looking for new DUI clients.

Many people who drink alcohol on a regular basis also smoke, so a branded lighter would be the perfect promotional item.

You could even look for one that features a lighter on one side and a bottle opener on the other so you can appeal to people who don’t smoke, too.

Buy custom lighters that prominently feature your law firm’s branding.

Since you are targeting DUI clients, make sure the branding mentions “DUI attorney” instead of simply “criminal defense attorney.”

Now, think of where your potential clients spend a lot of their time.

Potential DUI clients probably spend a lot of time in bars, so this is the perfect place to distribute the items.

Visit some of the most popular bars in the area and give a box of these lighters to the bartenders.

Explain that you are a local attorney and ask them to hand the lighters out for free to people who are smoking at the bar.

Since many of your potential clients actually use lighters, this strategy will ensure that people who may get DUIs know about your law firm.

How Will This Strategy Help?

If they are ever charged with a DUI, the first law firm that will come to mind is the one that is printed right on the lighter that they take with them everywhere.

Not only is this strategy effective, it’s also far less expensive than other law firm marketing strategies.

Law firms can implement this idea for around $600, but the price can vary depending on the promotional item that is chosen.

Even if you only acquire one new client with this strategy, it’s very likely that the client will generate enough revenue to cover these costs.

Uber Advertising Tips For Law Firms

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Uber is probably not something that comes to mind when thinking about ways to market your law firm, but it should be.

Believe it or not, law firms can use Uber advertising to find new clients.

All it takes is finding an Uber driver who is willing to drive a vehicle wrapped in your law firm’s advertising.

Uber drivers travel back and forth across the city all day, so wrapping an Uber car with your branding is a great way to market your law firm.

Some lawyers may be hesitant about spending money on a vehicle solely for marketing purposes.

But, when you break the costs of this strategy down, it’s actually less expensive than many other marketing tactics, including pay-per-click ads and billboards.

How can you implement this legal marketing strategy?

Follow these four steps:

Buy A Car

Invest $10-15k in a reliable car that can be used by an Uber driver to promote your law firm.

It’s best to choose a car with four doors and a large trunk so it can accommodate Uber passengers.

Insure the Car

Next, you will need to get insurance on the car to protect yourself and your law firm.

Uber and other ridesharing companies only provide coverage from the moment that the ride is accepted until the passenger gets out of the car.

So, you will need a commercial policy that covers ridesharing during the times when Uber’s insurance policy is not in effect.

Wrap the Car

Find a local company that can design and apply the wrap to the vehicle.

Be sure to pay attention to the information placed on the back of the car.

Many people read information off of vehicles when they are stuck behind them in traffic, so this is an important advertising spot on the car.

Get An Uber Driver

Ask friends, family members, and employees if they know of anyone who would be interested in this type of arrangement. If this doesn’t work, use Facebook instead.

There are countless Facebook groups for Uber drivers in different metro areas, so find one that is close to you and create a post about this opportunity.

Be sure to highlight the benefits of this arrangement by mentioning the driver will get to use a car for free as long as he or she agrees to pay for gas and work a minimum number of hours per week.

Law firms must be willing to be creative if they want to outshine the competition, and marketing using Uber cars is one way to do so.