Annette Choti | Using your Facebook page effectively requires effort, but here are tips to make increasing engagement less overwhelming.
The post 7 Ways to Optimize Your Law Firm Facebook Pages appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

By doing a few simple things your law firm’s Facebook page will start to attract more clients.

law firm facebook pages — 7 Ways to Optimize Your Law Firm Facebook Pages 2

Key Takeaways

Engagement is Key: For a law firm’s Facebook page to work it needs to be engaged with existing and potential clients. That means creating interactive content, responding to messages quickly and being professional yet personal.
Use Visuals: High quality photos, engaging videos and relevant hashtags can make a huge difference to a law firm’s Facebook presence. They grab attention, convey messages and increase post visibility.
Facebook Ads and Reviews: Use Facebook ads to get your posts in front of a wider audience. Ask and respond to client reviews on Facebook.

For modern law firms, building a successful social media presence is crucial because the competition is out there, often crushing it with their online presence.

Since Facebook hosts 1.37 billion users every day, vibrant, engaging law firm Facebook pages are a business asset. But for lawyers, social media can be a challenging addition to an already busy schedule — and many questions emerge, including:

How can your firm optimize its Facebook page to attract the most attention?
What should you be posting?
Should you hope for organic traffic or invest in Facebook ads?

Using your law firm’s Facebook page effectively requires time and effort, but here are some tips to make the investment worth it.

1. Set up your law firm’s Facebook Page

Claim and Verify your Page

Claiming and verifying your law firm’s Facebook page is the first step in getting online. Search for your law firm’s name on Facebook and click “Is this your business?” Click through and verify your page by providing documentation such as a utility bill or business licence to prove who you are and that you own the business. Verifying your page will:

Boost credibility with your audience
Get you found in search results
Get you advanced features and insights
Protect your brand

Claiming and verifying your page means your law firm’s Facebook page will be the official page of your business which will help your social media efforts big time.

2. Focus on Engagement for Your Law Firm Facebook Page

Thousands of law firms have created Facebook pages, hoping to inspire trust and authority in consumers’ eyes. Many of these law firms report that Facebook is not working for them, and a key reason is that it takes time, effort and consistency to squeeze the most out of your firm’s Facebook presence. Repurposing key ideas from blog posts into more interactive and tailored content can significantly enhance engagement. Making law firm marketing work on Facebook takes more than likes and follows. In a word, it takes engagement. Engaging with existing clients is equally important for maintaining a competitive edge. Once you make consistent, meaningful engagement a habit, Facebook can become a powerful platform for your firm.

3. Include Photo, Video and Hashtags

Facebook is a visual platform, so get your aesthetically minded team members on board and start creating well-designed posts for your Facebook page. Instead of chunks of text about your latest courtroom success, add compelling photos along with user-friendly captions. Cartoons, illustrations, attractive quotations and video clips are also potent ways to engage your followers.

Here are some tips for using video on your firm’s Facebook page:

Keep your video to three minutes or less.
Maximize SEO on videos by using video titles and descriptions with your keywords infused.
Upload your videos directly to Facebook instead of embedding a video from another site since natively produced videos get priority in the feed.
Ethics guidelines for law firms vary by state, but they often require photos and videos to include actual law firm staff, not hired actors. (Be sure to check for guidance in your jurisdiction.)

Using hashtags on Facebook is another way to increase your organic reach. Legal hashtags turn your topic into a clickable link and allow other people interested in a subject, such as #slipandfall, to land safely on your law firm’s Facebook content.

4. Invite and Interact

Search for the gear icon at the top right of your law firm’s Facebook page. This useful tool contains options such as the ability to post content to other pages. Depending on their privacy settings, you can add posts to other people’s pages, which exposes your own material to a wider audience and can ultimately increase your law firm’s business.

In the same corner, you can find the Admin Panel. If you click the “Build Audience” button, a menu will drop down that allows you to select various ways to invite others to like your page.

This is a simple way to enlarge your audience because you are contacting people who already know you and like you. And as you build your framework, it becomes more important to stay on top of any messages you receive. Try to respond as soon as possible because Facebook pages are rated for responsiveness. If a message requires more time to answer, respond quickly, letting the user know you will get back to them.

5. Be Professional and Personal

Your Facebook page is an extension of your law firm, so you must stay on top of best practices in advertising. Think carefully before you post. While you must always be professional, you can still be personal. Allow your law firm’s Facebook page to spotlight your personality to prospective clients. Speak their language, and include content they care about. Local issues and current events make great post ideas, so be quick to let the world hear your commentary.

While most of your Facebook connections will probably be potential clients, you can also interact with a few colleagues or law firms. Engage with these other professionals by liking, commenting on, and sharing their content, and they will probably do the same for you. This gives everyone more exposure and can build relationships between key industry leaders on various social media platforms.

6. Building Your Law Firm’s Brand on Facebook

Brand Voice and Tone

Developing a consistent brand voice and tone on Facebook is key to building trust and credibility with your target audience. Here are some tips to consider:

Define your law firm’s brand personality and values. Are you a compassionate family lawyer or a tenacious criminal lawyer? Your brand voice should reflect who you are and what you stand for.
Use a consistent tone and language across all your Facebook posts. Whether you’re sharing a blog post or responding to a comment, consistency helps reinforce your brand identity.
Be authentic and transparent in your communication. Clients appreciate honesty and openness, so let your true self shine through in your posts.
Use humor and empathy to humanize your brand and connect with your audience. A well-placed joke or a heartfelt message can make your law firm more relatable.
Ensure that all your Facebook posts align with your law firm’s overall marketing strategy and goals. Every post should serve a purpose, whether it’s to inform, engage, or convert.

By developing a strong brand voice and tone, you can create a cohesive and compelling presence on Facebook that attracts and retains clients.

7. Schedule Your Content

Scheduling your content can be a timesaver and stress reliever. Although midsize and larger law firms have the assistance of marketing agencies, smaller firms do not have this luxury when it comes to social media management. Help yourself out by utilizing Facebook’s scheduling feature, which can help you plan your content postings for premium traffic times. Using a comprehensive scheduling tool — such as Hootsuite, SmarterQueue or others — can help you produce and automate all of your social media content.

Scheduling makes you appear active and consistent to other users and allows you to post content on evenings, weekends and holidays.

Other Facebook Page Tips to Consider

Request and Respond to Reviews

Client reviews are free and powerful advertising for your law firm. You may be reluctant to request a client review, but most clients do not always think of leaving a review unless asked. Requesting client reviews should be a serious priority since peer reviews greatly influence a potential client’s decision to contact a law firm. You may already have a stash of excellent Google reviews, but do not forget to use Facebook for reviews also.

The Facebook reviews system gives a comprehensive look at how businesses are rated by their clients, and your prospective clients will be checking your law firm’s Facebook page to see your ratings. What about negative reviews? Although they are a bummer, one negative review is not going to hinder your law firm in a significant way. You can mitigate the effect of a negative review by your gracious, professional response to the unhappy review.

Always respond to every review, whether positive or negative. This shows that you take reviews seriously and that you stay engaged with your clients.

Look Into Facebook Ads

The worst-kept secret of Facebook is that they are always trying to make money off of your content through ads. When you promote your posts with paid ads, more individuals see them in their feeds. To gather maximum marketing gains, you should consider buying Facebook ads.

Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive. After you create a post, you can choose to “boost” it, which increases your audience. You can also sponsor a status update targeted to a selected demographic through a planned Facebook ad budget. A boost can increase the reach to your present friends and fans, and a paid update will get your message out to potential new clients. If you are unsure how to get started, take a peek at your competitors’ ads. You can view all ads through Facebook’s Ad Library.

Increasing Traffic on Law Firm Facebook Pages Takes Persistence

Optimizing your law firm’s Facebook page does not have to be an overwhelming or tedious task. By employing a few simple habits and scheduling your posts strategically, your law firm’s Facebook page can start attracting more potential clients. When you focus on engaging and responding to current connections, finding new ways to reach out, and directing followers to the law firm’s website, you should start to see increased traffic on your law firm’s Facebook page. Additionally, selecting the appropriate categories for your Facebook Page is crucial. Facebook allows for the selection of up to three categories, encouraging law firms to choose both general and specific categories that accurately represent their services.heduling your posts strategically, your law firm’s Facebook page can start attracting more potential clients. When you focus on engaging and responding to current connections, finding new ways to reach out, and employing other helpful tips, you should start to see increased traffic on your law firm’s Facebook page.

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7 Ways to Optimize Your Law Firm Facebook Pages