Facebook Ads for Lawyers

When it comes to law firm social media marketing, sometimes you have to pay to play! Organic methods, like posting content and sharing videos, can take you far, but in such a competitive industry as Legal, running paid ads is a smart way to get ahead.

Facebook Ads is one of the leading paid advertising platforms, allowing business owners to target certain audience locations, interests, and demographics with the goal of getting more clients/customers. Facebook Ads are particularly effective for lawyers looking to generate more traffic and leads.

Learn more about Facebook Ads, how they work, and how to get started with your own law firm advertising campaigns.

What are Facebook Ads?

As the name suggests, Facebook Ads are paid advertisements that run on the popular social media website, Facebook. To get more specific, Facebook Ads are operated by the umbrella company, Meta, which also manages Instagram and Instagram Ads.

Facebook Ads can take many forms, including text-based, image-based, and video-based advertisements. Advertisers (like you) get to determine what type of ad to run, the content within those ads, and the parameters for targeting specific audiences/users.

How Facebook Ads Work

Facebook Ads fall within a larger category of Digital Marketing called Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. This simply means that rather than paying for the entire ad itself (as you might with a TV or newspaper ad), you actually pay a fee for each successful “click” on your ad.

The cost per click (CPC) on your ads is determined by a variety of factors, such as the location of your audience and the competitiveness of your niche. For these reasons, ad spend can vary widely from one law firm to the next.

We’ll talk more about how to determine your Facebook Ads budget later, but in a nutshell, here’s how Facebook Ads operate:

1. Auctioning: When a user logs onto Facebook, available ad space enters an auction. Advertisers then compete to have their ad shown to the user.
2. Bidding: Facebook’s algorithm determines the “winner” of this ad space based on several factors, including how much the advertiser is willing to pay, how likely a user is to click on the ad, and the quality and relevance of the ad to users’ interests.
3. Targeting: The ads are delivered to users based on the advertiser’s chosen targeting parameters, such as demographics, interests, behavior, and custom audiences.
4. Placement: Facebook evaluates in real-time where the ad can best be placed across its platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc).
5. Budget: The algorithm also makes sure that the ad fits within the advertiser’s budget constraints and does not get displayed to the same users over and over.
6. Continuous Learning: Facebook’s machine learning/AI model continuously improves ad targeting and delivery based on data, like how past users have engaged with the ads.

Benefits of Facebook Ads for Lawyers

As with most advertising platforms, the obvious benefit of Facebook Ads is lead generation. Facebook Ads can be used to get your law firm in front of more potential clients, driving leads to your website, phone, or inbox. But there are other benefits to running Facebook Ads as well:

How to Launch a Facebook Ad Campaign for Your Law Firm

Running successful Facebook Ads requires planning, quality content, and continuous review and improvement. Facebook Ads are not a “set it and forget it” strategy — at least not until you’re an ads expert! We highly recommend following these steps when creating your first campaign. 

Here’s how to get started with Facebook Ads:

1. Set Up a Meta Business Manager Account

To advertise on Facebook, visit business.facebook.com and create a Meta Business Manager account.

2. Define Your Advertising Objectives

Next, use Ads Manager to select a goal for your campaign, such as increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, boosting engagement, or generating conversions.

3. Enter Campaign Information

Name your campaign. Then, decide if you want to run an A/B test or a Campaign Budget Optimization (the latter automatically allocates your budget to maximize results across your campaign).

4. Configure Your Target Audience

Set your targeting parameters based on audience demographics, geographic location, interests, and behaviors. You can also leverage tools like Custom Audiences to re-engage past website visitors, or Lookalike Audiences to reach new users with similar traits.

Some Facebook Ads targeting to consider for your law firm might include:

• People within your city, state, or service area
• Factors like age, gender, income level, or life events (e.g., recent homebuyers or new parents)
• Individuals who have shown interest in legal services, such as family law, estate planning, or personal injury law
• Users who have taken specific actions, like booked travel, made a purchase, or conducted an online search for legal-related topics
• Previous clients or website visitors (based on a contact list or your website pixel data)
• People going through life changes, such as marriages, divorces, or business startups

5. Set Your Budget and Scheduling

Choose between a Daily Budget or a Lifetime Budget for your campaign. With a Daily Budget, this sets a maximum daily spend, ensuring consistent ad exposure. With a Lifetime Budget, this allocates a total spend for the campaign duration, allowing Meta to optimize spending by day based on performance. You should then set your campaign’s start and end dates.

6. Choose Ad Placement

Choose either Automatic or Manual placements to determine where your ads will appear:

• Automatic Placements (Recommended): Meta will distribute ads across platforms like Facebook Feed, Instagram Stories, Messenger, and Audience Network to optimize performance.
• Manual Placements: You can specify exactly where your ads will appear, such as the Instagram Feed or Facebook Stories, giving you more control over your campaign.

7. Create Your Ad Content

Pick an ad format that suits your campaign goals, such as a single image, carousel, video, or slideshow. Then, craft persuasive ad copy, eye-catching visuals, and add a strong call-to-action (CTA) to encourage users to contact you, subscribe, etc.

8. Monitor Performance

Preview your ad to see how it will appear across the various platforms you’ve selected. If all looks good, you can launch your campaign. Be sure to use the Ads Manager’s analytics tools to monitor performance and make adjustments to improve your results!

Need Facebook Ads? We Can Help!

Facebook Advertising requires a targeted strategy specific to your audience and practice areas. Many law firms waste time and money on Facebook Ads that simply don’t deliver. A better investment is to work with a trusted Facebook Ads agency that can create, optimize, and run your campaigns with success!