Facebook Ads for Attorneys: The Good, the Bad, and the Fine Print

With over 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a powerful advertising platform for businesses of all sizes. This can be especially true for attorneys and law firms. Running Facebook ads for attorneys can be quite lucrative, due to a much lower cost per lead than using Google Ads. However, navigating the potential ethical pitfalls and legal considerations of Facebook advertising present challenges. While Facebook offers many benefits for attorneys looking to reach potential clients, it’s important to understand the platform’s limitations and risks. We’ll explore the good, the bad, and the fine print of Facebook advertising for attorneys, and provide a comprehensive guide for maximizing the platform’s potential while staying within legal and ethical boundaries.

The Good

The upside to using Facebook ads for attorneys is that it is a great way to meet potential new clients where they are already at. Facebook is the #1 social media platform across the globe, with users of all different demographics. Chances are your ideal client is already one of those users and has been for years. With Facebook advertising you can choose from a variety of different ad creative ranging from a single image ad, carousel ad, or video ad. Facebook also makes it easy to A/B test an ad, so you can make sure you money is well spent. Furthermore, you can set your budget as low or as high as you want it to be and still see result. However, keep in mind your goals, if you want more leads you’ll eventually have to spend more. 

Aside from the cost per lead being much lower than other digital advertising platforms, Facebook allows advertisers to hone in on their audience targeting. You have the option to use lists in your targeting and you can even create lookalike audiences from the lists you already have and retargeting lists. Additionally, you can also use demographic and interest based targeting. Facebook has a wide net of demographics to choose from like age, gender, and income, as well as a large variety of common interests people share on their platform.

The Bad

While Facebook’s advertising platform can be very beneficial for law firms, there’s always two sides to the coin. One of the biggest issues with Facebook ads for attorneys is the platforms complex and ever-changing advertising policies. Facebook has strict guidelines in place that regulate the types of ads that can be shown to their users. Law firms and any other business must ensure that their ads comply with these policies to avoid account suspension or even legal action. Another downside of Facebook ads actually lies within their interested based targeting. While this may sound contradictory to this being listed above as a good thing, depending on the area of law you practice interest based targeting may not be an option for your firm. Luckily for divorce and family law firms, there are plent of interest based targeting options to choose from. You just have to get a little creative.

Another challenge Facebook’s advertising platform produces is competition. When you’re advertising on Facebook you’re not just competing against other law firms, but against any business using Facebook ads, including big box retailers. Chances are they’re spending significantly more than you, especially during the holiday season. To mitigate this, we periodically increase our advertising spend. The other downside to Facebook ads is the users. They will have the ability to comment whatever they want on your ads and they should. After all it is freedom of speech. However, some people feel a little to comfortable behind a screen and can take it a little to far. You can mitigate this by being proactive and hiding any negative or derogatory comments. Most of the time the user will never know you did this and no one else will ever see their negative comments. If you have a persistent Angry Arnold, you can always block them.

The Fine Print

As an attorney you probably already know most of the details lie in the fine print. To have successful Facebook ads for your law firm you’ll need to pay attention to the details. This means having a deep understanding of the platform’s advertising policies and guidelines, as well as understanding Facebook ads costs, bidding strategies, ad placements, and targeting options. Additionally you’ll need to know what the best practices are for each ad type and make sure you have a creative that is the right dimensions for each ad placement in order for your ad to display properly.

Are Facebook Ads for Attorneys a Worthwhile Investment? 

The shorter answer is yes. Just like any other digital advertising platform, Facebook has its pros and cons. However, in my opinion the pros typically outweigh the cons when your Facebook ads are setup correctly. We’ve not only had success running Facebook ads for our own divorce and family law firms, but for our client’s law firms as well, with offices all over the nation. Maybe your law firm is already running Facebook ads or maybe you’re just getting started. Either way Cardinal Concepts can help you take your Facebook ads to the next level to ensure you’re capturing the leads you want and adhering to Facebook advertising policies. Contact us today to learn more.