Considering paid social media? Here is where your law firm should start.

In recent years, more and more firms have been using social media. When this trend first started, posting frequently was enough to get traffic to your profile. However, these tactics simply don't work anymore.

Instead, consider paid social media marketing. Paid social is paying to have your content displayed on social media platforms towards specific audiences. Our paid social media playbook goes in-depth on why law firms should use this tactic.

Starting to use paid social within your law firm's marketing strategy can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, we will discuss the benefits of using paid social and how to get started quickly.

The benefits of paid social media marketing

There are many reasons to use paid social tactics as a law firm. Although each social media platform differs slightly in how you set up a paid social campaign, the main advantages are the same. Some benefits are:

• It's cost-effective: There are many budget-friendly features of paid social. For example, you can run an ad for as long of a time frame as you want. You can also set a maximum amount to spend so you stay within budget.
• It will give you more visibility: Social media platforms are making it harder for people to discover you organically. You will ensure that your firm is seen by legal consumers when paying for an ad, including those who don't follow you.
• You can target specific audiences: Some people are more likely to contact your law firm than others. With paid social, you can identify specific characteristics, of people you want your ad shown to, like age or occupation.

Paid social comes with benefits organic — or unpaid — traffic can't provide. Especially since you can target specific audiences within your budget, there's a high return on investment with paid social media.

How to start using paid social media

When getting started with paid social, the most important starting point, no matter what platform you choose, is to keep your audience in mind. Thinking about your audience makes paid social worthwhile.

Step 1: Determine your audience

Your target audience is who you want your ads shown to. To start figuring out who you want to target, think about what features your ideal customer may have. Common characteristics to think about are:

• Age
• Gender
• Hobbies
• Occupation
• Location

If you're having trouble narrowing down your target audience, look at your current clients and search for similarities. Are most of them in their 30s? If so, targeting this age range may be beneficial.

It's important to narrow down your audience so you aren't wasting money on those who don't need legal help. But, you also don't want to be too specific with your targeting so that there's not a lot of traffic coming in. You will need to find the balance of having a decent-sized audience and those whose characteristics make them more likely to call your firm. This may require trial-and-error, examining results, and adjusting who you're targeting for a better fit.

Step 2: Establish the goal of your advertisement

Once you've determined who you want your ads to target, think about your goals for the campaign. Additionally, consider what action you want your audience to take after reading your ad. Examples of goals you may have with paid social are:

• Gaining more brand awareness
• Getting more people to contact you
• Having online users fill out a form

Again, think about how this goal will relate to your target audience. For example, some may not know your law firm well enough to fill out a form. In this case, focus on creating more brand awareness to help clients find you when they eventually need legal help.

Step 3: Create your main message

It's now time to think about your ad's main message. Craft the message by using a call to action based on your goal. A call to action is what you want your audience to end up doing after seeing your ad. Common phrases like "learn more," "sign up," or "contact us" are straightforward ways of telling users what to do next.

Like the previous steps, it's critical to keep your audience in mind when constructing the main message. For example, some terms in your call to action may be better for a 25-year-old but not for someone who is 60. Make sure to tailor your message to who you are targeting.

Unpaid traffic isn't working as well as it used to. However, using paid social media can help your law firm gain online traction. When using paid social, make sure to keep your audience in mind for better results. If you'd like to learn more about how to use paid social media effectively, check out our playbook.