Facebook Ads for Lawyers: How to Attract Clients with Facebook Advertising

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2022 and was updated in November 2023 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Facebook ad campaigns are an excellent way for law firms to elevate their professional reputation and attract more local clients.

With over 3 billion active monthly users worldwide, Facebook makes it easy for advertisers (including attorneys!) to target particular audiences who may be interested in their services.

Today, we’ll cover several tactics for promoting your firm with Facebook ads to help expand your client base.

But first, a quick word on why Facebook advertising deserves your attention.

Why Advertise Your Law Firm on Facebook?

According to the American Bar Association, 62% of law firms that use social media use Facebook to market their services.

Here are a few reasons why you should be part of this business-savvy majority:

• Broad reach and granular targeting: Facebook has a vast user base and a wealth of user data. This means you can target different audience segments based on countless attributes, such as age, demographics, and interests.
• Cost-effective marketing: Facebook ads typically deliver an ROI between 200% and 500%. Legal ads on the platform have a below-average cost-per-click (CPC) of $1.32.
• Brand building and awareness: Facebook ads can significantly boost brand visibility and recognition. You can use the platform to showcase your legal expertise, share success stories, and establish trust with potential clients.
• Engagement with local communities: Facebook lets you target users based on location, making it easier to position your law firm as the go-to legal experts in the local area.
• Variety of ad formats: Facebook supports various ad formats, including images, videos, and carousels. This lets you convey your expertise and services in more dynamic and engaging ways.
• Measurability: Facebook comes with comprehensive analytics tools, allowing you to track ad performance in real-time and identify improvement opportunities.

7 Tips for Advertising Your Law Firm on Facebook

Now let’s consider some tactics to help your legal practice make the most of Facebook advertising.

1. Get to Grips with the Facebook Ads Auction System

First, you need to understand the basics of bidding on the platform. This is essential for effective campaign management.

Since ad space on Facebook is finite, the platform uses an ad auction to determine which ads to show its users. This auction system doesn’t just award ad space to the highest bidder but also considers how engaging and relevant your ad is likely to be to your specified audience.

Once Facebook’s algorithm decides which ad has the highest value, the selected advertiser pays the minimum amount needed to win the bid. So if you set a maximum bid of $1.50 and the second-highest bidder sets their maximum to $1.20, you’ll only pay $1.21 if Facebook selects your ad as the winner.

2. Set Your Campaign Objectives and Budget

Before creating any ads, you’ll need to set your advertising goals and budget.

Facebook Ads Manager is the central resource for creating, managing, and analyzing all your advertising campaigns. The tool provides six campaign objectives to choose from: sales, leads, engagement, traffic, awareness, and app promotion.

Of course, the ad objective you select will depend on your specific business goal. For example, suppose your business goal is to send more visitors to your firm’s website. In that case, you should select the “traffic” objective and pick “website” as your conversion location. Facebook will then show your ad to those most likely to click.

You can manage your Facebook ad costs by setting a maximum daily or lifetime budget. You can also set an overall budget for your campaign or individual budgets for specific ad sets. These measures ensure you never accidentally spend too much.

3. Define Your Target Audience

Selecting a well-defined target audience is essential for developing successful Facebook ad campaigns for your law firm.

The good news is Facebook provides various targeting options that make it easy to pinpoint specific audience segments.

For example, a personal injury attorney may want to reach people searching for personal injury law information. They could use Facebook to find individuals interested in legal services or who have previously searched for legal advice online.

Likewise, a family law attorney looking for clients seeking divorce or custody support could use Facebook’s targeting options to reach middle-aged parents who have recently changed their relationship status to “separated.”

While it’s important to consider the demographic characteristics your target clients have in common, defining your audience too narrowly can make it challenging to find enough relevant users. For this reason, we suggest starting with a broader audience and refining it over time.

Facebook also has a feature called Audience Insights that allows you to get a clearer picture of your potential clients, what they’re interested in, and how they engage with the platform. You can then use this wealth of data to create content that better resonates with your target audience and schedule your ads more effectively.

4. Develop Your Ad Creative

Most people ignore ads that appear in their scroll unless they have an immediate need for the goods or services being promoted. Therefore, creating resonant, eye-catching ads is key to increasing your engagement and conversion metrics. Keep in mind that relevant Facebook ads can often beat ads with higher bids during the auction process.

Consider your campaign objective when picking the right format for your ad. For example, a carousel ad might be appropriate to showcase your firm’s different services. Video ads are well-suited for presenting testimonials or client success stories. And image-based ads work well for quick, impactful messages.

Remember that your Facebook ads will often be the first time potential clients encounter your business. So even if you’re only working with a small budget, make sure your ads contain high-quality visual components and consistent branding to reflect your firm’s credibility. Professional headshots of you and your associates will give users the impression of confident, authoritative attorneys—something people look for when seeking legal representation.

The goal of your ad copy is to pique the user’s interest and encourage them to take the next step, which could include checking out your Facebook page, clicking on your site, or booking a consultation. For this reason, your copy should address desires or problems relevant to your target audience, state how your firm can help, and tell users what to do next with a clear and compelling call to action (CTA). Keep your language simple and relatable (i.e., keep legal jargon to a minimum!).

This example from Quickie Divorce embodies all these elements of an effective Facebook ad.  

5. Optimize Your Landing Pages

Creating compelling Facebook ads is one thing. But you also need to direct users to purpose-built, conversion-optimized landing pages to ensure ad clicks actually lead to more client sign-ups.

For example, suppose your law firm specializes in several practice areas, but you’re running a campaign focused on criminal defense. In that case, you should send users who click on your ad to a landing page dedicated to your criminal defense services. Sending users to your generic homepage would be less effective at driving conversions.

A well-crafted landing page will contain clear and consistent messaging that aligns with your Facebook ad. It should also feature a strong CTA and, if possible, include client testimonials or case studies to highlight your firm’s credibility. Fast load speeds and mobile optimization are also essential for delivering the best user experience possible.

6. Incorporate Retargeting Campaigns

Facebook lets you retarget users who have previously interacted with your brand online without converting. It’s a great way to keep your law firm top of mind and encourage warm prospects to take the next step.

You’ll need to install the Facebook Pixel (a small piece of code that collects visitor data) on your website to implement retargeting campaigns.

7. Test and Track Ad Performance

Finally, continually monitoring and adjusting your Facebook ad campaigns is essential for making the most of your advertising budget. Doing so allows you to understand what formats, messaging, and visuals resonate most with your audience and which approaches you can discard.

Facebook comes with an in-built split-testing functionality, which lets you compare the performance of two variations of the same ad. Often, you’ll find that a slightly modified ad will unexpectedly outperform the original version. You can tweak and test any element of your ad—including the headline, CTA, or visuals—to see if the change positively or negatively affects performance.

Final Thoughts

Facebook advertising gives attorneys access to a vast audience and the ability to target specific segments most likely to use their services. But creating compelling ad campaigns requires careful planning, diligent execution, and a willingness to constantly monitor and manage ad performance. For this reason, many law firms choose to engage the services of a professional digital marketing agency.