Expect to see more and more marketing campaigns incorporating paid social ads in 2013.

Recent studies indicate that paid social ads may be the next frontier for online marketing campaigns. Ever since Facebook and other sites have begun to improve their advertising focus, social media ads have been a key purchase for lawyers and legal marketing firms.

Like most online ads, social ads are based on each user’s recent search and browsing history. This means that they are targeted to your desired audience on Facebook or other social media sites. If you want to get in on the latest trend, be sure to take this recent Vizu study to heart.

Details from the study

The study from Vizu, a Nielsen company, is full of useful statistics indicating the rising prevalence of social ads in marketing campaigns, including:

• Social media is integrated by 51 percent of advertisers in offline marketing efforts. It is used by 66 percent of advertisers in online campaigns.
• Paid social ads are most commonly used in mobile (40 percent), video (46 percent) and online display (83 percent) media. Offline social-related ads are also used in print ads (52 percent) and in conjunction with TV campaigns (32 percent).
• According to the study, the primary purpose of social advertising was branding, with a 45 percent margin reported by surveyed participants. Whether you are a Brooklyn business lawyer or other legal professional, branding plays a critical role in improving customer awareness and helping your firm stand out.
• Only 16 percent of the surveyed respondents said that their campaigns were direct response related.

Where social ads are going

One concern for advertisers has to do with finding the proper metrics for measuring the success of social ads. While advertisers are still using them, the lack of uniform or effective tools to measure return on investment (ROI) prevents social ads from being a larger part of marketing campaigns.

While things like brand lift and sales lift are typically used as marketing metrics, current social ad online metrics include pins, likes and click-throughs, none of which are universally employed or effectively studied. Still, it is clear that social media is on the rise, and proper measurement tools must be put in place before it really takes off as a business marketing tool.

Ever since Facebook made its Wall Street debut, the company has been fine tuning its massive potential as an Internet advertising platform. Advanced marketing features like sponsored stories ended up adding too much noise to the members’ news feeds, but the new Page Post Targeting option actually cuts down on the noise by allowing marketers to easily create targeted campaigns.

By targeting content distribution to segmented Facebook audiences, marketing efforts become less disruptive and more effective. This is important for law firms and solo practitioners who offer more than one field of practice. A divorce lawyer in New York may wish to send out a post about the second anniversary of the no-fault dissolution of marriage law but without having to include all followers. In this case, the attorney may wish to target only those community members who indicate a certain relationship status instead of burdening followers who might not be interested in such a post.

Page Post Targeting is easy. Administrators can craft a new post and choose from targeting options like age, language, relationship status, gender and more. The date and time the targeted posts will go out can be scheduled, and administrators also have the choice to pin their posts to the Timeline so that they will not be pushed down by future posts or status updates.

The immediate advantage to Page Post Targeting is that it lightens the message load in members’ news feeds. Targeting also has the potential to make posts more effective in terms of interest and engagement. One drawback for lawyers, however, is that Page Post Targeting is currently only available to those Timelines that have 5,000 or more followers. This should act an incentive for legal professionals to expand their social network and make more friends — that way, when this 5,000 figure lowers, they will be closer to the newer threshold.

Social Media Mondays is a CaseDetails.com series covering different topics in the social media world on a weekly basis. Check back every Monday for more news on social media and useful information on how law firms can use social platforms to their advantage.

Targeting ads at people who have already been to your website can increase your conversion rate.

Remarketing is a concept that involves advertising to individuals who spent time on your website but didn’t buy a product or service. It works by displaying your ads to these lost conversions on other websites they visit after they leave your website. This is a convenient way to advertise to potential clients who have a genuine interest in your law firm and an opportunity to maximize your conversion rate.

Due to its overall effectiveness, implementing remarketing into your firm’s campaign can be highly beneficial and is definitely something to consider. This is mainly because the majority of businesses of any kind have a conversion rate that ranges somewhere between two to five percent. This means that regardless of the quality of your website and landing page, you will be missing out on 95 to 98 percent of clients the first time they visit your firm’s website.

Remarketing works by targeting those clients who weren’t immediate conversions and giving them further exposure to your firm. As a result, every person who sees your remarketed ads would have already been on your website and must have some degree of interest in your services. Consequently, you can rest assured that the individuals you are advertising to through remarketing are highly targeted and likely to result in conversions. This would be a great way for an international process service to capitalize on lost conversions and increase sales.

For this reason, remarketing is one of the most effective types of marketing. Rather than accepting a conversion rate of two to five percent, you can considerably raise that number by going after the people with a known interest in your firm’s services. The best part is that it’s now easier than ever to integrate remarketing into your Google Adwords campaign. The only thing required is installing a code into the footer of each page of your website.

Ads on your YouTube channel may be a potential source of revenue to explore.

Whether you want your firm to make money directly or simply as a means of promotion, YouTube is an excellent platform. In fact, YouTube users view a staggering 4 billion hours worth of video each month, which makes it perfect for connecting with potential clients. In order to make money off YouTube and maximize your influence, it’s important to follow a few guidelines.

Perhaps the most important part of being successful on YouTube is being unique and original. While it’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel, you should have some sort of fresh angle that will peak the attention of users. Your content should also provide users with value that will enhance their lives or solve a problem. A lawyer who specializes in citizenship and immigration in North Carolina might create a channel that offers advice on laws surrounding these topics.

Another critical key to success is sticking with a routine posting schedule. If you really want to gain a sizable list of subscribers, you should create new content on a regular basis. Typically, this means at least one new video a week, but more is better. Doing so should help you gain traction and will make your subscribers want to come back for more. Even if you don’t see massive results right away, your firm’s subscriber base should grow over time.

In addition, effectively promoting your channel and interacting with your audience can streamline the growth process. One of the best ways to promote is by placing links to your videos on social media sites. If your law firm has a blog, you should also place each video on there as well. In terms of interaction, you should always respond to comments and ask questions that spark discussions. This way, you will come across as being personable and your subscribers should grow.

A word of caution

State bar associations have very particular rules on what is permissible in law firm advertisements. Before you put ads on your YouTube channel, check with any relevant organizations to make sure you are not breaking any state bar policies that could get you into trouble.

Interested in gaining additional visibility for an important post? Try out using Facebook’s new Promoted Posts feature.

One of Facebook’s newest features that you can incorporate into your law firm’s marketing campaign is Promoted Posts. While there isn’t an overwhelming amount of data, Promoted Posts appears to be a promising way to expand your reach and make conversions.

If you decide to purchase a promoted post, they pay up to $100 to promote a particular post that you have recently created on your Facebook brand page. This can include any type of post like videos, pictures, status updates, etc.

Now, you may be wondering why you would want to pay extra money to push a post that will wind up in your fans’ feeds anyway. The primary reason is because only a limited percentage of your firm’s fans will actually see a post you create. In fact, Facebook has stated that only around 16 percent of your fans will see all of your posts. Obviously, this is a low number that can hurt the overall effectiveness of your campaign.

In order to expand your reach and increase the percentage of fans who see a post, you can simply pay an upfront fee for a promoted post. By doing this, you significantly increase the percentage of fans who see your post in their feed. For example, if Las Vegas personal injury lawyers wanted to push a promotion for their services or let a broader audience know they recently opened a new office, they could conveniently do it through a promoted post and reach a larger number of fans.

Besides achieving greater visibility for the post in question, there are some other inherent advantages of this marketing technique. One is that the friends of individuals who like, comment or share your post will also see your post in their feed. This can be valuable if these friends have an interest in law related content. Another benefit is that you also have the option of targeting your posts for certain geographical locations and languages so you can maximize your conversion rate.

Social Media Mondays is a CaseDetails.com series covering different topics in the social media world on a weekly basis. Check back every Monday for more news on social media and useful information on how law firms can use social platforms to their advantage.

Linkbuilding strengthens your website's value online.

Your goal with online marketing is to reach the audience that is most likely to want your services. By collecting the right links and doing research into trending topics in your field online, you will be more likely to see success in your law firm marketing efforts.

How to succeed at linkbuilding and research

Research helps you develop ideas that will be popular and generate interest among your target audience. You need to be in the know about issues faced by your potential clientele. For instance, if you are a workers compensation attorney in Philadelphia, you need to know about labor relations and major companies in the Philly area. Writing your take on local labor news could go a long way toward getting people to trust you as an attorney. These tips will help you build a following for your law firm’s website and overall business.

1. Build links slowly, reaching out to established, trustworthy websites. You should aim to gain about 5 to 10 back links per month. Any more than that and Google’s search algorithms might penalize you for spamming links.
2. Write controversial content to generate discussion and comment on your blog. Research and criticize well-loved brands, pick on well-known people or weigh in on contentious local issues. Remember that even negative press is press, and starting a discussion on your blog is the best way to propel it to the top of the search rankings.
3. Comment and participate in discussions on websites in your legal field. By establishing yourself as an insightful writer and including a link back to your blog, people will naturally be curious about what you write. That curiosity will translate into greater client conversions in the long run.
4. Do your best to get a link from .edu or .gov sites. If you have good relations with faculty in a U.S. university, you may be able to get a mention in a college newsletter or another publication. Read this post on SEOmoz for good ways to earn .edu links.
5. Research highly-visited article websites for your industry such as ThreadWatch or WebproNews and contribute content. If you write well, people will be inclined to follow links back to your website.

Linkbuilding doesn’t have to be hard, but it does have to be done if you want an edge above your competitors in the Internet marketplace. If you research your target market, write compelling copy and above all, keep publishing content, your law firm will find success in its online outreach efforts.

Accessible Web design dramatically increases the likelihood that someone will bookmark your site for future visits, mention you to friends or subscribe to your blog feed and/or newsletters.

For high-flying criminal defense attorneys and accident lawyers alike, booking new clients through online marketing is a three-step process. The first step is getting people interested in your service, which you do through traditional outreach both online and offline. The second step is getting people to visit your website, which you do through search-based marketing techniques. The third and final step is getting people to contact you directly. If they are turned off by your website, that will never happen.

Tips for great site design

Web design is a full-time profession, and first and foremost, you should hire someone talented and design-savvy. That being said, you still need to take a proactive role in your website’s design. Any site is only as good as the instruction and guidance you give your Web designer. You will also need to maintain the site when the designer is done.

• Write good content. Make sure it’s spell-checked and properly edited. Involve your readers with phrases like, “what do you think?” If you can’t write interesting stories, hire a professional to ghostwrite your blog for you.
• Have your site’s design focus on a strong visitor experience rather than maximized Web traffic.
• Keep your site interactive. People keep coming back if they know they can interact with you and with one another on blogs, forums and comments.
• As a caveat to the above tip, implement powerful spam filters to keep out advertisers and linkbait spammers. Nothing is more antithetical to an online community than spam.
• If your website is largely based on content, which most legal websites are, decide on an update schedule and stick to it like clockwork. Regularity will keep people listening to your feeds and coming back for the next post.

Good design is about making visitors feel at home and excited to be searching around your site. It is open without being overwhelming, and it is visually pleasing without distracting from the content. Get second opinions, find a designer whose work you feel matches your needs, and get started on your website design today!

Depending on your area of practice, eCommerce may be a viable way to market your law firm.

As evidenced by our Social Media Mondays column, social media is an important means and method for marketing for law firms and businesses of all kinds. If you don’t have a social media marketing strategy, you may not be reaching your target clientele. Any series on marketing tips must cover, however briefly, aspects of social media.

Social media uses the power of viral marketing to get your satisfied clients and anyone interested in your business to do your outreach for you. By maintaining a profile on social media sites and contributing to social networks like Digg, Reddit, Tumblr and Stumbleupon, you can connect with people on the Internet who are passionate about the topics you deal with in your business. Even Georgia truck accident attorneys can find Internet denizens who may be interested in your practice.

You can also use eCommerce solutions to get the edge on your competition. Monetizing a website is unusual for law firms, but attorneys who handle transactions like drafting wills or prosecuting patents can transform their sites from only having content into eCommerce service destinations by adding a few simple elements.

How to use social media and eCommerce

There are many different ways to include social media and eCommerce in your marketing strategy. One of the most important factors is knowing where and how to participate and submit your content.

• Invest in a way to post to all your social media and social blog sites at once. Ping.fm is a great way to do this, as is HootSuite.
• Promote content created by your social media visitors. This will create excitement among your followers and make your social page more popular.
• Ask your friends and network contacts for suggestions on what sorts of content they’ve enjoyed, what they would like to see, and what new programs you should implement on your site.
• Issue press releases and link to them from your website. A well-written press release will improve your marketing strategy in a variety of ways, including lending legitimacy to your law firm and getting upvotes and likes for your social media content.
• Read The Ten Commandments of Marketing.
• Remember the golden rule of business, as it applies to Internet marketing as well: the customer is always right! In this case, the potential customer is also always right. You are providing a service, and you should always take customer criticism through social media seriously, as criticism is the just another form of interest. Always thank customers for their input and do your best to meet their needs.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by social media or eCommerce marketing. Like any form of online marketing, they simply take a bit of work to learn about. Once you know how to use these strategies, you will see your law firm’s business flourish.