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Social Media Charity Campaigns For Lawyers

March 6, 2017
Social Media Charity Campaigns for Lawyers

A recent trend in business marketing is the social media charity campaign.  Many law firms do it; it’s a great way to give back to your community while also putting your law firm’s name out there.

But while many law firms do it, only a few of them do it right.  Today we’re going to talk about why social media charity campaigns work, and what the best practices are for doing one.  Let’s get started:

Why They Work

People normally dislike advertisements for law firms because generally speaking, they’re boring.  On social media especially, many ads look like a desperate plea for business on a medium they are unfamiliar with.  As we covered in our primer for Facebook marketing, people use Facebook for entertainment; they don’t want to be pitched a product, unless it comes with something that elicits emotion.

Posts that often get the most shares are usually ones heartwarming success stories.  And if the Facebook user can feel like they are contributing to charity, that makes it all the better for them.

Do you remember The Ice Bucket Challenge?  Have you ever been to freerice.org?  They both have a simple message: you can help a charity by doing something that isn’t that hard.

People feel good when they help a charity.  They feel even better when it takes little to no effort on their part.

The Wrong Way

Most firms give money to charity.  Many of them ask in return to have their firm’s name or logo displayed by the charity in some form.  These firms think that’s how they they’ll get noticed by a prospective client.

Have you ever paid attention to the company logos at the end of a pamphlet?  Is that what comes to mind when you need a business in that field?

Odds are you haven’t, and it’s not.  If you’re the one donating money, you’re also responsible for showcasing your charity to the community.  Nobody is asking you to brag, but if you want to reach people, you have to go to where they are.  And they aren’t at the end of a charity’s pamphlet; they’re on social media.

Even firms who understand the importance of social media can miss out on their potential reach for a Social Media Charity Campaign.  Take a look at this example:

The Wrong Way to Do It

The firm had a Charity Drive among the employees of the firm, and they raised $600.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s still $600 that otherwise would not have gone to charity, but if I’m a Facebook user who has never heard of this firm, why do I care about their $600?  What does this have to do with me?

The Right Way

Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm favors posts that get a lot of activity (likes, comments, and shares).  In other words, more people will see your post in their feed if other people are interacting with it.

Now think about the previous example and how likely it is that the average person will interact with that post.  It’s a feel-good post, so it’ll definitely get some good interaction, but you want to maximize that interaction to get the most out of your social media page.  Take this example:

A Good Example of Social Media Use

If you interact with this post (or rather, the linked page of the business), you’ll be contributing to charity.  You have unlimited likes to give, so why not use one for a good cause?

THIS post will get a lot of interactions, which will lead to more people seeing the post in their feed and knowing about the business.  And with more likes to your firm’s page, your firm will have a broader audience to reach for your next post, whatever that may be.

You can change the amount that you give based on your budget.  The more money you offer to donate per like to your page, the more likely the average Facebook user will like your page.

As we’ve covered before, lawyer keywords are the most expensive in the industry, so a $1 or $2 Price Per Click (PPC) campaign is cheap compared to your alternatives.  And since the money goes to a good cause, you’ll feel better than spending it on paid advertising.

It Can Get Even Better

You might be wondering, “When is the best time to do a charity campaign?”  If you already know the charity to which your firm would donate, make a quick call to their location to see if they are doing any fundraising drives in the future, or if they have a big annual fundraising event.  If so, you can combine your efforts on social media for the event and have the charity boost your firm’s campaign.  It’s a win-win for both parties.

Similarly, the event itself would be a good place to network and meet potential clients.  And yes, you’ll likely be included on the event’s pamphlets.

In short, coordination is key.  Your firm should be coordinating with the charity and your social media platforms to produce the best results.

If you get your local community involved with your firm for a charitable cause, they might also get involved with your firm for their future legal representation.  Your social media campaign might not be the highest level of Tzedakah, but with your new business you’ll be able to give even more the following year.

 

Have you, esteemed readers of Small Firm Legal Marketing, coordinated your own social media charity campaigns already?  Are there any tips that I’ve missed?  Which social media charity campaigns do YOU think have been the most successful?

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