Facebook Ad Targeting Ideas for Law Firm Marketers

How have your numbers looked on Facebook Advertising lately? In a more privacy-restricted environment, the best ways to reach Facebook users are changing. As we move into a new year, take some time to familiarize yourself with the latest considerations for Facebook ad targeting and what you can do to improve results. Here are the newest Facebook ad targeting ideas for law firm marketers:

How the Privacy Updates from 2021 Impact Facebook Ads Targeting

According to Facebook, in 2021 Apple released iOS 14.5, an operating system that implemented strict privacy rules for apps. This iOS update required developers to begin using the AppTrackingTransparency framework, which lets users decide whether to allow apps to track their activity. What followed was essentially a mass opt-out from iPad and iPhone users. Because of those changes, Facebook has had to limit the capabilities of some of its advertising platform’s most profitable targeting options. Facebook began rolling out changes to advertisers’ targeting, tracking, and reporting capabilities last year.

Here are some of the ways audiences might be affected, how to address the issues, and how to implement the latest Facebook ad targeting ideas for law firm marketers:

How to Create Saved Audiences for Facebook

Facebook stopped supporting its most popular tool, the Audience Insights tool. However, it did offer some updated options. 

If you want to get a better sense of your page’s current audience before targeting new clients, you can go to the Facebook Business Suite and then open Audience Insights for your page. From there you can review the Current Audience tab to see basic demographics for your existing audience, like age, gender, and location. You can even click the Potential Audience Tab to learn about which people you could reach on the platform. Filter to narrow down by demographics and then you can click Create Audience and save the list in Saved Audiences to access for campaigns. 

For optimal performance, experts recommend using the Broad Targeting option. This involves setting as few parameters as possible so that Facebook can deliver more ads to people who are likely to respond. For even broader targeting, try Facebook’s Detailed Targeting Expansion option. This will allow the tool to display your ads to people outside of your targeting parameters when it’s likely to drive better results. You can turn this option on or off during campaign creation. 

How to Build Custom Audiences for Facebook Ads

So far, Facebook hasn’t made substantial changes to the types of data sources you can use to build custom audiences. However, last year’s regulations have altered how the platform populates many of these retargeting audiences and best practices for setting them up. You can create custom audiences to reach people who have visited your website or downloaded your mobile app. However, creating audiences based on website activity could mean that you can no longer track iOS 14.5 users.

You can get around this by installing the Facebook pixel and setting up conversion events in the Facebook Events Manager and building audiences of the people who’ve completed those events. If you go this route for retargeting, make sure to create or update your audience at least a few days before launching your campaign. 

You can also base campaigns on information from your CRM system. If you use an email provider, you likely have a remarketing list. When you upload it to Facebook Ads, the tool matches it with relevant Facebook users. Advertisers now need to take an extra step to accommodate new rules but the process should still work seamlessly. 

If your firm uses features like Facebook lead forms, you have data that you can leverage. You can build remarketing campaigns based on people who have watched your videos, filled out a lead form, engaged with events you’ve hosted, or followed or engaged with your page. 

How to Make Lookalike Audiences for Facebook Ads

Lookalike audiences are powerful tools when it comes to connecting with users who are similar to your clients or prospects. You can develop several lookalike audiences for any data source, each with different levels of similarity to the original.

Before, advertisers could create lookalike audiences with location targeting. In-location targeting for this audience type is no longer allowed, and users can only add geo-targeting to the ad set during campaign setup. Existing campaigns can continue to use these retired audiences, as long as the campaign remains active. However, you can’t create new ad campaigns using those outdated lists. That makes it even more important to add location targeting at the ad set level. 

When creating a new lookalike audience, you can choose a custom audience or your Facebook page as the data source. If you choose a custom audience based on a web or app-based source, it will exclude people who have opted out (so it might be smaller than usual). Now Facebook recommends creating lookalike audiences with value-based data sources. Your Facebook pixel tracking can track events with value and develop value-based lookalike audiences from there. When you do this, you can create lookalike audiences based on your most valuable clients. In this way, you are likely to find more high-value prospects. 

Tips to Improve Campaign Performance

To optimize the performance of your Facebook advertising, you need to follow their latest guidelines and use the new targeting features. Take a few extra steps to increase your chances of success. 

1. Verify your domain – This will confirm the connection between you, your business, and your website. That also provides your Business Manager account the ability to configure conversion events.
2. Create prioritized conversion events – You can do this within the Events Manager. You are allowed to create up to 8 events that can be used to target and report on iOS 14.5 users. Begin in the Events Manager by selecting the pixel you want to configure and opening the Aggregated Event Measurement tab. Then click the blue Configure Web Events button to start, and click the green Add Event button to start configuring.
3. Perform split-tests on Facebook Ad audiences – Since there have been so many changes to Facebook advertising and targeting workflows, it’s more important than ever to experiment. Ads Manager has a built-in A/B testing tool that makes it easier to set up various tests – take advantage of it. 

Takeaway: 

The bottom line is that no matter what type of campaign you’re setting up, the newest Facebook targeting regulations are likely to change your results – unless you take proactive steps to fine-tune your planning ahead of time. We suggest creating audiences and campaigns in advance so you have plenty of time for testing and tweaking. If you’re too busy to stay on top of Facebook’s latest adjustments and updates, it’s in your best interest to work with a social media partner. It’s our job to stay up to date on Facebook advertising – and all social media channels – so that you can focus on yours. Contact us today if you’d like assistance with your online advertising strategy.