The sophistication of the targeted advertising on Facebook is exceptional. The flexibility Facebook offers is amazing, and the reality is everyone has eyes on Facebook even if it’s a personal presence.

Many law firms and professional services businesses do a great job on Facebook. It's a very effective marketing tool if done right. Note the key point, “if done right”. The reality is that, if not done rightm it can work against you too. But, for now, we thought we would outline 6 steps to building an engaging and effective Facebook Business page.

Identify Your Target Market

The first step is to identify what will allow you to reach Facebook users who are likely to be interested in your particular services. This information will help guide the Facebook content you create and how you boost it to reach more of your ideal clients.

To identify your target market, use Facebook Audience Insights. This tool will help you isolate specific demographics of people who are likely to be interested in your services.

Balance your Posts and be Consistent

It is very important to make sure you are consistent. Set a schedule and be consistent when it comes to posting, commenting and interacting.

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It is a good thing to add in some personality. By posting a bit off topic it adds a new dimension to your brand and the insights people get into your business. But remember that most of your posts should be links to timely, useful and relevant content. Even the personal stuff has to meet the quality standards you set.

Use a Tool like Buffer or Later

A scheduling and planning tool to manage and pre-load your content is a key strategy to use. Apps like Buffer and Later allow you upload and schedule your social media content across all platforms. It is a great tool to get ahead with your posting and also keep up your consistency. Not only will this save you time it will also keep you accountable and organised, which is half the battle.

Comment, Like, Direct Message other Pages and in Groups

Facebook enables you to connect with your clients and prospective clients above and beyond an Instagram post or Tweet. It is what makes Facebook such a useful platform for marketing your business.

The business pages on Facebook are designed for business to engage in discussions with their target audience. This also generates word of mouth advertising. This is an added free kick for your business and another reason why Facebook is so effective.

Organise Events

A big part of any good business development strategy for law firms will be hosting events. Events are a great way to engage with current clients and prospective ones. Hosting industry specific events that add value to your client works very well.

Once you have organised the event you can use the Facebook event features to share it on your page. It is very powerful to use social proof.

Use Ads to Drive Traffic and Engagement

Even a small Facebook Ads budget can be a big part of your content strategy. It will drive traffic to both your company page and your website if used in the right way.

Over time you can increase your budget and monitor leads. A big part of Facebook is the ability to keep track of metrics and adjust your strategy and target audience. The flexibility it offers is second to none.

Michael Bromley and Maciek Motylinski are the founders of Beyond Billables. This blog was originally posted on their website.