With 500 million users and growing, Facebook is a hotbed of information on professionals. A new service, Stik, aims to help users find recommendations of service professionals through your network of Facebook friends.
Stik helps connect you with service professionals who are friends of your friends on Facebook. If you were to search for a lawyer using Stick, you will see a list of attorneys connected to your friends. You could then further refine your results by location, shared connections, or recommendations. If you find a professional that youโd like to connect with, you can send them a message. Here is a video explaining the service:
I think these guys are onto something with this service. While the implementation of the idea is new and may need further refining, I think this type of service will, in the long run, prove more valuable than simply using Facebook's advertising platform to get new clients.
I've written before about some of the issues I have with Facebook's advertising platform as it relates to driving new business to law firms. The main issue is one of intent. Google works so well because people have intent when they are using a search engine. When people are looking to hire a lawyer or research a legal topic, Google is usually their first stop. People use Facebook to socialize, interact with family and friends, look at photos, etc. Most are not on Facebook seeking professional services. Because of this, slapping an ad up on the side on Facebook simply will not work the same as it does with Adwords or any type of search driven intent.
I think the future of professional service advertising with Facebook will combine search and the power of Facebook's social graph. Leveraging the information Facebook contains on the connections between individuals and the intent of someone actually looking for a lawyer will bring the best of both worlds together. You will be able to use the "trust factors" of knowing mutual acquaintances and at the same time connect with someone seeking legal services. This is a win win for everyone as opposed to simply using Facebook as a highly trafficked source of display advertising.
What do you think? Is this type of service the future of Facebook advertising for service professionals?
Here's a recent Google SERP for "๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ." Ads? โLSAs? โLocal Pack? โLinks? โ ๐ท AI Overview? โ 6 firms listed. Only one tiny ๐. Click the ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ button? ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐: Here's a more detailed look at some of these firms: THE PEARCE LAW FIRM, P.C.Edith Pearce, […]
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Conrad and I recently joined Zack at Lawyerist to record a conversation about AI and marketing. You might think that we spend the whole time on how lawyers can use AI to publish content. You'd be wrong. While AI can certainly support publishing, there are many more interesting ways to use it in legal marketing. […]
As more legal services consumers turn to ChatGPT for local law firm recommendations, a fascinating intersection between AI, search, and maps unfolds. While Google remains the undisputed leader in local business data, ChatGPT is increasingly becoming an entry point for searchers seeking legal representation. But hereโs the kicker: instead of keeping users within its ecosystem, […]
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I'm grateful for my friend, Charley Mann of Law firm Alchemy. If you're a lawyer, subscribe to his Free Email List. In a recent email, Charley calls out bad guru advice on hiring: "Trying to execute a major SEO improvement? You need to find people who will help you, instead of trying to DIY it […]
If youโve spent any time on LinkedIn, youโve likely seen posts from law firm SEO experts showing off charts with an โup and to the rightโ trajectory. These screenshots, often pulled from tools like Semrush or Ahrefs, are meant to signal SEO success. And itโs not just the agencies celebratingโ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ […]
Meh, links! All things being equal, links still tend to move the dial more than any other factor in legal SERPs. Maybe links are having a diminishing impact internet-wide. But in my experience, quality links, especially relevant links (both topically and geographically), tend to improve law firm visibility in search more than most everything else. […]
