Take a look at the following two sample Face-book ads. How do these differ at the core?
AD #1 Defective hernia mesh has led to complications after hernia surgery, including severe pain. Click to find out if you’re eligible for compensation.
AD #2 “I blacked out driving home from work in the spring and damaged the car… This was the start of me blacking out from the pain which was not under control.” – Hernia mesh patient with 3 surgeries, 3 years of pain, and 3 surgically-cut nerves.
So many people have suffered intense pain from defective hernia mesh. Manufacturers have to be held accountable for distributing dangerous products.
If you or someone you love has dealt with complications including revision surgery, fill out our quick form for a free case evaluation.
Last month, we wrote about how lawyers can use Facebook advertising to reach people who don’t even know that they have a case. These are oft en ideal prospects, because they likely aren’t even considering other lawyers.
This month, we want to tell you about a powerful tool that can allow you to connect the dots for these prospects: storytelling.
We’re running a nursing home abuse campaign for a client. Part of that campaign is that we write blog posts about nursing home citations and fines.
Within a few weeks of starting the campaign, our client had already signed a high-value case. How?
One of our blog posts was about an incident in which a resident choked to death. The family of that resident called the firm. “How did you find about this? Who told you?” they asked.
The client’s intake team answered that the information came from a public state citation. They didn’t know who the resident specifically was, since all identifying information is redacted.
The intake team then pivoted the conversation to how the lawyer could help — “If you’re interested, we think you might have a case against the nursing home.” They signed the family up without them ever speaking to another lawyer.
We see this a lot with our nursing home abuse campaigns on Facebook. Something bad happens to a resident. The family just chalks it the nursing home being a “bad apple” — perhaps they contact their state authorities, perhaps they leave a bad review online or with the BBB. What they don’t do is pursue a lawyer, likely because they may not even know that a lawyer could pursue justice for their loved one.
Then, this family sees a story we wrote about an incident at their local nursing home. Perhaps it is their loved one; perhaps their loved one was neglected or abused at the same facility; perhaps their loved one experienced a similar form of abuse, such as a bedsore or a fall from a Hoyer lift.
Hearing the story about what happened — and about what it means from a legal perspective — allows the family to connect the dots to their situation. “If this person or family could pursue justice for nursing home abuse, then that means I could, too.”
Think of it like this: your end goal is to have your prospects say to themselves, “This lawyer can help me.” Most lawyers go about this by saying “I can help someone who…” (e.g., whose loved one has been abused in a nursing home).
There’s an intermediate step that’s missing, though: “You can help someone like me.” It’s not that people doubt whether or not you have done what you claim to have done for others. It’s that they doubt that you can help the individual achieve what they need.
By telling stories of people like our ideal prospects — and how you helped them or could help them — you can bridge that gap for prospects. When they hear that you can help people very similar to them, they are more likely to reach the point of “You can help me with my situation.”
Stories also have the power to help prospects feel that you get it, that you really understand their pain points and what they are going through. We have used stories in Facebook ads and had people respond with things like “Yes, that’s exactly what it felt like.” When you can genuinely connect on an emotional level with what someone has been through, you have a much better chance to con-vert and retain that prospect. Stories are by far the best way to do this.
How to Harness Storytelling in Your Marketing
What should you actually change about your marketing? How do you use storytelling to connect with your prospects?
Start by identifying the stories that are worth telling.
What stories would help connect the dots for your prospects? If you’ve been practicing law for a long time, you undoubtedly have dozens of really great stories in your head. These stories are a treasure trove for your marketing — write them down. Your past clients’ stories are an excellent source, as well. If someone was a great client of yours, it’s likely that their story would connect with other people who would be great clients.
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Your stories don’t have to stop with your experience or your clients’ experience. Check the news for stories about incidents where you could have helped. Ask your friends and family for their stories. Stories are all around us, and you may find that looking in unexpected places helps you find stories that are a gold mine for your marketing.
Then, look closely at your marketing materials for storytelling opportunities. There are lots of ways you can harness storytelling in your marketing. Here are a few of the ones we’ve found to be most effective…
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Watch your testimonial videos. Whose story do they tell? Lots of lawyers’ testimonials tell the story of the firm: “Russell & Grouling Snider were so kind and helpful, they were a calm voice in the midst of the storm.” This story is nowhere near as powerful as the client’s story. What happened to them? How were they suffering? How was your firm able to solve their problem? Encourage your clients to speak specifically and in-depth about what happened to them.
Tell stories in your advertisements. Not all advertising platforms work well for storytelling. Facebook is one that does — your ads can be as long as you want, so you can tell in-depth stories. Almost every Facebook ad campaign we develop includes at least one story-focused ad. For example, with mass torts, we find stories from real patients who have suffered from the defective medication or device. Then, we tell the patient’s story, including direct quotations about what they experienced. These ads often perform well and generate high-quality leads.
Tell stories on your blog. Use the platform of your blog to tell stories that will connect to prospects. This is what we do in our nursing home campaigns: we tell stories of individual incidents found through state citations. These incidents cover a wide range of nursing home abuse: bed-sores, falls, choking, medication errors, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, etc. By telling lots of these stories — and advertising those blog posts so that they get additional eyes on them — we can connect the dots for people in a wide range of situations.
Tell stories in marketing videos. Video is a highly personal medium, which makes it ripe for storytelling. If your firm’s lawyers do videos on social media, encourage them to use those videos to tell stories. While value-focused content such as answering FAQ’s is excellent, stories connect on a more emotional level than answering someone’s question. There is absolutely a place for both in your marketing.
Now It’s Your Turn to Start Telling Stories
Telling stories is a potent way to reach prospects who don’t know they have a case.
These people have already seen hundreds or maybe thousands of lawyer ads in their lifetime. Sending them yet another ad that has the same message that you and others have been saying isn’t going to be what moves that person to action.
Telling stories that your potential client can place themselves within gives you a new opportunity to connect with people. And remember, the people who don’t realize they have a case typically don’t shop around. If you can connect with them, they will happily follow your lead.
Remember: you are not telling your story. You are telling a story that helps show how you can help potential clients. They are the hero of their own story. If you can position yourself as the person to help them achieve what they need, then you can connect deeply with what’s happening in their lives.
Examine all of your marketing for opportunities to tell stories. Test out different ideas on the phone with prospects, when talking to clients, in emails, or in ads.
You can connect with people in new ways, offering them hope. This is what makes lawyers so special. You are fighting for people to live out their own stories. Share this message in new ways to help people realize how you can help them shape their futures. ◆
