Facebook and GMB Updates For Law Firms
If you’ve been monitoring your social media or reading the content marketing blogs, you may be aware of some changes that may impact your law firm. Both Facebook and Google My Business have made changes that could impact your content marketing and your online visibility.
Here’s a short overview of changes you’ll want to know about.
Facebook Page Changes
Is your Facebook Page looking different lately? Did you notice your Likes has been replaced by Followers? Welcome to Facebook’s new Page Experience!
Facebook’s new Page Experience began rolling out to current Page owners and the beginning of the year and is automatically applied for new Pages. Page owners currently have the option to switch to the new Page Experience - but based on previous Facebook actions, if you choose not to switch Facebook will most likely switch you over sometime in the future. As more owners switch to the new Experience, Facebook is accelerating the rollout. Here are some of the features law firms may see on the new Page Experience:
User Experience
A dedicated newsfeed will suggest new connections such as other pages, groups and trending content that you may want to engage with.
Page conversations will be more visible to wider audiences and show up more frequently in your followers’ newsfeeds.
Comments from public figures will be bumped to the top of the comments section.
A verified Page’s comment on another Page’s public post may appear higher in the comments section and will be visible in the newsfeed.
People will be able to follow Pages directly from comments and recommendations posts.
A new text-based Q&A format will replace Page Likes and focus on Followers,
Owner Experience
Task-based admin controls will allow you to assign and manage Page admin access and allocate permissions based on specific tasks.
It will be easier to switch and navigate between your public Page and your individual Facebook profile.
Page notifications and insights will be more relevant and actionable.
Page roles such as moderator and editors will not be available.
If someone currently Likes your Page but does not also follow it, the Likes will not transition to your new Page.
If you switch to the new Page Experience then decide to switch back, you will lose any content you created under the Page Experience, including ads.
There are 2 new permission types: full control or partial access.
Existing Page content, posts and page information, existing ads and campaigns and existing admin rights will not change under the new Page Experience.
What Does The New Facebook Page Experience Mean for Law Firms?
Facebook says it made the change to the new Page Experience as
a way for public figures, businesses and others who want to build and connect with an audience to manage their professional presence on Facebook.
Admin
Check your current Page roles and access to make sure that your current Page content and advertising team members do not lose capabilities or access during the transition to the Page Experience.
Metrics
Your current number of Likes could be lower under the Page Experience if your Likes are not also Followers. If you are analyzing your page metrics (as you should be!) the Likes metric will no longer be available.
Google My Business Updates
Google My Business is rebranding! Google updated their name to Google Business Profile. GMB - now GBP - is an essential FREE tool for law firms to get found on Google search by people who need their services. Google My Business lets you can manage how your local law firm shows up across all Google products, including Maps and Search. In announcing the name change, Google said they are trying to simplify the process for business owners to manage their profiles.
To keep things simple, “Google My Business” is being renamed “Google Business Profile.”
Some of the changes under the new Google Business Profile include:
You can easily claim and verify your Business Profile directly on Google Search or the Google Maps app.
Message customers directly from Search.
Use call history to see which inbound customer calls came from your Business Profile on Google.
In 2022, Google will retire the Google My Business app and businesses will instead manage their business profile directly via Search and Maps.
Plan and manage your Local Google campaign budgets with the Performance Planner tool to create your local advertising investment and see how changes to your plans might affect your ad performance.
What Does The New Google Business Profile Mean for Law Firms?
Google My Business (and now Google Business Profile) is one of the most important tools for law firms to improve their rank and online visibility on Search - and to get the all-important Google Reviews! GMB can seem simple to claim, verify and update - but the key to increasing your law firm’s local SEO, rank and online visibility is to strategically optimize and manage your Google profile.
Google has made it incredibly simple and beneficial to list your law firm in their Search results.
Does Your Google Business Profile Increase Your Law Firm’s Online Visibility?
What’s the point of having a website if no one can find it - or if it doesn’t convert?
If you have a local business and want more customers, you should start using Google Business Profile today. If you’re already using GMB and your profile isn’t optimized - and you’re not getting good results such as increased traffic and more leads - why not? It’s FREE!
SEO My Law Firm can optimize and manage your Google Business Profile and provides SEO content writing, marketing services and other content solutions for law firms. Contact Us Today!
