• Alec Lubovich
• Blog
• August 15, 2022

How To Elevate Your Law Firm’s Social Media Presence: Paid vs Organic Content

The social media content your law firm produces for your legal marketing strategy is a key factor in increasing your firm’s reach and lead generation. 

There are two main types of owned content: organic and paid. This blog will walk you through the difference between the two, their benefits, and why it is so important to utilize both tactics. Keep reading to learn how your law firm can improve your overall social media strategy.

Organic Ads

Definition

Organic social media is “free content (posts, photos, video, memes, Stories, etc.) that all users, including businesses and brands, share with each other on their feeds.” On social media platforms, users follow who they are most interested in keeping up with and want to see organic social posts from. Users chose to follow your law firm to gain something from your content whether that be educational, information, or entertainment. 

It is important to remember that your organic posts shouldn’t feel like advertisements. They should express an authentic side of your law firm by highlighting your values and culture. A social media account is an opportunity to build a community and a relationship with your followers. There are a variety of different types of posts you can use to gain and maintain viewers’ attention. For example, useful legal tips, basic legal information, and industry updates. For more ideas, read CoSchedules blog post for 52 Effective Social Media Post Ideas to Fill Your Calendar.  

In this blog, I will be using Instagram as the example platform, but all the concepts and suggestions I describe are applicable to all social media platforms. 

Diagram of Organic Post (Instagram)

1. Caption
   1. The paragraph below the text.
   2. Limited to 2,200 characters.
2. Hashtags
   1. Include either within or at the end of your caption.
   2. Connects those who may be interested in the topic of your post with a way to find it when they search for a keyword or particular hashtag. It helps to draw attention to your posts and encourage interaction.
3. Tags
   1. Allow you to pin a specific account onto your post so that they are alerted you posted it and promoted their relation to your post.
   2. Using tags can relate well-known accounts to your post, hopefully drawing the attention of the account and its followers.
4. Location
   1. Similar to hashtags, entering a location associates your post to that specific place so if anyone is looking up that place in the future, your post will appear in relation to it.

Benefits 

Here is a convincing list of ways building a strong account can benefit your law firm:

• Create Brand Awareness
  • There has been a large increase in social media usage over the past few years. Having a strong social presence will allow you to increase your brand recognition across multiple platforms.
• Engage Your Target Audience
  • One of the great things about social media is it is a two-way communication platform. Your law firm’s followers can connect with you by engaging with posts or your profile. Responding to engagement restores followers’ trust in your firm by showing that you are reliable and actively supporting those turning to you.
• Attract Prospective Clients
  • Creating a thorough social media content strategy will increase users’ exposure to your brand helping to attract new clients. 
• Improve Your SEO Efforts
  • Increasing your social media presence can leverage your ranking on search engine results pages (SERP).

Disadvantages

Of course, there are some downsides to only using organic social posts to advertise your brand. The main social media platforms used across the globe on a daily basis have a ranking algorithm. This algorithm organizes the content on users’ feeds depending on the post’s relevance rather than the time it was shared. It is “a way of sorting posts in a users’ feed based on relevancy instead of publishing time.” Based on this ranking strategy, only a small percentage of your followers will see your organic posts.

Paid Ads

Definition

Paid social media is content a brand pays platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Tiktok, etc. to advertise to a specific target audience that is most likely to be interested in the product or service. One of the main differences between organic and paid content is paid ads have a CTA (Call To Action). The ad promotes a product or service it wants its viewers to interact with to ultimately convert them into customers or clients. The CTA appears as a button underneath the image being used for the ad. 

Paid advertisements are created through each social media platform’s ads manager. The manager platforms make it easy to optimize your campaign by setting a target audience, location settings, timeline, and much more. These optimizations allow your firm to minimize the cost and increase the effectiveness of your paid ads.

Diagram of Paid Post/Ad (Instagram)

1. Primary text
   1. The paragraph below the advertisement.
2. CTA (Call To Action)
   1. A marketing term that refers to the next step a marketer wants its audience or reader to take.
   2. The element that transfers viewers to a new page where a conversion can be made and more information is provided.
3. “Sponsored” Label
   1. Label added under the profile name to alert consumers that is a paid advertisement.

Benefits 

Compared to traditional advertising, paid social media advertising is a more effective strategy to broaden the success of your law firm. 

• Ways digital ads are more effective than traditional advertising:
  • Less expensive than radio, local TV, print, or direct mail
  • Flexibility – changes can be easily made to digital ad campaigns as you learn more about your target audience
  • Generates dialog as a two-way conversation
  • Automatically generates data and analytics to reference for campaign improvements
  • Allows you to better target relevant audiences

Disadvantages

Paid advertisements have to follow strict content guidelines. These rules are described in the ads managers’ guidelines and can include limitations on imagery, text, and language to protect the users on individual social media platforms. It can be challenging to get your desired message across to your viewers while staying within the outlined ad restrictions.

Another disadvantage of only focusing on using paid social media content is that it lacks the trustworthy and reliable traits of organic social posts. Consumers want to feel heard and recognized by the brands they follow. Being shown constant advertisements that are just pushing products and services to social media users can deter them from considering your firm.

Why You Need To Do Both

Both organic and paid social media content have their advantages and disadvantages, but they work really well together. By establishing a strong organic profile first, your law firm can increase your brand presence, support existing clients, and promote an authentic side of your firm and what you stand for. This free strategy is a slower process that takes time to grow, but adding paid advertising once you have an established base and brand awareness will allow you to connect with future clients faster. 

With your organic social posts built up, your firm can start to release paid ads to accurately target the audience you want to view all your content. Once their attention is captured by an advertisement, the thoughtfully developed organic social posts on your profile will push them to convert. 

It can be intimidating as you begin to navigate the social media landscape. Don’t let this undertaking stop you from elevating the success of your law firm. With the help of Élan Legal Media’s social media marketing team, together we can grow your digital presence stress-free. If you are interested in learning more about the services we offer, click learn more to visit our website.

• Alec Lubovich
• Blog
• June 22, 2022

The Marketing Funnel for Law Firms

The marketing funnel describes a customer’s journey through the decision-making process. In the interests of law firms, the funnel describes a client’s process in discovering, searching, and choosing the legal representation that best meets their needs. 

Depending on the audience and subject being analyzed, the steps of the marketing funnel may vary, but don’t fret. The marketing funnel we developed will help your law firm understand your target audience and suggests actions you should be taking to meet their needs. 

Marketing Funnel Diagram

Awareness 

• Customer Experience
  • May not currently need legal assistance
  • Could become a future leads 
• Suggestions for Law Firms 
  • Build out organic and paid media
  • Use general marketing tactics to create brand awareness  

Consideration

• Customer Experience
  • In need of legal representation
  • Researching to find the best law firm for them  
  • Comparing your law firm to your competitors 
• Suggestions for Law Firms 
  • Make sure your online content is up to date and thorough
  • Utilize targeted paid search ads to place your firm at the top of search results and paid social ads to stay top-of-mind  

Conversion

• Customer Experience
  • Has interacted with your firm in some way, such as a call, form submission, or webchat
  • Begin interacting with your firm through your intake process
• Suggestions for Law Firms 
  • Make sure your intake process is streamlined and organized 
  • Offer multiple conversion options such as online chats, 24/7 voicemail service, or email 

Retention 

• Customer Experience 
  • At this point, the potential lead has signed a retainer
  • The legal process with your firm begins
• Suggestions for Law Firms
  • Strong communication with your client is very important throughout the case
  • Make your client feel valued and understood

Advocacy

• Customer Experience 
  • After the case is finished, the client turns into an advocate for your law firm
  • They can provide referrals, testimonials, online reviews, etc
• Suggestions for Law Firms
  • Take initiative to ask your clients for testimonials
  • Update your website with recent case outcomes 
  • Advocacy is an essential part of the marketing process because of its potential to spread the word about the trustworthiness of your firm

The Benefit of the Marketing Funnel 

Organizing the customer journey using this simplified tool will help your law firm visualize an in-depth understanding of their process. From there, this tool becomes a measurable tactic for your firm that helps pinpoint improvement opportunities in your marketing campaign. 

Learn more about how your firm can improve its marketing funnel with a free marketing audit.  We can show you how to optimize your firm’s marketing strategy using a variety of different law firm marketing tactics.

• Alex Donlin
• Blog
• March 11, 2022

The Top Lawyer Advertising Rules You Need to Know in 2022

If your law firm is not running digital ads, you are likely missing out on an abundance of potential clients. In this day and age, social media and paid social ads should be utilized by any firm that is serious about growth. 

When looking into advertising, it is important to know the rules and regulations in your state regarding the legal advertising laws. Nowadays, social media has been a place where people feel free expressing thoughts, opinions, and passing information. It can be easy for law firms to fall into a false sense of security thinking that they can also engage in these types of behavior. When in reality, each firm must adhere to the guidelines of their respective state’s Rules of Professional Conduct. 

The American Bar Association’s Model of the Rules of Professional Conduct acts as the base for states to write their own rules detailing how to ethically conduct yourself as a lawyer. The Rules of Professional Conduct outlines things like:

• When lawyers can and can not use contingent fees
• How lawyers are able to utilize client testimonials
• How lawyers can conduct themselves as witnesses along with so much more

It is important to know that each state bar association has the ability to add rules into their own Professional Conduct guide.

Distinct State-Specific Lawyer Ad Rules

States With Distinct Lawyer Advertising Rules

Florida, New York, California, and New Mexico are just some states with notable differences in lawyer advertising rules. Some examples include:

Florida Ad Rule: Visible Address

Florida requires each lawyer advertisement to have the law firm’s address prominently displayed, so that a potential client can locate the brick and mortar location associated with that advertisement.

New York Ad Rule: Cannot Use Active Cases

The New York Bar Association does not permit the use of client testimonials who have outstanding cases with the firm, so the client is able to give an unbiased review of the legal service they received from start to finish.

California Lawyer Ad Rule: Advertisement Disclaimer

California mandates that all advertisements have an advertisement disclaimer, disclosing what the viewer is seeing is indeed an advertisement.

New Mexico Ad Rule: Cannot Discuss Legal Fees

New Mexico does not allow lawyers to talk about legal fees in their advertisements.

The prior list shows only a few of the potential things to consider when thinking about advertising a law firm, so it is important to read and understand your state bar association’s Rules of Professional Conduct before entering the lawyer advertising space. 

Lawyer Advertising Rules Everyone Should Follow

Even though each state has its own lawyer advertising rules, there are a couple of best practices that a law firm can use to potentially limit the amount of scrutiny their ads will receive. For instance:

1. Never claim to be an expert/specialist

The ABA does not allow lawyers to claim to be experts or specialists in any practice areas unless they are recognized as such by an ABA-accredited body.

2. Avoid false/misleading statements

There is a gray area for what exactly constitutes a false or misleading statement, but as a rule of thumb avoid superlatives. Don’t use phrases such as, “The Best Lawyer In Town” or “The Lowest Legal Fees”. Even if it is clear that you or your firm is the best in the area or does, in fact, offer the most cost-conscious payment structure, it is unethical to make these types of claims because of the subjectivity or potentially untrue nature of the statement.

3. Avoid blanket statements about injuries or potential cases

For example, as a legal marketing agency, we try to avoid making statements such as,  “Auto accidents are devastating and anyone involved in one needs to contact a lawyer.” Instead, we would recommend making a statement such as, “Auto accidents can be devasting. If you were injured in an accident and feel the need to talk to a lawyer contact (Your firm’s name) to set up a consultation.” This avoids subjective statements while maintaining a similar message.

4. Know your state’s rules on advertising disclaimers

Many states require their ads to be disclosed as an ad. Generally, the advertising platforms do this automatically, however, depending on your state, you may have to disclose additional information such as an address, a phone number, etc.

5. Lawyers should portray themselves in commercials, not actors

If video content is something you are interested in adding to your advertising toolbelt, be ready to step in front of the camera. Many states don’t allow actors to play the part of lawyers in advertisements, nor advertise your firm in a building that the law firm does not own. You can not use a staged office, partnering firms office, or a green screen to depict your office space. In doing so, you may be misleading the audience in thinking that is the building/setting that a consultation would take place in. 

Summary

In conclusion, lawyer advertising rules vary by state and it is imperative that lawyers have a functional knowledge of the rules and regulations of the state they intend on advertising in. The rules above are legal advertising best practices, but they are by no means the only thing one should take into consideration when striving to stay compliant with your state’s rules of professional conduct.

To recap:

1. Avoid claiming to be an expert

2. Avoid false/misleading statements

3. Avoid general blanket statements about personal injuries

4. Know if you need an advertising disclaimer

5. Don’t hire an actor to portray a lawyer in your commercial

If your firm is contemplating the idea of starting an advertising campaign, we encourage you to talk to us, legal marketing experts, and we will look into your state’s legal advertising rules and provide you with a report outlining the guidelines of your state. 

We can include this information in your custom preliminary audit. Our preliminary audit analyzes your firm’s current marketing KPI’s (key performance indicators) and compares them to your competitors in the same advertising space. 

Interested in Élan’s legal advertising capabilities? Click here to learn more about our approach to marketing and what you gain when your firm partners with Élan. If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch with our team by filling out our contact form.

Note: The information in this article applies only to U.S. practices. This post is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, business, or accounting advice.

Sources:

Lawyer Advertising Rules You Need to Know
State Advertising Restrictions
Links to Attorney Advertising Rules for Every State (All in One Place)

• The Élan Team
• Blog
• February 25, 2022

The Top 5 Legal Blogs & Publications Worth a Follow

The legal marketing industry doesn’t have to be hard to keep up with. Regularly reading industry updates will return top-notch knowledge in what’s currently happening in the legal (and legal marketing) space. Understanding the legal landscape is crucial to have a perfect marketing strategy for law firms or class action lawsuits. With Élan’s favorite legal publications, you can do just that:

ABA Journal

The ABA (American Bar Association) has a monthly journal highlighting news, industry updates, and helpful legal tips for legal professionals. Advertising parameters are a must to understand, and the ABA provides great information on just that. Because of this, the ABA is a great resource to start keeping up with revolving information. 

Law.com

Law.com is another great starting point for becoming knowledgeable in the legal industry. With constant updates on changes in the industry and news updates, there’s a never-ending opportunity to keep up with the latest trends. When it comes to marketing, this resource also provides insight to other reputable legal sources that can assist in better understanding the legal landscape. Law.com is a one-stop-shop for all things law, and it’s a must to check out.

Clio

Clio offers legal white papers, webinars, success stories, and more. It’s also a great resource for all things legal research. From providing information on best practices for running a business in the legal industry to useful legal marketing stats, Clio has plenty of tools to keep up with legal trends.

SimpleLegal

SimpleLegal provides many forms of resources that are useful when learning the legal industry. Whitepapers, product datasheets, videos and podcasts, and articles are all at the hands of SimpleLegal’s resource center, and they even produce guides for legal marketing tips.

Élan Legal Media

Élan Legal Media also has a blog where we are an expert source of legal marketing tips & tricks, industry updates, how-tos, and insights. The Élan team is here to create actionable content that accelerates the success of law firms, class action administrators, and litigation funds. This blog page is a great source to further familiarize with the legal (and marketing) landscape, as well as learn more about the nitty-gritty details that are crucial in legal marketing.

The ABA Journal, Clio, SimpleLegal, Law.com, and your very own Élan Legal Media are all great resources for becoming more familiar with the changing climate of the legal industry. When marketing for the legal industry, understanding who the changing target audiences are can be a big indicator of success. That’s why at Élan, we keep up with industry trends and news to ensure we can make knowledgeable decisions for our clients.

• Johnna Patterson
• Blog
• February 10, 2022

How To Effectively Deliver Class Action Email Notices

U.S. Class Action Lawsuits date back to nearly a century ago, with the first class action taking place in 1925. Yet, little data and research exists for optimizing the delivery of this niche area within marketing. 

Consumer perceptions, resources, and biases are not as they were in the 20th century; consumer behavior is continuously evolving. The legal services industry must adapt to this shift in consumer preferences in order to effectively deliver (communicate) information. The basis of this post comes from a comprehensive study on class action notice delivery, focusing on the most effective way to display information to consumers via email.

What performs best in class action emails? 

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a comprehensive report on Consumers and Class Actions that encompassed a Notice Plan Study as well as an Administrator Study. The Notice Study refers to an internet-based consumer research study to analyze consumer perceptions of emailed class action notices. The methodology for this study is detailed on page 47 of the FTC’s report. The Notice Study evaluated whether certain email characteristics, such as the sender’s address, phrasing of the subject line, availability of payment amount in the subject line, email body format, and the presence or absence of a court seal, influenced respondents’ comprehension, understanding, impressions, and likelihood of opening the email. The results suggest that the most effective way to present the information to consumers is context-specific. 

For a visual reference, let’s take a look at a sample email. 

How long should my class action email be?

In the context of the class action settlement notice studied, the Notice Study found that a long-format email with formal, legal writing, enhanced respondents’ understanding of the nature of the email; meaning respondents were more likely to understand that the email was associated with a class action settlement or refund, and not a promotional email. 

While a long, formal email was associated with improved understanding of the nature of the email, an email with a bulleted list and simple language enhanced the respondents’ understanding of the process to receive settlement compensation (i.e. next steps). 

However, the study also revealed that respondents were more suspicious of emails containing bulleted lists, compared to long-format text emails. Therefore, campaigns utilizing the bulleted list format must clearly convey the legitimacy of the class action settlement, as well as the claim process in the email(s). 

The Notice Study found that “less than half of respondents understood that the email pertains to a class action settlement or a refund rather than representing a promotional email, and less than half correctly understood the steps required to receive a refund. Significantly, several of these results suggest respondents may view class action settlement notices with skepticism – an area that would benefit from further study.” (Page 2) Considering this finding suggests a lack of public knowledge regarding class action lawsuits, there is a need for administrators to effectively communicate the legitimacy and nature of the class action lawsuit.

What should go in my subject line?

The Notice Study found that understanding of the nature of the email is not positively correlated with open rates. Referencing the class action in the subject line increased respondents’ understanding of the purpose of the email, but resulted in fewer respondents indicating that they would open the email, compared to emails with subject lines that did not include this information. 

In fact, emails that omitted any reference to a class action had the highest stated open rates from respondents. This indicates a tradeoff in crafting subject lines – higher open rates or higher level of understanding. 

To increase both open rates and level of understanding, we can infer that omitting any reference to a class action settlement in the subject line will improve open rates, and the content within the email must clearly communicate the nature and legitimacy of the email as well as next steps in the process.

Figure 3 reveals that omitting the compensation amount from the subject line resulted in improved respondent comprehension and stated opening rates. Subject lines that contained the name of the plaintiff resulted in higher respondent comprehension but lower stated open rates, with only 26-27% of respondents indicating they would open emails that contained the language “Lavin v. Sonoro Technologies Class Action Settlement” (with or without the refund amount). 

The “Notice of Refund” subject line with no specific refund amount stated clearly outperformed the other five subject lines, with 53% of respondents who viewed this inbox scenario indicating they would open this email.

This was the only subject line condition in which the majority of respondents selected the relevant class action email to open when provided all options, and it represents a substantial increase (11 to 27 percentage points) over the other subject lines. 

Conclusion

The FTC’s Notice Study serves as a groundbreaking resource and a first step toward revolutionizing class action notice delivery. The study shines light on the need to balance consumer understanding (notice comprehension) with consumer interest (open rates), and communicate the legitimacy of the class action lawsuit to a generally skeptical audience.

Going forward, when composing class action notice emails, keep the following in mind:

• The Notice Study revealed public skepticism regarding class action lawsuits. Class action administrators must effectively convey the legitimacy of the class action lawsuit within the email to consumers
• To improve open rates, omit any reference to a class action settlement in the subject line
• To increase the level of understanding, clearly communicate next steps required for compensation within the email

References: Consumers and Class Actions: A Retrospective and Analysis of Settlement Campaigns, History of Class Action Lawsuits

• Alec Lubovich
• Blog
• January 26, 2022

DOs & DON’Ts of Law Firm Branding

Establishing a brand is imperative for developing a successful law firm. A brand includes everything from your logo to your firm’s brand voice. The array of visual markers within a brand helps to communicate your purpose, values, and morals to the public. Below is a list of suggestions for navigating the challenging but crucial process of creating and maintaining a brand. 

The DOs of Branding 

• Maintain Brand Consistency
  • The most useful tool to achieve this is a brand guidebook. These guidelines define the standard uses and flexibility of your law firm’s brand. By organizing it into one continuous document, the guidebook provides a necessary reference for your team members as well as your clients.

• Intracompany Brand Identity Awareness 
  • This is a complicated way to say – make sure everyone at your firm is familiar with the rules established in your brand guidelines. For example, it is important that when a member of your team is creating a client presentation, it uses the color palette and design style of your brand. Failing to do this makes your firm appear apathetic and undependable.
• Focus on Providing Value on Social Media
  • The content on your social media accounts should extend beyond the service your law firm can provide. Users on social media platforms want to see engaging and entertaining content that provide value to their lives.

The DON’Ts of branding

• Obsess Over Your Competitors 
  • While it is important to keep up with the trends in the legal industry, don’t get too caught up in what other firms are doing. This may cause your firm to forget or stray away from your own branding goals and values. Also, promoting a unique style will accelerate your firm above its competitors. 
• Be Afraid to Make Brand Improvements 
  • Adjusting elements of your brand identity is a potential strategy for improving the success of your law firm.  If data collected over an extended period indicates that your branding has a low engagement rate, you may consider making small branding improvements. 
• Bombard Social Following With Sales Messages 
  • Social Media Specialist Virginia Van Kampen emphasizes that “people do not log in to their social media account with hopes of being bombarded with constant sales messages about your business. They WILL tune out your posts, or just unfollow you altogether”. Dedicate your paid media to selling your service, not your social media.

Conclusion

A law firm’s brand identity is key to communicating your values and capabilities to a broad audience. Dedicating time and attention to establishing strong brand guidelines will help your law firm outshine your competitors and leave a memorable impression on potential clients. Here is a review of the DOs and DON’Ts of branding:

• DO
  • Maintain Brand Consistency
  • Intracompany Brand Identity Awareness 
  • Focus on Providing Value on Social Media

• DON’T
  • Obsess Over Your Competitors 
  • Be Afraid to Make Brand Improvements   
  • Bombard Social Following With Sales Messages

References: 

Read the references for this article to learn more about these branding suggestions and more.

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2016/12/13/why-consistency-is-the-key-to-successful-branding/?sh=545079757bbd 
• https://www.spindogs.co.uk/blog/branding-dos-and-donts/ 
• https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/5-dos-and-donts-of-branding 

• Jessica Fillmore
• Blog
• April 21, 2020

Modern Legal Notice: 7 Realities of Modern Legal Notice

Legal notification in class action litigation came of age over 20 years ago when newspapers and magazines provided exceptional access to Americans’ time and attention. Today, the emergence of digital and social media has fundamentally changed the landscape for legal notice. And these changes cannot be ignored by those designing and executing legal notification plans. 

In 2014, notice experts decided that publication notice plans need to address both due process requirements under applicable law and modern best practices in digital and print media notice. 

Within this document are 7 realities that notice planners, counsel, and courts should keep in mind when weighing publication notice plan strategies and tactics.

PRINT REACH IS PLUMMETING WHILE ONLINE REACH CONTINUES TO CLIMB. 

The percentage of American adults reading news via newspapers and magazines has dropped from 47% in the year 2000 to just 20% in 2016. Compare that to digital where 75% of US adults are on Facebook daily, and internet adoption amongst US adults in 2018 was 84%. Internet penetration will continue to grow rapidly through the forecast, and there will be a noticeable shift toward using mobile devices for internet access. 

There will be 274.6 million US internet users this year, of which 93.4% will go online via a mobile device. By 2021, that proportion will reach 95.4%. Marketer estimates that the number of internet users will expand from 274.6 million in 2017 to 291.4 million in 2021 when 86.4% of the population will go online monthly. 

From a time-spent perspective, the numbers are even more dramatic. In 2017, those US adults who still read newspapers spent a total of 13 minutes daily doing so. Online, the average American now spends 6 hours daily. Online is the new primetime.

ONLINE NOTICE CAMPAIGNS CAN BE PRECISELY TARGETED. 

Websites are custom selected to match the demographics and psychographics of the class using technologies from leading ADD: data providers such as comScore and Google. Modern web campaigns now can span thousands of targeted websites or focus on a few. Social media placements such as Facebook allow for specific audience Insights in which you can target a user’s geography, demographics, lifestyle, purchase behavior, and exact pin location., these insights produce marketing messages that achieve the best results for your advertising objective. Search ads only appear when relevant search terms are entered. With precise targeting, comes precise budget control as notice ads and budget can be allocated by state, metropolitan area and through some channels, even zip code.

ONLINE NOTICE CAMPAIGNS CAN BE MONITORED, VERIFIED, MANAGED, AND OPTIMIZED IN REAL TIME. 

Through online technology, we can verify the delivery, placement, and price of each ad impressions enabling our teams to continually optimize the delivery of a notice campaign to best perform against settlement goals. Best practice tactics and tools in digital campaigns include: 

• Verification that online notice ads appear “above the fold” in clear view of the user

managing the quality of the placement in terms of the context it’s appearing

• Verification of location, time and content adjacency to confirm quality in location, time of day and web content 

• Monitoring of click-through rates to each website domain and action is taken post-click, in real-time 

• Driving claims by dynamically allocating placements to the best-performing websites, content, location, time of day 

• Calculating reach and/or frequency of exposure for any one user

• Ensuring that the ad is entirely viewed in a fraud-free environment, in addition to being viewed by a real person in a brand-safe environment

ONLINE NOTICE ADS ARE DIRECTLY ACTIONABLE. 

A single click transports a class member to the settlement website, detailed notice, online claim form, etc. This direct connection is true across placements on desktop, tablet or mobile and encourages increases in user engagement, including actual claims filed. In addition, this increases word of mouth and sharing as engaging users online creates emergent third-party notice opportunities when users share the settlement website address via email, text or other methods.

DIGITAL REACH IS NOT FRAGMENTED. 

Traditional notice experts view the Internet as “fragmented” in a way that makes obtaining large-scale reach difficult. The reality is that digital media experts routinely execute digital media campaigns that span thousands of websites, mobile devices, search engines, multiple social media platforms and more in a fully integrated manner that makes mass reach obtainable and measurable. In fact, it’s arguably easier to achieve mass reach via digital today. For example, one provider alone, Google, reaches 90% of internet users worldwide.

MAGAZINE READERSHIP ASSUMPTIONS CAN BE UNREALISTIC. 

Magazines put forward readership estimates ranging from 2-20 readers per printed copy. Traditional notice plans use these readership multipliers to create potentially inflated estimates of print reach for notice ads. In addition to the potentially inflated reach numbers, most reported readership numbers take multiple weeks to reach their estimated audience, potentially not reaching the projected audience within the notification period. For example, People Magazine takes 26 weeks to reach its projected audience.⁷ We cannot verify that each unique individual read the magazine, let alone flipped to the page which included our notification ad. With digital campaigns, each impression and click-through is tracked and verifiable. 

ALL DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS ARE NOT THE SAME. 

Some traditional media experts deploy digital notice “campaigns” consisting of some or many discounted, surplus ad impressions purchased from a wholesaler. The Dahl/Élan approach is based on hand-selecting individual websites, keywords and interest targets working directly with the parties to define and accurately depict actual user consumption of media. This approach includes location, time of day and device-specific targeting to increase the quality of placement. We directly purchase the media to enable cost efficiencies and scale. In total, the Dahl/Élan approach offers a measurable media mix that is highly targeted against affected class members as opposed to a “cookie-cutter” one-size-fits-all approach to digital media buying.

• Kay Lawless
• Blog
• April 7, 2020

Choosing Creative: Matching the Right Ad to the Right Audience.

Every notice, marketing, brand, and strategy plan has a specific audience. The plan is built out to target that audience through multiple different tactics. This structure is what ultimately drives the campaign to the right people. But how do we make sure that once the content reaches the right people, they will engage with it? How do we choose the right creative for our audience?

The Élan team takes a holistic approach to narrowing down and selecting the basic creative. Our initial research process might include looking at: industry data, past campaigns, future campaigns, additional audience insights, platforms the creative will be served on, landing page designs, etc. Throughout the duration of the campaign, we can also monitor what creative is working and optimize the remainder of the campaign to adjust accordingly.

However, the best method to truly strategize and maximize media dollars is to take a test and learn approach. The most common form of this is known as A/B testing. A/B testing can be important even if you’ve previously run very similar campaigns. Audiences change and a test will reflect this, and give you the most up-to-date and accurate insight.

The following is an example of an A/B test that was run for a client. Details have been changed to preserve anonymity and confidentiality.

Testing image vs text creative

Step 1: When performing an A/B test for creative you first want to have a campaign with enough time to balance out averages. For this example, we ran the campaign for 30 days.

Step 2: Narrow down what you will be testing. We did image vs text creative for this particular test. Other options can include color, text, images, image style, etc. 

Step 3: Control all variables. For this example, we left the audience, spend, time, and placements the same for both creative. That way we could confidently analyze the results.

Step 4: Run the test and check in weekly. We saw results within one week, and they continued to build throughout the month.

Results

Perhaps the most interesting finding this test gave us was the inconsistency of the results across campaigns. For some campaigns, the image-based creative outperformed the text creative by a high 84%. For other campaigns, both types of creative were at around a 50% performance. And for other campaigns, some text creative outperformed image-based creative by around 34%.

This type of inconsistency is why A/B testing is so important in every type of campaign.