Many companies are taking steps to help out business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – recently we covered the Google Ad credits – and now Facebook is stepping up as well.
According to this post from Facebook:
“We know that your business may be experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19. We’ve heard that a little financial support can go a long way, so we are offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time.”
Is Facebook going to make those options available to law firms? We have been asked this with increasing frequency as of late, and fortunately two of our team members, Kenneth Harris and Matt Smyers, have created this video to give you the latest information on how this program may may affect your law firm’s digital advertising and cash-on-hand.
Matt: Good afternoon, everyone. This is Matt Smyers with Consultwebs. And I’m joined today by Ken Harris, he is our digital advertising director and we are going to be talking today about Facebook advertising and what Facebook has to offer in terms of free advertising, advertising credits in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
We’ve talked to you already about Google’s offerings, a lot of people have been asking questions about that, but some people may not be aware that Facebook is also rolling out a similar program that law firms are going to be able to hopefully take advantage of. So, Ken, tell us what you know so far about what Facebook is offering.
Ken: Sure thing. It’s not only ad credits but it’s also cash grants for small businesses. You can find all the information about what Facebook is offering on their website. We can post the link to that along with the video when we post it up on social media.
But essentially, what they’re offering is ad credits and cash grants for businesses who qualify. And there’s a list of criteria there. You have to be a for-profit company, have between 2 and 50 employees, you have to have been in business for over a year, have experienced challenges from COVID-19, and be in or near a location where Facebook operates.
And that last one’s really the caveat because there’s a pretty finite list in the United States in particular where Facebook has operating offices.
Matt: So, when you say it’s going to be advertising or a cash grant, so do we know at this point, I mean, are they offering it as just credit towards advertising or do we have any further detail on the financials of it?
Ken: What I know, and I’ve spoken directly with my contact at Facebook about this, is that it could be cash grant to keep the lights on and/or advertising credits. So, businesses who qualify could qualify for both.
Matt: Okay. Do we know…do you have to be a current or existing Facebook advertiser in order to qualify?
Ken: I don’t think so. That wasn’t in the list of criteria.
Matt: Do we have any idea, if it is an advertising credit, is it going to be limited to a particular type of advertising on Facebook or is it going to be, you know, can you apply that across the board?
Ken: Should be wide open as long as it’s promoting your small business.
Matt: Okay. So, you know, obviously, we’re talking about this from Consultwebs in the context of law firms and law firm marketing and, you know, can we assume that law firms will qualify for this?
Ken: I would assume as long as they meet the criteria listed that they are 100% eligible.
Matt: Anything else that comes to mind that we want to share with our clients that are in law firms around the country as it pertains to this or Facebook advertising in general during this crisis?
Ken: I think what you want to keep in mind with this is that the details are still not solidified. What Facebook knows for sure they’re posting on their website and you can sign up to receive updates via email on that page. You can also check the list of locations where qualifying businesses would be. And, in general, what you should be doing on social media during this crisis is if you’re operating, remind people that you’re operating.
A lot of law firms are reminding people, “Hey, we’re working remotely. We can still serve you from a contactless point of view.” You don’t have to expose yourself to this virus in order to get legal help.
Matt: Fantastic. Great advice. So, that’s what we know at this point, folks, in regards to the Facebook advertising credits that are going to be offered. Ken and his team is in constant communication with our representatives from Facebook. As soon as we know more, we’ll be sure to let everyone know. We’ll, obviously, be in communication with our clients. But beyond that, we’ll continue to post information on our website through our blog.
We’ll also be pushing out updates on both the Facebook and the Google advertising credits through our newsletter. So, subscribe to the newsletter and we’ll continue to push out information as we get it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us directly.
In the meantime, stay safe and thanks so much for joining us.
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