Benefits and Challenges for Law firms
Meta has been offering content creators the opportunity to get verified on both Facebook and Instagram for a while now.
That blue checkmark the influencers you follow have on their profiles?
That’s the mark they get once they are verified.
How do they get verified?
Here’s a very top-level rundown:
- They submit a government-issued ID.
- In select regions, they also submit a selfie video.
- If eligible, they subscribe to the offering for between $11.99 and $14.99 monthly.
- They get the following benefits:
- Exclusive stickers on Stories and Reels
- Protection from impersonation
- Direct account support
Meta will be slowly rolling out changes to their Meta Verified offerings to businesses. It’s currently in the testing phase in New Zealand and Australia, and its rollout in other countries is likely imminent, depending upon how the test phase goes. The new features aren’t just about getting a shiny badge next to your name; it’s about potentially unlocking a host of benefits that could change how your law firm is seen and found online.
For law firms, trust and professionalism are everything. Could this be the edge you needed to stand out in the crowded digital legal marketplace? Or is Meta seeking to make further social media a pay-to-play game? Let’s dig into what Meta Verified for Business could mean for legal professionals, weighing both the good and the not-so-good.
Executive Summary
- Meta is testing a verification service for businesses, including law firms, with plans starting at $11.99/month.
- Offers a verified badge, improved search visibility, impersonation protection, and direct support.
- Benefits for Law firms: Enhances online credibility and visibility, adds useful profile features, and provides prioritized support.
- Considerations for Law firms: Cost-benefit analysis of subscriptions, Ethical implications of paid verification, Dependency on Meta’s platforms amidst changing policies and support quality.
- Law firms must weigh potential visibility gains against costs and ethical concerns before adopting the service.
Overview of Meta Verified for businesses and Law firms
Meta intends to offer four different subscription plans for its business verification service:
- Standard
- Plus
- Premium
- Max
Each plan was created to support businesses at various levels, from basic verification to extensive visibility and support enhancements. These plans include the trusted verification badge, enhanced profiles, priority support, and more (depending on the plan you select).
Here’s an overview of the tiers:
Meta Verified for businesses Standard:
- Gives your firm a verified badge, which is a mark of authenticity on your Meta profiles.
- Includes support via email and chat if you encounter any issues with your account.
- Helps your business show up higher in search results by prioritizing your account in search algorithms, making it easier for prospects to find you.
- Helps your business stay safe from others who might try to copy your profile or brand through proactive monitoring, rapid response times, and their brand safety feature.
Meta Verified for businesses Plus:
- This tier includes everything in the Standard package, plus some additional features:
- Your requests for help are moved to the front of the line, getting you quicker responses.
- You can list up to three business locations and link to three other business profiles or pages, which helps clients find all your operations/localities more easily.
- Your business profile gets special placement as a featured account, helping new potential clients find you.
- You can add clickable links to two of your video posts per month, which can direct viewers straight to your website or landing page. (This represents a huge potential for an increase in caseload!)
Meta Verified for businesses Premium
- This tier includes everything in the Standard and Plus packages, plus some additional features:
- You can request to speak with support agents over the phone for more complex issues.
- Feature up to five addresses and five other profiles or pages, broadening your firm’s online presence even further.
- Provides verification features for up to two of your employees, protecting their professional profiles from impersonation.
- Include links in up to four video posts per month, increasing the ways people can connect with your firm directly.
- Personalize the look of your chats on Messenger and Instagram to match your firm’s style.
Meta Verified for businesses Max:
- This tier includes everything in the Standard, Plus, and Premium packages, plus some additional features:
- Get dedicated help for any ongoing issues, ensuring they are resolved quickly and efficiently.
- You can list up to eight business addresses and link to eight other profiles or pages, maximizing your online footprint on Facebook and Instagram.
- Extends the protective features to up to five employees, ensuring their profiles are also verified.
- Provides even more opportunities to direct viewers to your site or services by allowing links in up to six reels per month.
- Twice a year, you can meet with Meta experts to review and enhance your content strategy, helping you make the most of your online presence.
Benefits Breakdown for Law firms
When it comes to making your law firm easy to find, visibility and search optimization play a critical role. Each of the Meta Verified plans aims to boost your firm’s placement in search results, making you more noticeable in the competitive legal market. This improved searchability is key to attracting new clients who are looking for legal services online.
Now, about that verified badge– it’s more than just a nice mark on your profile. It communicates to potential clients that your firm is legitimate and trustworthy. In the legal industry, where trust is paramount, this badge can enhance your firm’s credibility.
- Profile enhancement is another key feature. Depending on which subscription plan you choose, your Meta profiles can be jazzed up with clickable links that include images, multiple addresses, and links to other profiles or pages. This not only makes your profile more engaging but also more informative, giving potential clients everything they need to know at a glance.
- Impersonation protection is included in all subscription plans, offering measures to safeguard your firm against those who might attempt to copy or mimic your social presence. For higher-tier plans, this protection extends to key employees, adding an additional layer of security and helping to maintain the integrity of your firm’s reputation.
- Having prioritized support in the upper tiers provides a valuable safety net for resolving technical issues promptly, which helps ensure smoother operations on Facebook and Instagram. In order to ensure social media success, however, it is important to keep up with ongoing engagement, strategic content creation, and proactive client communication as well.
Stay Tuned for Updates!
As Meta Verified for Business services are rolling out and not yet available in the US, it’s important to stay informed. We encourage you to keep up with the latest developments to understand how these services could benefit your firm in the future. If you’re looking to prepare your law firm for potential new tools and strategies, consider booking a free consultation call with our team. We specialize in crafting tailored strategies that align with your practice’s unique goals and challenges, helping you navigate the complexities of digital marketing.
Considerations and Challenges
When evaluating any tool for your firm, it is crucial to assess the cost vs. benefits. Considering your firm’s size and specific goals, are the subscription costs justified by the benefits? Will your firm realistically use the tool’s features regularly? How will it contribute to your firm’s overall success?
Ethical and professional implications are another key factor. Consider how clients might perceive the idea of paying for verification and whether it aligns with your firm’s ethical standards. Client perceptions are important; some might view paying for verification as compromising authenticity. Ensure your firm’s values and the perceived integrity of your services are maintained.
Recently, there has been a noticeable shift in how Meta handles customer support. We previously benefited from dedicated ad account representatives and prompt support ticket responses at no extra cost. However, the past six months have seen a change in the speed and quality of support provided by Facebook. Now, the following may come across as conspiratorial, but these adjustments have coincided with the introduction of Meta’s new paid verification and support services… Coincidence much? We’re inclined to think it’s not at all; these changes seem to reflect a broader shift in the platform’s service strategy, and this is something we should all take into account when considering the adoption of this new tool when it’s available more widely.
Lastly, how willing is your firm to depend on the Facebook and Instagram platforms, especially with these shifts in mind? Relying heavily on any platform comes with risks, particularly if it changes its policies or if its user base declines. This dependency could potentially impact your firm’s online presence and client engagement.
Conclusion
Meta Verified for Business offers features that can elevate your firm’s online presence for sure, but it also brings cost and ethical considerations. What’s your take on the newest Meta offering? Could these services significantly enhance your practice’s visibility and credibility, or do the potential downsides outweigh the benefits? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Reach out to us for a deeper discussion on how to navigate these new tools effectively.
For a deeper discussion on how to effectively navigate the new tools the digital marketing world is unveiling, book a call to see if we can enhance your firm’s online presence together.
