If you’re a marketer who has bail bondsmen clients, then you know how difficult it is to create useful, unique content to share on Facebook. And if you’re just an Average Joe on Facebook, then you likely don’t even know that bail bondsmen use social media. This is the problem with bail bond agencies – people aren’t likely to seek out their bail bondsman after being bailed out of jail. No one really wants to admit they got arrested last week.
The Importance of Social Media Marketing
But, marketers agree unanimously that social media is important – in a survey completed by HubSpot, 80% of marketers said that social media efforts increased traffic. As a bail bondsman, you realize the importance of integrating social media into your marketing plan, but you’re not sure how to do it. Welcome to the club. We faced the same problem here at 4theweb. So, we brainstormed and came up with a social media game plan for bail bondsman. Today, we’re going to share it with you, because we completely understand the frustration of not knowing what to post, but knowing you should share content on social media platforms.
Tips from Bail Bondsman Marketers
Here at 4theweb, we have been successfully marketing for many bail bond agencies across the nation. Here are a few tips we’ve found to be useful as we gather content to share for our bail bondsmen clients.
Tip #1: Think Like the Average Joe
We totally get it. It’s difficult to think outside the box in your industry. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and keep posting mug shots and news stories. And, while those two topics aren’t bad to post about, it can get monotonous after a while. People follow companies that provide something of interest or enrichment to their everyday lives. So, you need to mix it up and share things that people who aren’t in the bail industry will enjoy. The age-old marketing advice of “thinking like your customer” is important. Take a look at who your customer is – in most cases, it is the family members of the defendant. Put yourself in their shoes, and determine what they want to see in their Facebook feed.
Tip #2: Create a Brand Personality
It’s easy to just post things willy-nilly, not thinking about how people will perceive your brand. You need to sit down and decide how you want your bail bond company to be perceived. If you post online or have a website, you already have a brand personality – you need to make sure it is what you want it to be, take ownership, and have a plan. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you want to be serious or lighthearted?
- When it comes to posting about crime, do you want to be sympathetic or tough?
Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, it will be much easier to come up with content to post. If you choose to present a more sympathetic voice online, you can share articles about people who were unjustly arrested, or discuss how people’s rights are being violated by the police. If you decide you want to appear tougher, then you can you can share mug shots, or discuss stories of heroic police arrests. It’s all about how you want to be perceived.
Tip #3: Show a Lighter Side
No matter what type of brand personality you choose, it’s important to show a lighter side to the public. Everyone needs to laugh or get a break from the stress of life. Share things that make you laugh – even if it’s not related specifically to the bail bonds industry. Don’t go overboard – you don’t want to confuse the public about what you do and try to be everything to everyone. Just sprinkle in some humor here and there.
- Funny News Stories
- Jokes about Current Events
- Quotes
- Videos
Tip #4: Be Helpful
As a bail bondsman, you know that people don’t understand the criminal justice system. They have a lot of questions about what to expect as they work to get a loved one out of jail. Answer people’s questions through Facebook, and be creative. If you answer the same question over and over again on a daily basis, consider writing a blog post about the topic, or creating a video explaining it in simple terms. People also don’t understand the criminal justice system, while you have good insight and experience with it. Consider creating content about a specific crime each month that will inform people who are looking for answers. Become an authority in an area, and people will recommend your content and your business because they were helped and found the information useful.
Tip #5: Humanize Your Business
Bail bond companies tend to get a bad rap. It can be difficult to overcome the stigma of the thug bounty hunter the media, television, and movies portray. You know the stereotype isn’t true, but the public doesn’t. Illustrate the side of your business people don’t usually see – helping people get out jail in their darkest hour. If you can change how people perceive your business, they’ll be much more likely to share your content and follow you on Facebook. There are a few ways to do this:
- Find a non-profit that aligns with your character as well as your brand personality. Get involved, and share your involvement online. If you care about keeping your city clean, adopt a street, and take photos and videos to share with your followers on Facebook. If you care about people in need, get involved with your local homeless shelter. This will humanize your business and introduce you to a much broader spectrum of people.
- Share personal stories so people know who you are. Don’t be the mysterious, scary business owner. Take videos or share pictures of your office environment. Consider doing a video tour of the bail bond process or your office so people know what to expect.
Tip #6: Build Trust
Part of the stereotype of bail bondsman is that they are shady. This is an important stereotype to break down. The best way to do this is to build trust with prospective clients. If you have helped a client and they appreciate your guidance and service, ask them to write a review. If possible, ask family members of the person you provided the bond for to participate in a video testimonial. Family members are much more likely to participate in these reviews because they weren’t the ones arrested – they were helping their loved one get released and were grateful to have your help and expertise. Creating trust with prospective clients by showing past satisfied clients will go a long way towards breaking down the shady stereotype associated with the bail bond industry. We recently came across an article about a woman who is working hard to break down the stereotype of the thug bail agent – she has created a much more sympathetic brand for herself and been successful.
Checklist for Kicking Butt on Facebook
We know we’ve thrown a lot of information at you. We’re not sure how you operate, but we tend to be overwhelmed by all the information out there regarding successful Facebook marketing for bail bondsmen. To sum up our post, we thought we’d provide a checklist – because who doesn’t love a checklist?
Put yourselves in the shoes of your actual clients.
Decide what personality your brand should portray.
Sprinkle in fun, engaging posts not related to the industry.
Be an authority – answer questions and provide information.
Defy stereotypes and humanize your business.
Build trust by gathering reviews and sharing them on Facebook.
There is a lot to know when it comes to dominating Facebook marketing. We’ve had success integrating these tips into our Facebook marketing for bail bond agencies. Our last piece of advice (and no, this isn’t an actual tip – it’s more of a guideline) is to talk to your customers. Get their feedback. Brainstorm with other bail agents about ways to humanize your industry and business and build trust with potential clients. We all tend to get focused on our industry and forget to ask our clients what they want to see from us online. Ask questions, learn, and grow.