TV Advertising: The Gray Area of Law Firm Marketing
I received an email the other day from a writer doing a piece on law firm marketing, asking my opinion on TV advertising for attorneys. Does it work? Does it threaten credibility?
If you are a regular reader here, you know I am not a big fan of television ads for lawyers because most of them don’t produce the kind of ROI that I like to get my clients. Most ads fail because they are not meaningful, they don’t target a specific market, or they don’t have a specific call to action.
That being said, whether TV ads work or not depends on a number of variables including:
Practice area – generally, television is used as a medium for consumer law -- PI, bankruptcy, family law, and DUI/criminal – because logically, TV advertising has the greatest reach to the most consumers. There are many group advertising models out there that produce tens of millions of dollars in cases every year from TV ads. Some of my clients have participated in them, but they usually require a $10K to $100K initial buy-in. Usually they are for product liability like Phen-Phen, Vioxx, Prozac and other popular drugs or something like Meso.
Budget —TV ads are known as ‘interruption-based marketing’ -- in other words, they depend on interrupting the consumer who is trying to watch their favorite TV show and get their attention for 30 seconds. All interruption-based marketing is dependant on multiple viewings (repetition) by the consumer of the same ad before they actually take action. So, if you don’t have a big enough budget to repeat the ad multiple times, then it won't likely work very well. Plus, the popularity of DVRs also makes it more likely that consumers will zip right through your TV ad.
Competition -- if you have a lot of competition already using TV ads, then it may be a lost cause because TV is a learned expertise and he/she who has the most experience usually ‘wins’ in advertising. You have to test, test and retest to find out what works and when you figure out the winning combination then you repeat it and test some more. Most attorneys/law firms aren't willing to truly “test” their marketing efforts to verify if they really work.
Attorneys are always afraid of any marketing they perceive to threaten their credibility. Most of this is baloney. The 2 greatest threats to attorneys' credibility are:
The rotten apples. Every city has them—the bad apples in the bunch. If the bar associations were more aggressive in disbarring the truly egregious cases of attorneys who defraud their clients versus going after the small / solo practitioner who can't afford to hire high priced defense counsel, we would all be better off.
Ignorance about legal issues. The internet is clearly the leading source of information people get about lawyers...and many times the internet is WRONG—either because it's outdated or only tells part of the truth.
I can't honestly make a blanket statement that TV ads ‘never work’ because the truth is, if it never worked no one would do it and we can all attest to the number of attorney ads on TV. However, I continue to favor more targeted approaches that can be measured and that have a track record of producing a good return for my law firm marketing clients – developing referral sources through a Strategic Referral Partner program, Internet marketing and social media marketing through blogs and participation in sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!
Newly released! Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:
8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals
Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!
7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm
Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees!
6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media
Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media.
5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs
My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.
Data DVD: Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!
***For Blog Readers, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers and LinkedIn Connections – we are offering you a $50 discount for Volume 2 and a $100 discount for both Volume 1 and Volume 2 because of your social media presence with The Rainmaker Institute.
Click here now to order!
http://www.therainmakerblog.com/admin/trackback/248445
