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Should you be doing TV ads for
attorney advertising?
Probably not is the quick
and dirty answer for almost every law firm marketing strategy.
My opinion? Almost certainly not
would be my best answer, at least until you have done a lot of other
things first with your attorney marketing… and by then you may not need
or want to do TV ads. I have been responsible for six figures a month in
one market in media ads, so I have been there and done that.
Attorney
advertising campaigns using television should be the choice of a very
select group of law firms.
Does Your Firm Fit
the Profile for
TV Attorney Advertising?
An exception to this general rule in TV
attorney advertising would be if you are a PI firm, or larger-sized
small firm with a PI component, that can handle the investment.
To fit the profile for TV attorney
marketing, your firm must
-
be
willing to do TV advertising for a minimum of 12 months
-
have a
tolerance for risk
-
have
plenty of patience
-
select
the right TV programs where you run your ads
- use education based formats with a direct
response component
Then you should go to the specialist for
PI TV ads at R W Lynch; or you also might want to check out Network
Affiliates Incorporated.
To other attorneys, I recommend a pass
almost certainly in TV lawyer advertising, unless you are in a small
market. Even then, I would be cautious and do other law firm
advertising activities first before I did this form of law firm
marketing.
If indeed you do try TV attorney
advertising, be sure you do "direct response" ads. These
ads ask the viewer to take some direct action - not
"institutional" or "name recognition" ads. Notice that
even PBS is airing direct response ads now.
Be sure to
track your results. Have staff strong in people skills (with a good
"script") handle the inquiries… to convert them to clients.
Law Firm Marketing
on the Radio
...Who's Listening?
Think about radio in attorney advertising
in two types.
There is foreground radio which is
-
news
shows
-
talk
shows
-
sports
shows
- religious shows
These all require the listener to pay
attention to the show… and thus more likely to pay attention to your
message.
Then there is background radio
that is basically
This means people are not paying close
attention and thus are less likely to listen to your message… so
you have to work real hard to get their attention.
That said, with attorney marketing by
radio you really need to find out which type of radio your market listens
to. For instance:
-
Criminal
and family law might want to be on youth oriented stations/shows.
-
Estate
planning and real estate might want to be on certain talk shows,
public radio, easy listening or classical radio.
- Attorney advertising directed towards
the business development with ethnic communities might target
the stations or shows oriented to ethnic groups, such as Latino
law firm marketing.
You get the
idea – you can highly target your market with attorney advertising via
radio.
Advantages and
Disadvantages of
Radio Marketing Strategy
The biggest advantage of radio is it is
an intimate medium. Folks usually listen to it alone and have some
sense of relationship with the radio personality or the station they like.
Often it costs extra to get the radio personality to do your ad.
The biggest disadvantage of attorney
advertising by radio is folks do not pull over to the side of the road to
write your phone number down while driving. It is doubtful they will stop
what they are doing to record your contact information.
Radio has merit for sure, especially
in small markets for attorney advertising. For most law firms I would
not go here first - much like TV - unless I was in a smaller market, or I
was very sure I could target really well my market on a show or station.
Lastly, I would also do radio advertising
first before I did TV advertising, since you can get effective time slots
with radio at much less cost in most instances than TV.
Keep reading to learn about a marketing
strategy that is for just about everyone, direct
mail lawyer advertising.
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