It’s the 21st century, and while we still don’t have flying cars yet, we do have something that the prognosticators of decades past never dreamed of: instant access to information and entertainment through machines connected to a globe-spanning network. That’s right – the Internet hit the world by surprise, transforming from a toy for the tech-savvy into an inescapable facet of our modern culture. The Internet has its metaphorical fingers in so many places, in fact, that some people say that television is a dinosaur, a relic of the pre-wired world that’s slowly fading into irrelevance – and TV advertising along with it.
But the figures tell a different story. 97% of US households still watch television, with the average American consuming 34 hours’ worth of televised content every week. Internet advertising may be able to reach every computer and mobile device in the country, but it still can’t match television in terms of reach and impact. For legal professionals who are interested in promoting their practices, TV commercials for lawyers remain the most powerful and cost-effective way to bring in new clients.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a silver bullet when it comes to advertising, and there are things to consider before investing in TV commercials for lawyers. First of all, not all fields in the legal profession are suited for TV advertising. Personal injury, debt collection, and mass tort lawyers are all in high demand in the general population, so they can benefit from TV advertising, but there are also many fields of legal help which the average citizen will never need – trying to advertise such services on television would be a waste of time and resources. Another thing is that TV commercials for lawyers work best with a personal touch: you need to take center stage in your ad and speak directly to your audience about the services you offer. If you can’t convincingly present your case to your audience, how can they trust you to convincingly present their cases in court?
TV advertising and Internet advertising don’t have to be enemies, either: they can work amazingly well together. Here’s another figure that might surprise you: over two-thirds of TV viewers use mobile devices of some sort – tablets, smartphones, etc. – while watching TV. People can’t help it – they like texting and Tweeting during their favorite shows, not to mention weighing in their vote on popular reality series. They also use their devices to look up products and services that they see commercials for, and TV commercials for lawyers are no exception: people look up legal services on the Internet as well, which is why you need an online presence to go along with your TV ad. The biggest problem with TV commercials for lawyers – or for anyone else, for that matter – is that there’s only so much you can say in a 30-to-60 second ad spot: you can maximize the effectiveness of your ad by having it direct viewers to a professional-looking website full of information about your practice.
One last thing to consider: don’t even think about cutting corners on your TV ad. If your ad looks like it was made on a shoestring budget and a dare, no one’s going to compliment you on how cleverly frugal you were with your advertising budget – they’re going to figure that a cut-rate commercial means a cut-rate lawyer and they’ll take their cases elsewhere. Your ad is how you get people to remember you: make sure they’ll remember you for the reasons you want them to.
If all this sounds like a lot to take on by yourself, don’t worry – you don’t have to go it alone. You can hire an advertising agency that specializes in legal marketing – preferably one that’s associated with major lawyer associations. The knowledge and expertise they can provide will help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure you get the absolute most out of your advertising campaign.
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