TV Commercials - Effective Lawyer Advertising?

You normally see the more ridiculous lawyer TV commercials during the later hours of broadcast, especially when those absurd night court and Judge Whoever shows are rerun. You know the ads I'm talking about - the screaming police sirens, the man in the suit yelling "HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED?" and the text flying on the screen with phone numbers and websites.

These kinds of lawyer TV commercials aren't helping anyone - neither the law firm they're advertising, nor legitimate non-crazy lawyers like you. All they do is perpetuate the negative connotations people have regarding almost all lawyer advertising.

What Makes a Good TV Commercial Anyway?

Think about your favorite TV commercials - they're usually funny, have a celebrity you like, involve cute animals, or a catchy tune. Now think about if you tried to use all of these aspects in a lawyer TV commercial. Would that really be appropriate?

Humor isn't usually prevalent in the legal world, given that most of our practice areas are serious matters, sometimes dealing with the loss of human life. Almost all state bar regulations prohibit the use of celebrity endorsement in lawyer advertising, so that option is out as well. You may be able to get away with the cute animal angle, but then people are going to pay more attention to your dogs than what you're saying.

That basically leaves you with coming up with a jingle for your law firm. Even if you could write a catchy set of lyrics or were allowed use of a popular song, it's just not very appropriate to lawyer advertising. With the 4 major successful TV commercial tactics pretty much out of question, that leaves you still wondering if you really can succeed with a lawyer TV commercial.

Using a Lawyer TV Commercial as your Lawyer Advertising

If you're really interested in attempting to make a TV commercial the next step in your lawyer advertising plan, by all means give it a shot. You could be the lucky entrepreneur who establishes yourself as "that TV lawyer" in your area. If other attorneys in your city aren't advertising on TV, that may be your untapped niche lawyer advertising venue where you'll find success.

Remember that when testing and evaluating a new lawyer advertising venue such as a lawyer TV commercial you need to be diligent about measuring its success. Make sure you ask new and current clients about whether or not they've seen your TV ad. Ask for honest opinions about how effective it is, and make sure to note if a new client says they first heard about you through your TV ad.

If you're finding that yes, clients are coming to you because of your lawyer commercial then you have found success in lawyer advertising through TV!

At Great Legal Marketing, we focus on saying NO to ineffective traditional lawyer marketing. We seek out new strategies to market to our ideal clients in ways they'll actually respond to. So how do you get started? Get a FREE report and CD from legal marketing guru, Ben Glass. http://www.greatlegalmarketing.com/

Ben will teach you how to: stop marketing like every other lawyer on the block; grow the kind of practice you can be proud of; and still get home in time for dinner. Contact us today - (703) 591-9829.