Lawyer Advertisements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Written by Gyi Tsakalakis

January 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm

with 8 comments

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Tagged with advertising for lawyers, attorney advertising, internet advertising, internet advertising for lawyers, lawyer advertising, online advertising, web advertising

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Here are a couple lawyer advertisements that I pulled off YouTube.

The Ugly:

Um….Well let’s talk about this one. First no-no, he talks only about himself. He provides absolutely no benefit to his clients. Moreover, and we see this far too many times, the only attribute he conveys is his toughness. Are people still falling for this junk? Let me tell you, it takes a whole lot more than “playing rough” to get a good result for your client. So, if you’re going to talk about how great you are, then at least tell your audience something worthwhile.

The Bad:

Well, perhaps calling this ad “the bad” isn’t truly fair. In this ad, at least the lawyer is providing value. This is a very crude attempt at education-based marketing. His head is in the right place, but his attempt needs refining. He is still holding on to the old strategies in that he is “trading” his book for consumer contact information. His general delivery is also rough. While I advocate attorneys appearing in their own ads, opposed to hiring actors, you still need to make your ad professional. Let’s take a look at a lawyer advertisement that really works.

The Good:

Ah…sweet, sweet well-done education-based marketing. Here we have an attorney actually talking to potential clients about what to look for when hiring an attorney. This is what legal internet marketing is all about. This lawyer subtly works in his contact info. His delivery is clean and professional. It is more education material than it is advertisement. My hat is off to you! You have embodied the principles that we stand by at AttorneySync.

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8 Responses to 'Lawyer Advertisements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly'

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Very informative in an easy to understand manner!

[Reply]

judith kramer,esq.

28 Aug 09 at 4:51 pm
Judith-

Thanks for the comment. It truly is amazing what a difference implementing some of these basic principles makes. For more examples, just perform a quick YouTube search for “lawyer advertisements”. Providing value to prospective clients is one of the most effective ways to distinguish your practice from the pack.

[Reply]

Gyi Tsakalakis

28 Aug 09 at 4:51 pm
The third ad is clearly the best – for an online video. But the hole is that I don’t see any tactic being employed to capture the leads information. The trade of information for information is critical in order to obtain the permission to continue the marketing conversation.

[Reply]

Jay S. Fleischman

28 Aug 09 at 4:52 pm
Here are three of my 400+ videos. Comments?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPfcqJh2-Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoQ_dka2Cfc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Myh-mPmsQ4

William C. Head

[Reply]

William C. Head

28 Aug 09 at 4:54 pm
Thanks for the comments on my video-choosing an attorney. I agree with you totally about creating informative and useful information that potential clients can use to understand how the legal process works.

My hat tip to you and your blog.

[Reply]

Gerry Oginski

28 Aug 09 at 4:54 pm
William-

After watching your videos, it is clear that you understand the basics behind education-based marketing techniques. Here are a couple comments on each:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPfcqJh2-Y

The first one seemed to be more of an intro or preview to more videos down the pike. The problem with this is that with the internet, this might be the only video your audience sees of you. I suggest treating each video as “self-sufficient”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoQ_dka2Cfc

This video was better than the previous in that it was more informational. While we each must find our own styles and voices, I would recommend taking on a little lighter and faster tempo style. Even though the subject matter might be serious, make efforts make your video interesting. Also, break the information you sharing into “bite-sized pieces”. Online audiences have short attention-spans. To keep their interest, think bullet points. Much like outlining in law school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Myh-mPmsQ4

To me, the third was the best of the three. You spoke directly to the audience as if they had just recently been arrested and gave them some tips on what they should do immediately. It was more concise than the previous one as well. Again, remember to keep it interesting.

[Reply]

Gyi Tsakalakis

28 Aug 09 at 4:55 pm
I’m just getting my feet wet with videos – I would appreciate feedback and comments on the following: <a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_foJ4YR7WM

[Reply]

Kevin Davidson

28 Aug 09 at 4:56 pm
Ben Glass is going to be pissed. He’s the best at marketing, and he will tell you so.

Be ready. He’s on twitter too.

[Reply]

jimbo

28 Aug 09 at 4:56 pm