There’s no beating around the bush:
Digital advertising is expensive for attorneys.
Legal keywords have always topped the list as some of the most expensive keywords in the US (accounting for 78 of the top 100 keywords), a significant portion of which are related to personal injury law.
As a result, it’s no surprise many firms hesitate to shift their advertising budgets from traditional channels like TV, radio, and print to digital ad platforms like Google, Facebook, and YouTube.
But here’s the irony...
The longer you wait to invest in digital advertising, the more money your firm will lose.
You’ll lose money because you’re limiting your exposure to potential clients.
You’ll lose money because you’re missing out on cases opportunities.
And you’ll lose money because you’re failing to leverage the modern-day tools proven to boost law firm marketing efficiency and ROI.
Here’s why…
Digital advertising is the new TV advertising
Digital has taken over.
In the United States, last year was the first year online ad spend surpassed ad spend for broadcast television and cable television.
So, what’s driving the shift?
Changes in consumer behavior—especially on mobile devices.
Research shows the amount of time people spend with digital media on a daily basis continues to climb each year (jumping from 2.7 hours a day in 2008 to 5.9 hours a day in 2017), with mobile devices making up the time spent (3.3 of the 5.9 hours in 2017).
As consumers spend more time accessing the Internet, advertisers have become savvier about reaching potential clients across various digital platforms and devices—and that includes law firms advertising their services.
Your potential clients are turning to the Internet at various stages of their search, whether they’re looking up general information about a legal matter, conducting a search for the best attorneys in their area, or reading through websites and online reviews to aid in their hiring decision.
So, it’s critical that your firm is present and highly visible at each step of their online journey.
Digital advertising allows you to segment your audience
With online advertising, your firm gains control you never had through traditional channels.
Rather than casting a wide net (reaching everyone watching a certain television program, reading the latest issue of a particular magazine, driving by a specific corner), you’re able to reach segmented audiences—the exact types of clients you’re looking to retain.
With pay-per-click (PPC) ads in search engines like Google and Bing, you’ll reach people in the communities you serve who are searching for the types of legal services you offer. And you can narrow your targeting even more by reaching people at specific times of day, people using certain types of devices, and so on.
With social media ads on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, you show your ads to people in your community who fall within certain demographics, interests, and online behaviors.
Yes, digital advertising may seem pricey, but that’s only because you’re paying to get in front of the best prospects for your firm—resulting in higher-quality leads and better cases for your firm.
You can lower your marketing costs and increase your ROI over time
The greatest benefit of online advertising is the marketing return on investment (ROI).
Paid search, social media, video, and other forms of digital advertising come with a wealth of data that can be accessed in real time and funneled back into your marketing to improve performance over time.
With information about how many people are seeing your ads (impressions), how they’re engaging with your ads (click-through rate and conversion rate), and how much your campaigns cost versus how much they deliver (cost per click and cost per acquisition), you can make informed decisions that lead to improvement and optimization.
And the more you do this, the faster you’re able to optimize your campaigns and increase your ROI.
Digital advertising (paired with the right marketing management technology) makes data analysis a breeze and puts more money in your pocket.
