Should I buy Yellow Page Ads or Put Lawyer Videos Online?
If you’re a small firm with a nearly invisible advertising budget, then you have a number of tough questions to answer about how to allocate your funds. One big question is whether to invest in putting lawyer videos online or to spend that money taking out yellow pages ads. If money weren’t a factor at all, you’d obviously do both, but purchasing yellow pages ads can get expensive, as can professionally filmed lawyer videos. Ultimately, it comes down to which type of advertising is more likely to generate revenue for your firm; for most firms, that equation will land squarely on the side of the online videos.
Who are your clients?
Before starting any marketing campaign, you should ask some variation of this question. Knowing the target audience of your campaign will dictate everything from your tone to your medium, and in between. In this case, the question in front of you is whether your clients are more likely to look for lawyers in the yellow pages, or whether they’re likely to search for them online. In general, most people use yellow pages to prop open doors; the exception is largely technophobes. In fact, the large majority of people use the Internet for the majority of their shopping—including shopping for professional services such as lawyers. So unless your client base is primarily made up of octogenarians, then you’re likely better off putting lawyer videos online.
What size ad can you afford?
Obviously, the larger the ad, the more likely you are to get noticed. If your budget just won’t allow you to purchase more than a quarter page advertisement, then you can probably get more bang for your buck by putting videos online. Unlike with print ads in general, you can create and upload lawyer videos incredibly affordably, particularly if you’re willing to take the time to develop, shoot, edit and upload your video yourself—something that can be incredibly difficult if done to exacting professional levels, but fairly easy if you’re primarily concerned with quality content that is delivered clearly instead of flashy transitions and theme music.
Print or video?
Even among the octogenarian set, this is an easy answer: every single prospective client would prefer to see and hear her candidates for lawyer rather than just read about them in an advertisement. Lawyer videos allow prospective clients to get a preview of the kind of counsel they would be getting should they hire them. It’s a unique opportunity that simply can’t be matched by print advertisements.
Can you have your cake and eat it too?
The brief answer to this question is yes. The long answer is, yes, if you’re willing to create the video yourself, edit it yourself, and upload it to your website yourself. The end result might not look fancy, but provided it’s compelling and understandable (you’re in focus and clearly audible throughout), then you can do it for next to nothing, using only the tools already at your disposal. With the money you save from creating the online lawyer videos yourself, you can afford that yellow page ad space.
Tags: Lawyer video advertising, yellow pages or attorney videos
I love to see lawyers with videos online because I can get a better feeling if this person is going to represent me well or not. It also shows that the lawyer took the time to put something together and gives the impression that he or she cares. Plus, you can say so much more with a video than a print ad.
I absolutely agree with Ella. Print advertisements are cold and impersonal and they don’t leave any real impression of how well the firm might or might not represent you.
Well, my Yellow Page book is getting smaller every year. That gives you some idea that people prefer seeing videos to reading a written advertisement.
People are getting lazier and don’t want to be bothered with reading nowadays. They much prefer something punchy and lively and that’s best found in video.
Like the others have said, written ads are growing more and more impersonal now that there are better mediums to use to connect with your audience. I really think that videos are a better way to go.
I think you would reach a much bigger audience by using the videos instead of simply placing an ad in the yellow pages. I know personally I don’t even keep a phone book anymore.
You know I totally forgot about the yellow pages because I never use them. I would definitely recommend listing yourself in online directories instead of print media.