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

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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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, is co-founder of AttorneySync Law Firm Internet Marketing. "Develop great search-mindful content and get it in front of people who are ready, willing, and able to link to and further publicize it."

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  • http://www.judithkrameresq.com/ judith kramer,esq.

    Very informative in an easy to understand manner!

  • Gyi Tsakalakis

    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.

  • http://www.legalpracticepro.com/ Jay S. Fleischman

    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.

  • http://www.georgiacriminaldefense.com/ William C. Head
  • http://www.oginski-law.com/ Gerry Oginski

    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.

  • Gyi Tsakalakis

    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.

  • Kevin Davidson

    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

  • jimbo

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Janie-Graham/100002817111169 Janie Graham

    In this new day and age, we owners of business really need to step up our internet advertising campaigns. Through making great web clips, blogs, and entering into social media sites, you can really create a foundation on which to build open. However, if you do it incorrectly, you will reap the consequences (as shown on the video clips of the lawyers above).