The single biggest mistake lawyers make in their marketing messages is making everything about themselves — their track record, their years in practice, their education, the unique advantages they have over other attorneys, etc.
“What’s wrong with that?” you might ask. Well, nothing, except that these kinds of lawyer-focused messages miss the single most important point when it comes to messaging: It’s not about you.
It’s about the client.
It’s about their emotions, their financial concerns, recovering from their injuries, their fear of lawyers, and their strong desire to get justice and quickly put this whole mess behind them… that’s what legal marketing is about.
Look at your website and/or television advertising copy. How much of it is I/Us/Our language vs. You/Your/Your family language?
There’s certainly a time and a place for you to outline your impressive track record and the skillset you bring to the table. But that cannot be the focus. If it is, you’re just like every other firm, which means you have no measurable advantage over your competition.
The most effective messaging will speak directly to the prospective client’s emotional plight. It will come from a place of authentic passion.
They need to see and feel that your services are about them and their interests.
The quicker your firm understands this and implements it, the better. Most of your rivals probably haven’t put this insight to work in their own messaging yet (lawyer-focused messaging is still the norm), so there’s an opportunity for you to pull ahead of your competitors — even if they’re outspending you.
Stand Out From Your Competition
It’s human nature to repeat what we see. Our clients are often tempted to repeat the tactics they’ve seen a hundred other attorneys use on the airwaves, and we understand that impulse. Furthermore, “zigging” while others zag can feel almost intimidating.
Once upon a time, you could get some mileage out of conventional tactics like:
- Dramatized testimonials
- Flashy settlement figures, dollar sums, and firm statistics
- “Speed-and-greed” talk
- Partners huddled in front of a bookcase with the usual “If you’ve been injured…” script
But these tactics do not work anymore, and for several years now, we have been consciously steering our clients away in a much more effective and productive messaging direction.
The legal advertising space is far too crowded for you to risk blending in with the crowd.
Tell a Story
Your messaging needs to be about the people you represent and serve. You must create a story (one worth telling!) and craft your brand narrative around that.
Think outside the box. Grab viewers’ attention. Tap into their emotions first; persuade with pitches later.
We put together a guide to crafting stories that legal clients will respond to. It’s the very process we use when brainstorming a new message or TV campaign for our clients.
Make Better Messaging. Let’s Tell Stories Together.
We can help. Network Affiliates is a legal marketing agency that specializes in creative advertising for attorneys. For more than 35 years, we’ve been putting law firms on the airwaves and, for the last 20 years, bolstering their digital marketing efforts at the same time.
In fact, we made some of the very first legal commercials ever broadcast on U.S. television, and we’ve continued to develop, advance and expand our strategies ever since.
Let us put you on the cutting edge and ahead of your competitors. Give us a call at 877.709.0633 or contact us online today.