How Attorneys Can Benefit From Online Legal Marketing

There are three fundamental differences between online legal marketing and the traditional outlets for advertisements, such as television, print, and radio. The first difference is that interactive technology can be used to create a single presentation of video, text, and sound by combining the modalities of television, print, and radio. This combination of modalities can result in a unique effect on information search, choice, and memory. For instance when clients are generally exposed to advertisements in a print media, then use of an interactive medium that is a combination of video and print components may result in cognitive interference and reduce the quality of clients' decisions about and memory for the information contained in the video. Secondly the attorney can permit the client to tailor the video to his or her particular needs and preferences by allowing various point-and-click options in the video. Clients can obtain information about the lawyers services from multiple sources and restructure the information to facilitate decision making. Every single difference can affect how much and what type of information clients acquire, the strategies with which they integrate the information to make a choice, and the amount and structure of information retained in memory for subsequent attorney hiring. In sum, internet networks such as the World Wide Web may establish new and more efficient forms of communication between people, including clients and law firms. Obviously the internet is not limited to conveying information about services, but may also include communication that affects people's perceptions of their position in a rapidly changing global community. The networks that comprise the Internet may constitute a form of cultural revolution. However, the applications of the Internet from a legal marketing perspective do not necessarily imply a scientific revolution.

Legal marketing on the Web provide benefits to both clients and attorneys. Most of these benefits arise from the interaction the client has with the website. The internet is a new, interactive means of communication. This computer-mediated communication is the union of hardware, software, and computer know-how that allows millions of people to "surf" the Net in search of entertainment, information, sense of community, and/or commercial exchange. Attorneys have been quick to identify this new medium. The Web is becoming so popular that lawyers are rushing to have a presence on the Web. Using the Web, client can easily seek out information about a number of services from their homes, can ignore advertising or parts of advertising they perceive as irrelevant, can pick specific ads in which they are interested, and, most importantly, can potentially control the content of the information presented to them. It costs less for online legal marketing compared to maintaining traditional ads. It also lacks the delays of other media. Also it is easier to change online information. It can also be done quickly. The broadcast nature of television, radio, billboard, and print constrain a traditional advertisement to one short, memorable message. With online legal marketing, the advertising message is no longer so constrained. Online legal marketing allows for communicating to clients substantially more content-rich service information.