There are so many options when it comes to advertising and marketing that it can be difficult for firms and businesses to know where to start, and more importantly, what will be the most effective in generating phone calls and inquiries from potential customers.  After working with thousands of firms and businesses to develop successful marketing plans, we have found that the marketing with the highest return is online marketing. Here are some tactics we recommend:

1.       Invest in online advertising

Before investing in any other paid advertising, we recommend that you invest in online advertising. Beyond the fact that the majority of consumers now search for services and companies online, online advertising is also the easiest to get started and allows for an easily adjustable budget. That means you can quickly increase spend if your advertising is proving successful or reduce spend if needed. Furthermore, with online advertising you have the ability to test your messaging and other aspects, whereas testing can be difficult if not impossible with other types of advertising (think print, radio, etc.).

 2.       Use online ads to reach consumer and commercial clients

With ads on Google, Bing, and even Facebook you can set certain criteria so that your ideal consumer finds you.  By being able to specify who sees your ad, you greatly increase the likelihood of getting new customers. For example, with Google paid advertising you can “bid” on keywords and search phrases such as “Bankruptcy Attorney Orange County” so that people who search for that or similar phrases will see your ad and contact you. If you want to reach commercial clients, LinkedIn ads can be highly effective, and Google/Bing can work in this area as well. With LinkedIn, you can also set criteria for who sees your ad, and you are able to filter by industry, job title, company size, and more.

 3.       Test sponsored directory listings

Sponsored directory listings on sites such as Avvo, Lawyers.com, and others can be an effective way to be found by potential customers online. These paid listings usually guarantee you a prime location on the site or some other call-out. Also, directory listings sites often have good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and rank high in search engine results, which may also help you to be found by potential customers.

RealPractice and our ReplyWise online application can help firms and businesses of any size to “advertise wisely and close more business” in 2012. For more than 12 years, we have been trusted by thousands of firms and our technology and programs have been designed and built by teams from companies like Apple, Yahoo! and AOL. Our teams have also managed thousands of online marketing campaigns and website projects and we are not afraid to be measured to make sure we are delivering value. We have low cost and easy ways to get started without long-term commitments. We’ll even be happy to give you a FREE consultation to review your 2012 goals and suggest a custom plan to achieve them!  Just email us at learnmore@realpractice.com.