Use Advertisements in Ethnic Media to Attract Foreign Clients
Publish Law Firm’s Ads in Foreign Languages
Law firms desiring to market to foreign-born individuals should not rely solely on traditional marketing and advertising avenues and on social media to grow their client base. Lawyers should not overlook the effectiveness of advertising in ethnic print media and on foreign language radio and television stations. Hire a professional translation service to translate your law firm’s advertising materials and get them published in local ethnic media publications.
While ethnic media outlets may seem obscure to lawyers used to investing in traditional advertising campaigns, the return on their investment may be slim if firms neglect to utilize ethnic media in seeking foreign-born clients. Mainstream newspapers, magazines and websites may only attract a small percentage of ethnic clients, whereas ethnic media publications will be viewed almost entirely by the particular ethnic group for which the publication is intended.
Translate Your Law Firm’s Ads from English to the Languages Spoken by Foreign Clients
What are the advantages of advertising in ethnic newspapers? In fact, there are several. Law firms will appreciate the fact that ethnic media newspapers are generally affordable and have a longer shelf life than mainstream newspapers. Equally important, ethnic newspapers typically contain fewer advertisements from competing law firms, so a firm’s advertisement is more likely to stand out than in typical publications that often contain numerous law firm advertisements. Furthermore, because ethnic newspapers are not printed as frequently as mainstream newspapers (they are often published weekly or bimonthly), they are often passed around between friends, family, and co-workers and may even be used as a replacement for the Yellow Pages where the ethnic Yellow Pages are unavailable. Thus, law firms may be able to yield more actual or prospective clients from advertising in ethnic newspapers than in traditional publications at a fraction of the cost.
Before deciding on which ethnic newspaper to place its advertisement, firms should first research which ethnic publications are the most respected (and most read) within the ethnic community. There may be more than one. Firms seeking to market services to Chinese-speaking clientele in the Denver metro area, for example, should be aware of the fact that there are several local Chinese-language weekly newspapers they can invest in.
Firms wanting to advertise in cities, such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, with multiple ethnic newspapers in the same foreign language may want to consider asking the participants of their focus group which publications they read and respect before deciding on the newspaper in which to place the ad. Law firms with more fluid advertising budgets may want to consider advertising in all of the local publications in a particular foreign language in the applicable geographical area in order to maximize their reach and visibility.
Up Next: Learn Foreign Clients’ Culture