Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
A 2019 blog post noted how 58% of consumers will use search to find an attorney or legal service. That was well before the events we all experienced during 2020. No doubt, the search for legal counsel increased during 2020 for various and obvious reasons.
As many consumers and businesses across the country were impacted both economically and medically by the pandemic, the need for legal services spiked. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings were up 30% just between April and May 2020. When Americans needed help, broadcast radio was there to inform them of where to get those legal services – driving a double-digit lift in site traffic for legal services in 2020.
Based on an analysis of NumericOwl data, radio campaigns in the attorney/legal services category, increased website traffic by 13% in 2020 and 10% for first half 2021.
In 2020, over 682,000 radio ads aired for 215 advertisers, and they were measured by the NumericOwl platform. For the first half of 2021, 176 legal services advertisers aired over 337,000 radio ads. Examining both time periods, when it came to days of the week, Thursday experienced the highest number of new site visitors. However, reflective of people staying at home during 2020, Tuesday and Wednesday also saw high lifts in site traffic. Reflective of states opening in 2021, Friday saw nearly comparable site traffic as Thursday.
Similar to the analysis of 2018 data, Midday remains an important daypart to drive web traffic lift for this category, followed by Afternoon and Morning. Evening should not be ruled out as an effective daypart. During 2020, as well as first half 2021, Evening is a powerful daypart at contributing lift in website activity for legal services. Additional evidence of radio’s effectiveness for driving lift in site traffic for legal services is the 26% increase in new site visitors when the radio campaign was on air during first-half 2021.
Legal service firms were not immune to the effect of COVID-19, and like many industries, certain sectors experienced growth while others did not. The need to pivot and adapt via technology to serve their prospective clients was magnified. According to the 2021 Legal Trends Report, published by Clio, consumer perception of legal services is that they are slow to adapt and to use technology for meetings, filings and the like. Radio’s ability to reach 88% of adults 18+ who have used an attorney in past year proves radio can serve as the right medium for any legal service firm to communicate that they are tech savvy. Combined with radio’s ability to lift site traffic, this is proof that radio should be part of any legal service firm’s media campaign. Case closed.
You can view the entire analysis here.