According to the 2019 Social Media Examiner statistics, businesses who use video marketing grow revenue nearly 50% faster than those who don’t.
Still, one of the most common questions we get from lawyers in regards to video marketing is, “How do I use video marketing to generate leads, without feeling tacky or salesy?”
When it comes to creating videos, attorneys who shy away from television ads consider video marketing one in the same. This couldn’t be further than the truth. Video marketing and traditional lawyer commercials are dramatically different.
Unlike television ads focused on branding your firm and promoting your services, video marketing is aimed at connecting with a specific segment of your audience. The best attorney marketing videos educate, inform, and deliver value to your market vs. simply promoting the fact that you exist.
Ultimately, the question isn’t if your law firm should use videos, it’s how.
How To Create Lead-Generating Videos For Your Law Firm
1. Understand your market
Knowing your audience is vital to any type of marketing. Whether you’re writing a blog post or developing a topic for your videos, focus on answering your markets’ most frequently asked questions. This marketing approach positions you as the expert, providing a solution to your market’s problems.
“Sell the problem you solve, not the product.”
– Unknown
When you speak directly to one segment of your market, whether it’s people going through a divorce or those dealing with a bankruptcy situation, you’re able to connect with the audience on a different level. There’s an old saying, “marketing to everyone is akin to marketing to no one.” Create a video aimed at solving a specific problem for a specific audience and you’ll tremendously increase the odds of attracting viewers.
2. Give serious value
The five-letter word separating traditional marketing from marketing that converts viewers into clients? Value. Forgo the “ABC” motto (always be closing) in favor of a new one: always give value.
Your viewers are bombarded with online content. Rather than letting this deter you from producing content, use it to encourage you to produce relevant, valuable content for your audience.
Valuable content…
- Speaks to one audience (a segment of your market) with one specific problem
- Focuses on a solution for your viewer vs. promoting your business
- Gives actionable information, insight or advice
- Positions you as the expert…without you having to say you’re one
3. Vary your video approach
As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. To increase your chances of video success, incorporate different types of marketing videos.
Types of videos include:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): make a list of the top questions you get from prospective and current clients. These are great topics for your videos and also help with search engine optimization (SEO) as they are typically the same questions people type into Google.
- Storytelling: recount a story of a recent case, focusing on how you helped solve a problem for your client. Obviously, whitewash any personal details that would identify your client.
- Testimonials: social proof is extremely beneficial. Depending on your practice area, you might be able to use testimonial videos to market your firm. Clients who’ve received a settlement in a personal injury case or divorce are often good sources for testimonials.
- Newsjacking: use trending news stories within your practice area to keep your audience informed and position yourself as an expert.In doing so, you’ll create relevant content that pertains to your local market and helps to boost your SEO.
4. Length is important, but it’s not everything
One of the biggest questions we get is, “how long should my video be?” The answer? It depends.
Every authoritative source on video marketing has a different idea on the best length for your video. While there are stats to argue every viewpoint, we tend to side with Social Media Examiner’s approach…
Making long videos seems counterintuitive, given the famously short attention spans online. Indeed, shorter videos were considered better. But today, longer videos equate to more watch time, which boosts your content in the algorithm. Ultimately, the right length for a video is just long enough to get all of the information across without padding your video.
In that same article, under tip #10, Social Media Examiner explains, “In general, YouTube videos between 7-15 minutes tend to perform best.” While this might prove true for you on YouTube, you might find out that shorter videos perform better on your website.
The only way to understand what the best length is for your particular audience is test different lengths and measure your results.
Length is only one thing to consider. Other factors are equally important, including:
- Edit or prepare a clear, concise script. Remove any unnecessary information or words that make your video longer, without adding any value. A simple way to do this without needing to edit your video is to prepare a script. Jot down what you’re going to say before you get on video and rehearse it outloud. See if you can cut anything out to be more clear and concise.
- Use plain language. Avoid using industry jargon or complex words in your video. Many marketing writers live and die by the Flesch-Kincaid grade level test. This test checks the readability of your content and determines a grade level. According to some of the world’s most successful marketers, the best performing content reads between a fifth and eighth grade reading level. Remember this when you’re creating video content
- What’s in it for them? When you’re creating videos, your goal should always be to inform, educate or provide insight on a topic that’s important to your audience. Worrying about the ideal length is secondary to your mission to provide valuable content that helps your viewers.
5. Don’t yell “Cut!” without a call-to-action
If you’ve read this far, you understand the importance of delivering value to your viewers. The next step in providing value? The call-to-action, also referred to as the CTA.
Your call to action is when you tell your viewers exactly what they should do after they watch your video.
If you’re like many lawyers, you’ll want to tell viewers how they can get in touch with you. If your video resides on your website, you might invite your audience to click your ‘contact us’ button or call you for a consultation. If your video is on YouTube, it’s important to link to your website from YouTube or have your phone number and email prominently displayed on your video.
Though last on our list, the CTA is one of the most important aspects of your video. The minute your client takes the action you recommend, they transform from passive online viewer to engaged prospect. This is conversion. The holy grail of marketing.
If you’re like most attorneys, you have conflicting feelings about making the leap to video marketing. We get it. At first glance, video marketing seems daunting. When it comes to digital marketing, keep the motto rumored to be hanging on the walls of Facebook headquarters in mind:
“Done is better than perfect.”
Your first video won’t be perfect—that isn’t the goal. Your goal is to provide valuable content to your market. Doing so positions you as an expert to an audience you might not have reached before.
In 2019, make a commitment to video marketing. Even if you produce 1-2 videos per month, sticking to a schedule will give you momentum and allow you to measure what’s working and where you’re falling short. If you have specific questions or want to discuss developing a marketing program for your law firm, contact AlphaLegal Marketing today.
Carl P. DeLuca, Esq
Alphalegal Directory
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