Your Internet presence has the ability to be much more exciting. Imagine, potential clients can click on your web site and be linked to your personal video introducing them to your services, philosophies and mission, all for free? Imagine your own infomercial without the cost of running it on television, more targeted to your potential client base and all available for just the cost of creating it?
Many know YouTube as a search engine for anything BUT professional videos. Yet it is the #1 search engine out there and offers this free service not just to musicians and kids and amateur videographers illegally shooting concerts. It is also for the professional. And you can create your own YouTube channel. You can link to your YouTube channel through your own web site, permitting your potential clients to get an “in person” introduction to you and your services.
This may seem old news to some. But it remains a decidedly untapped vehicle for lawyers. And now we are hearing from the most respected Google analyst, Eric Schmidt, discussing the future of the net and this includes YouTube:
“We’re starting to make significant money off of Youtube”, content will move towards more video.
Clearly we believe strongly in lawyer videos and it is why we have Gerry Oginski teaching solos how to do so effectively at Solo Practice University.
There are more and more lawyers starting to create video to tap into the very crucial ‘know, like, trust’ factor which the internet can help increase. Yet one of my favorite examples remains this one from more than three years ago. One very ingenious young lawyer out of California used video to give herself a competitive edge. Allison Margolin, a newly minted Harvard Law School graduate, who concentrates in criminal law, is very passionate about the decriminalization of marijuana. Her video highlights not just her criminal practice, but has testimonials of her and a client on the courthouse steps. The video allows her to showcase her mission through a medium her client base would most likely use. And she is decidedly authentic…the key to her success.
Now, this might not be for everyone, but YouTube lets you take the concept of an electronic educational brochure, your web site, to a whole new level.
When I did a YouTube search of lawyer videos three years ago, I found 81; at least 10 were from one law firm, 30-second spots each highlighting a particular practice area within the law firm. Others were amateur videos mocking “late night cheesy lawyers.”
Today, when I put in lawyers it indicates there are 74, 100 (I won’t take the time to figure out legit and cheesy.) But percentage wise, you do the math. The upshot is, this is still virgin territory for smart lawyers who understand the value of video and utilizing YouTube, this powerful search engine preferred by millions.
The wonderful benefit of an Internet video is it can be as long as you would like and plays for free on the computer for each individual who specifically goes to your web site (or searches your name on YouTube) to do some preliminary research on you. Therefore, with each hit to your web site (or search in YouTube), you are getting the opportunity to present your own educational marketing piece over and over again. This laser-focused advertising is powerful and cost effective.
Getting this type of targeted advertising for minimal investment is an amazing opportunity for the entrepreneur who is smart enough to grab the horns of this bull and ride it until the “legal advertising police” come with sirens blaring. And you know they are coming. The right to advertise is to the American Bar Association what the right to have an abortion is to the Republicans. It’s a hot button issue that remains very divisive.
Given all the fuss recently about lawyer advertising, Internet communications, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lawyer Directories, video advertising like YouTube will certainly raise more than a few paternalistic graying eyebrows. But why? If it is a commercial like any other commercial, should it matter where it is played? As long as it passes muster like regular TV and radio “commercials,” it shouldn’t.
We’ve got to stop hog-tying every lawyer when it comes to competitive and creative presentation of their skills and philosophies under the ever-broadening (some would say suffocating) umbrella of public protection. If the judiciary and anti-lawyer advertising crusaders really want to protect the public, make them the gatekeepers of pharmaceutical advertising. With their zealousness I may, once again, be able to watch the evening news without 20 commercials encouraging me to become a prescription drug addict nervous about oily-discharge as a possible side-effect.
I think that videos are great for three things:
1. Giving potential clients a voice and face to connect to the name. It makes you seem like a real person rather than just some words on a screen.
2. An entertaining video will often hold a visitor’s attention longer and encourage them to look further than a blog will.
3. If you’re interested in doing the lecture circuit, it demonstrates that you are a capable and interesting speaker.
I also think that you need to be careful not to overuse videos. Just being in video format doesn’t make a subject more interesting or entertaining, and most people would rather read something dry or instructional than wait through a five minute video. If all you’re going to do is talk to the screen, it might as well be a blog. You need to do something extra to take advantage of the video format.
This is an excellent suggestion, particularly for attorneys going into practice on their own. The story linked to two excellent examples of the use of video on both ends of the medium.
Given a tight budget, most will opt for Example A – set up a handycam on a tripod, sit at your desk and ask your secretary to zoom in (and then out and then back in again) and say your spiel. OK, it can get a brief message out and offer a glimpse of personality but, honestly, not much of either. Granted, in this particular case, it accomplished its goal of introducing the viewer to the content of two specific courses and was not a sales pitch, but this is not your best option in marketing your practice.
Example B – “Allison Margolin – LAsDopestLawyer” was a great example of how to engage potential clients, convey message and personality, and even hold onto someone like me for three-and-a-half minutes who has no particular interest in or need for Allison’s practice. In the video, Allison told me that she is very knowledgeable and really cares about her practice area and her clients. Bingo!
Being the better of the two examples, Allison Margolin’s piece was, by far, the more expensive to produce. It took at least two days to shoot and several more to edit, plus the expense of purchasing additional file footage and a musical track. But, that’s what it takes to produce a truly effective video.
For an attorney opening your own practice, you must factor in costs of marketing and advertising. While video can be used in advertising (running ads on local cable), this is a different type of video that falls into your Marketing column.
Before thinking of producing video, your first marketing step is establishing a website for your practice. Part of your web design must be the inclusion of critical keywords, or metadata/metatags. Once your site is up, then educate yourself on SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Follow simple directions provided by Google and others to maximize your SEO.
Now, produce your video of somewhere between three to five minutes, telling prospective clients what you do and give them a sense of your personality. While YouTube posting is one way, you do not maintain any control over YouTube and what advertising might run over your video. Plus, you are very limited in how much information you can include about contacting your office. (Frankly, Ms. Margolin’s contact info did not hold on the screen long enough.)
Post the video on the front page of your website – make it the focal point. Then, when a person in, say, Springfield needing an attorney to help them with estate planning Googles “attorney Springfield estate planning” your name will appear at the top of the list. When they arrive at your site, you are there to personally greet them and assure them that they have arrived at the right place.
Video’s main value? YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine.
Julie makes a great point: “I also think that you need to be careful not to overuse videos. Just being in video format doesn’t make a subject more interesting or entertaining, and most people would rather read something dry or instructional than wait through a five minute video.” Amen! I tell clients to put a short summary beneath the video. Some people skim. Others watch it all. Still others watch only if they see a reason in the bullet points. And you can always repurpose material into different formats (video, audio, blog post, email) and catch more customers that way. People vary.
And– use video analytics! TubeMogul has them, among others. Even split-testing a page with or without video in Google Analytics can tell you whether a it’s gold or trash.
And, with due respect to Dennis’ detailed and helpful piece on how to use video, I disagree wholeheartedly that Allison’s piece took two days to shoot and more to edit. If it did, the crew’s working slow. Despite the fact that video always takes longer than you think. Production costs have shot way down, so small practices can realistically make videos like this on their own– if you know exactly what you want.
(Even if it’s like my local ambulance chaser’s video. The one with the talking dog. For better or worse, he’s got the #1 spot for “lawyer” in my brain.)