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As we move into the final months of 2021 and the upcoming holiday season, many lawyers are beginning to look forward to their marketing strategies in 2022 and beyond. Check out this post to learn more about why lawyers should be considering adding video into their marketing plans in the coming year.
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Watch. What do all of these platforms have in common? They are video-sharing channels that have exploded in growth as consumer behavior has shifted.
Sure, YouTube has been around since 2005, but the platform has experienced exponential growth in recent years. According to statistics compiled by SemRush, the number of video content hours uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds grew 40% from 2014 to 2019. In 2019, alone approximately two billion people logged in to YouTube daily and the platform experienced a 4.9% growth rate in 2021.
YouTube is not alone in these trends. TikTok became the most downloaded app of 2020 with nearly 100 million active users in the United States each month, despite only being launched in 2016. The growth of video has also led to the global launch of Facebook Watch in 2018 and the debut of Instagram Reels in 2020.
With numbers like these, there is no surprise that a 2019 survey found 87% of marketing professionals use video as a marketing tool. As video continues to grow in popularity with users and marketers alike, it is time your law firm considers whether you should add this strategy to your legal marketing plan in the coming year.
Reasons Lawyers Should Consider Video Marketing
The statistics show that video marketing is increasingly important in our current age. While there is typically no one size fits all approach to legal marketing (and the same is true for video marketing), there are many reasons video marketing could be highly beneficial for most attorneys’ marketing strategies.
1. Create More Personal Relationships. People love to connect with other people. Brands in the modern era spend a great deal of time and resources humanizing the company and building more personalized relationships with the average consumer. However, this is even more important for lawyers.
Many people do not encounter a lawyer in a professional setting unless they find themselves in a difficult situation, and the legal profession as a whole tends to be perceived as distant and unapproachable. Using video to tell your law firm’s story and connect more personally with the community can make people more comfortable before reaching out and ultimately help you bring more clients to your firm.
2. Strengthen Your Brand. Lawyers increasingly are including high-quality, branded videos on their websites and other online properties. These branding videos are not television commercials. Instead, these videos embody your law firm’s core values and share your mission, vision, and purpose with your potential clients.
While you typically would not explicitly say your values, vision, or mission in this type of video, what you are doing is communicating who your firm is. You are telling clients (and the public) what sets your firm apart. You are building credibility and boosting trust.
Additionally, some firms use video as a recruitment tool to reach out to new talent. These videos are also great for branding and help share your firm culture with both the new lawyers you are seeking to recruit, as well as anyone who happens across the video while searching for your firm.
3. Personify Your Reviews. We have said it time and time again: reviews matter. With video, you can take written reviews and testimonials one step further by having an actual client share their experience. This type of social proof makes the review more effective because seeing an actual person adds credibility to the testimonial and builds trust with your firm.
4. Share Information & Showcase Expertise. Part of effectively marketing your law firm is demonstrating your knowledge and experience to potential clients. After all, clients want to hire a lawyer who is intelligent, competent, and well-versed in the law. With video, you can discuss common legal issues you handle, offer how-tos or basic legal information, and comment on hot-topic issues in the legal sphere.
5. Keep Up With Your Competitors. At some point in your life, you have probably been cautioned against measuring your success in comparison to others. However, in the business world, you must constantly keep an eye on the competition to ensure you do not fall behind. As more and more firms venture into new digital marketing spaces and start leveraging video to connect with clients, any firm that doesn’t consider video runs the risk of being left behind.
Examples of Lawyer Video Marketing Done Well
Trying out a new marketing channel, such as video marketing, can often seem daunting. However, checking out content that other attorneys have successfully made can make the process seem less overwhelming and perhaps even offer you some inspiration for your first few videos.
Below are some of our picks for video marketing by lawyers, approached from a variety of different angles. As you’ll see, video marketing is a versatile strategy that allows your firm to create content that aligns well with any brand and tone.
Breaking News Updates
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. is a Chattanooga, Tennessee law firm offering a wide range of services. Recently, the firm took to its LinkedIn page to share a timely video update explaining an opinion from the state Attorney General regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates and discussing some remaining questions about the issue.
Educational Videos
Miller & Zois, Attorneys at Law
Maryland personal injury firm Miller & Zois utilizes educational videos to explain what clients can expect in various legal matters. In the above video, Ronald Miller seeks to help injured persons better understand the settlement value of a truck accident case.
Jacob J. Sapochnick
Jacob Sapochnick is an immigration lawyer in the San Diego area that founded the Sapochnick Law Firm. While he markets his firm in a variety of effective ways, the above video was shared via his immigrationu Instagram page and educates people on key terms that are often used in contentious immigration policy discussions in the United States.
Recruitment & Firm Culture Videos
Baker McKenzie
Baker McKenzie is a global law firm with locations in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Frequently recognized for its strong marketing and branding efforts, the firm creates a variety of video content. The above video highlights firm culture and the commitment to its people, helping strengthen the overall brand and connect with both potential talent and new clients.
Jones Day
Jones Day is an international firm tracing its early beginnings back to Ohio. Today, the firm has locations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. In this video, an attorney in the firm explains why he was drawn to a career with Jones Day and what new lawyers can expect working in the firm.
Legal Entertainment Videos
The King Firm
@thekingfirm Don’t open dat grave! 👻 #fypシ #fyp #neworleans #halloween #lawyersoftiktok #weirdlaws
The King Firm is a Louisiana firm primarily focused on personal injury matters. The firm shares videos about a variety of topics on its growing TikTok account. In this recent video published shortly before Halloween, the firm shared an entertaining video that got into the spooky spirit by discussing weird cemetery laws in New Orleans.
Calina C. Plotky
@galawyer #stitch with @thehonestbeard family law attorney reacting to videos which potentially could be used as evidence #reactvideos #lawyerreaction
Calina Plotky is a Senior Associate with KF Law in Atlanta, Georgia. She has amassed a large TikTok following for her videos at the intersection of law and humor. The above video is part of her “lawyer reacts” series, where she humorously illustrates different ways a lawyer could use social media as evidence in a future trial.
Client Testimonial Videos
Breakstone, White, & Gluck
Breakstone, White, & Gluck is a Massachusetts personal injury and malpractice firm. The firm effectively utilizes video to share client testimonials and created a page on the firm website to catalog various videos showcasing clients talking about their experiences with the firm.
Edward A. Smith Law Offices
The Law Offices of Edward A. Smith, perhaps better known as AutoAccident.com, is a Sacramento, California personal injury firm. The firm uses video to share client testimonials and has a dedicated testimonials page on the firm website that combines these videos with traditional reviews and personal notes to illustrate the positive experiences clients have had with the practice.
The Traditional Commercial
Dunnion Law
Dunnion Law is a California firm representing personal injury clients. In the above commercial, the firm follows a traditional lawyer commercial model and creates an effective ad that helps potential clients remember a law firm to call if they ever find themselves in an unfortunate accident.
Fletcher, Roy, & Chenevert
Fletcher, Roy, & Chenevert is a car accident firm serving the state of Louisiana. Attorney Ryan Chenevert has gained traction online in various video marketing efforts and his “Worst Lawyer Ad Ever” uses satire to not only have a little fun with lawyer commercial stereotypes but also boost awareness of the firm and its legal services.
Tips for Venturing Into the Video Marketing World
Whenever you are ready to give video marketing a try, you may wonder where to begin. We have a few pointers to help you get started.
1. Identify the Purpose of Your Video. Before you can consider actually creating a video for your law firm, you need to identify the purpose of this video. What is the main goal your firm wants to achieve with this video? Perhaps it is increased brand awareness. Perhaps it is more leads. Maybe you want to attract new lawyers. Use the key objective you identify to guide you through the video creation process.
2. Understand Your Target Audience. Know who you want to reach with this video. For example, short TikToks help you target the younger demographic that forms the core of the platform’s user base. In contrast, if you want your video to resonate with an older audience, you likely do not want to base your entire concept around the latest social media trend. Instead, you may want to create a longer more detailed video that is easily understood by someone who hasn’t heard about the latest viral sensation.
3. Create a Storyboard & Script. You may not be a professional videographer, but you do want to be sure you fully develop your video concept, especially in long-form formats. If you are filming a 10-second snippet to share on Instagram, the process of developing your concept may not be as intensive as when you create a five-minute YouTube video. However, having a vision is still important.
Define your concept for the video. Develop a script of what you want to say in your video, even if this is simply a loose outline that helps guide a casual, natural tone. Create a storyboard that roughly shows how you want the visuals to unfold, especially if you are creating complex videos that utilize multiple shots, backgrounds, and people.
4. Consider Distribution in Your Production. Distribution is a very important part of the video marketing process. You have to determine how you will reach your identified target audience. This influences many additional factors in the production process.
For example, if you intend to air a commercial on television and also upload it to YouTube, you are going to want a higher quality video, likely shot on professional equipment. You may even want to consider hiring a professional videographer or production company to handle the project.
In contrast, if you want to share a quick video on TikTok, you likely already have the only tool you really need: a smartphone. These are easy videos to “DIY” by shooting and editing on your mobile device.
Likewise, how you intend to distribute your content matters for video length. Platforms like TikTok have strict length limits, while others, such as YouTube, allow you to upload longer videos.
5. Share Across Various Channels. Do not limit yourself to sharing your video content on only one channel. TikTok videos are often shared on Instagram Reels. YouTube videos are often shared on Facebook. Leveraging multiple platforms can expand your videos’ reach, helping you connect with more potential clients and ultimately increasing your return on investment.
Final Thoughts: Why Do You Care?
If you want to stay at the forefront of digital marketing trends, you need to consider video marketing. Not only are other lawyers venturing into this territory, but consumer consumption of video marketing is increasing. Should the current trends hold, it is only a matter of time until your clients begin to expect video content from your law firm.
