It’s 2017 and the way people consume content on the Internet these days is likely much different than when you and I began to practice law. For a lot of us, the Internet wasn’t even around when we started out. Only ambulance chasers advertised on billboards and TV. Some old-schoolers even had problems with a Yellow Pages ad.
Those days are long gone. The Internet has revolutionized the way attorneys market to consumers through email marketing, social media, pay-per-click, mobile marketing and more. And the “more” these days is video. Consider these current stats:
- 78% of Internet users 18+ watch video online every week
- 55% of adult Internet users watch videos online every day
- 74% of all web traffic is video
- 75% of business executives watch business-related videos once a week
- 81% of business websites feature video
- Video increases click-through rates by 65% on a website and 200-300% in an email
- 59% of senior executives say that given the choice between text and video, they prefer video
- Web pages with video are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google search results
There seems to be no question that consumers would rather watch than read. And this provides law firms with a great opportunity to be virtually “face-to-face” with hundreds more prospects than they would ever reach through any other medium.
In fact, no other medium allows attorneys to give prospects a true feel for what it would be like to work with them. With its exponential reach, video enables you to get in front of people in a personal way that cannot be duplicated. Videos on your website can be repurposed in emails and social media profiles to reach more people at a substantially lower cost and with better targeting opportunities than TV advertising.
Generating Leads with Video Marketing
One of the most effective ways to capture leads with video is to take a subject you know will be of great interest to your prospects (tip: answer a common question/concern you’ve heard from most of your clients) and create a short video to distribute on your social media platforms.
Your video should make an offer to download a free ebook or other premium content like a newsletter and drive those who click on the video to a landing page where they can get that material once they provide their contact information.
Landing pages are essential to lead conversion. They have no other purpose than to direct someone to fulfill your call to action. Your landing page should include your video, some additional succinct selling points that support the call to action and a built-in form that captures a name and email address.
Creating and Distributing Your Video
Your video should be no longer than two minutes (about 300 words) and contain the following points:
- What you do (NOT “We are a personal injury law firm,” but “We help injured people get the compensation they deserve.”)
- Address their pain point — the problem they are having.
- How you solve their problem — brief, friendly overview.
- Call to action — “I’ve developed this special ebook for people who are going through exactly what you’re going through right now (address the issue).”
- Proof — use graphics like authority badges (10.0 Avvo rating, etc.), testimonials or case study results.
Now that you have created your video, it’s time to leverage it across all your social media platforms.
YouTube — Upload your video to YouTube and be sure it is optimized with a URL in the description, a catchy title and your call to action. You should also add a video overlay with a link to your landing page.
Facebook — Share your video on your Facebook page in a status update with a clear call to action. Then use Promoted Posts and Page Post Ads to push additional traffic to your offer.
Twitter — Tweet your YouTube link and a link to your landing page.
LinkedIn — Post your video in your profile, in your updates and in LinkedIn Publisher.
Pinterest — Add your YouTube video to Pinterest and be sure to fill in the description with a URL and call to action.
Other Uses for Video in Legal Marketing
Website welcome — adding a video to the home page of your website helps you connect immediately with visitors. If you can add client testimonial videos, this is even better.
Online library — not only does adding a robust video library to YouTube and your website help you build trust and authority for your practice area, it also helps with your SEO.
Webinars — educational video webinars will extend your reach much further than if you were making these presentations in person. You can upload your webinar to YouTube, create a link to a landing page and create an opt-in form to have visitors sign up for your newsletter or download an ebook.
Email marketing — using video in your email marketing can increase your click-through rates by up to 300%! Direct readers to a landing page offering a free consultation.
As with any legal marketing initiative be sure you consult the state bar rules where you practice for guidance on online legal marketing. If you work with a marketing agency, be sure they understand those rules and abide by them.
