Leadership for Lawyers: Using Video to Market Legal Services

YouTube. The word evokes images of cute kittens, crazy stunts and viral video classics, like what happens when you mix Diet Coke and Mentos. It’s not the place where you would expect to find interesting and helpful videos on timely legal topics by some of the leading lawyers on the planet. Yet.

Earlier this month I was a panelist in a webinar sponsored by the Social Media Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Legal Marketing Association. Our topic was how to use video in the legal marketing media mix. My co-panelists were two brilliant marketing innovators, Adam Stock, CMO of Allen Makins and Adam Severson, CMO of Baker Donelson. Adam, Adam and I have all used video to effectively market lawyers and their services. The webinar was a primer on legal marketing videos

Why use video?

“Web pages that feature video are 40 to 50 times more likely to end up on the first page of Google” said Adam Stock, “Google loves video. It is great for SEO”(Search Engine Optimization). The Allen Makins web site saw an increase of 30% more traffic after they started to use video on their home page. The site now features more than 150 videos.

“Video gives you the ability to deliver emotion like no other media. It is the best way to capture an attorney’s personality. Clients hire lawyers, not firms. Video gives clients a chance to get to know our lawyers” claimed Stock.

“At Allen Matkins we took an approach of experimenting by creating videos of types of communications we would normally do with clients. This provided us a basis for comparing the performance of videos to written/online communications formats. The strategy that we used and the results that we got are summarized in this video that was created for the 2012 LMA Your Honor Awards.”

Adam Seversen saw an increase in web traffic of more than 500% once they started using video to promote their “Entrepreneurial Minute Videos”. Baker Donelson sends a weekly email to a growing list to promote their Emerging Companies industry group, featuring a one to three minute video on topics of interest to entrepreneurs. The practice group page quickly became the most visited practice group page on their web site. The email featuring the video tip of the week also has attracted attention of traditional media and has been reposted on industry blogs.

“Well produced video on law firm web sites builds credibility for the attorneys and the firm” said Mark Beese. “Video is also very mobile-device friendly. As much as 30% of law firm web traffic originates from a phone or tablet.”

When to use video?

The panelists have used video in a variety of ways, including:

- Micro-sites promoting a particular industry or practice group. Videos become mini-news stories to illustrate an aspect of the law or how a court ruling could affect clients.

- Event invitations or announcements – Use a brief video to create excitement around a conference, seminar or merger announcement.

- Community involvement. Video is a powerful tool to communicate stories, including how an attorney’s involvement in a charity makes a difference in people’s lives.

- Highlight and recognize clients of the firm (with their written permission).

- Introducing a new service, product or solution to a complex problem.

- Email newsletters, blogs and throughout your web site.

- Internal communications about a new initiative, service or practice group.

How do I start using video?

- Start with something newsworthy. Consider creating a video for what you might include in a client newsletter. Promote by email, blog and social media. Avoid boring “about the firm” or “attorney bio” videos. Snooze.

- Consider hiring a professional videographer/editor to start out. Aim for broadcast-level production levels. After you get a hang for it, considering buying a quality HD camera, editing software and training someone in your firm to edit and produce videos.

- Animations, professional titling and graphics make a video more like what people are used to seeing on television, and therefore appear more professional.

- Be aware of small things that can be a distraction, such as background noise and bad lighting.

- Keep the video length to no longer than three to five minutes.

- Host your video on Youtube.com and imbed the link to your website or blog page.

- Look to promote your video content through social media and distribution channels such as JDSupra.com and conveycontent.com.

Sample Videos:

Adam Severson:

Internal Launch Video developed for Faegre Baker Daniels to generate excitement and enthusiasm for the merger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KMPPU78hJE

Promotional video for a litigation conference invitation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPGNwIbOUg

Entrepreneur Minute videos

http://www.bakerdonelson.com/emerging-companies/