How Lawyers Use Video To Build Trust And Their Brand

In the world of online marketing, one of the most powerful platforms lawyers can use to get their message out, build a brand, and establish trust is video marketing. The Internet has transformed the idea of marketing through video into an easily accessible, affordable, and even interactive new medium.

The days of spending tens of thousands of dollars to produce a 30-second television commercial — and hoping for good results — are quickly falling behind. It has become possible to create effective and valuable video content on a minimal budget that will reach far beyond anything that could ever be achieved with a traditional television commercial.

If you’ve got any doubts about why you should be using video marketing to expand your law firm’s reach, here are a few statistics that should clear things up:

• Video has 135% higher organic reach than photos on Facebook
• More than 8 billion videos are watched on Facebook every day
• 10 billion videos are watched daily on Snapchat
• Video views on Twitter multiplied more than 220 times from 2014 to 2015
• Youtube reaches more adults during primetime viewing hours than any cable channel
• Videos are six times more likely to be retweeted on Twitter

And as for video marketing’s effect on the bottom line:

• Companies using video marketing grow revenue 49% faster
• Video marketing increases CTR and conversions by 27% and 34% respectively
• 73% of B2B marketers state that video marketing has a positive impact on their ROI

To put it simply, video content outperforms any other type of content available on the web including blog articles, social media posts, and static pictures or infographics.

The best thing about video content is that it’s something your law firm can create for itself. You can hire an outside company to help produce and polish your videos, but you don’t have to. In fact, many of the most engaging videos to be found across the Internet were made with simple equipment by complete amateurs who just had something they wanted to share.

Build Trust by Talking Directly to Your Audience

Video content is extremely effective for building brand recognition and trust with your audience. Video gives your firm a face and a personality to connect with.

Rather than creating cold advertisements, shoot for educational content that gives the viewer value. If people feel they are learning something from you, they will trust you. If they find your content valuable, they will share it with others. Both reactions will have a significant impact on how your law firm’s brand is perceived.

You might think you have nothing to talk about, but everything you need to find inspiration is probably right in front of you. Look to any of these areas to find topics your audience might want to know about:

• News in your area of practice
• Blog posts receiving good comments/feedback
• Competitors’ blog posts receiving good comments/feedback
• Common questions received on social media
• Highly ranked YouTube videos relevant to your area of law

All you have to do is look at what your target audience is already looking for. Find the content that is already popular and build on it to give them something more valuable.

Tips For Creating Your Own Videos

Keep it Short
Your videos content should, of course, be informative, but don’t make it any longer than you absolutely have to. Studies show that videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement. After that, engagement levels fall as content gets longer. The key is to get to the point and give the audience what they expect to find right away.

Use Sufficient Light
You don’t need to buy a professional lighting set, but if you’re recording indoors, you do need to make sure you are well lit. Too much light behind you will make your face dark and too much light in front of you will create harsh shadows. It’s generally best to set up three lights in sort of a triangle, with none directly in front of or behind you, to balance the light and avoid shadows.

Write a Script
You may think you know what you’re going to say, but you should still write a script and practice. You don’t have much time to get your audience hooked. You’ll need to make the first few seconds as good as they can be to generate maximum interest. There’s no time to waste with awkward pauses or restarts because you can’t find the right word.

Define the Tone
Be sure you understand the tone you want to use and that it suits the message you want to convey. Some topics might require a stiffer, more professional approach while others might be better suited for delivery through a friendly, light personality. Decide on what will work best and how it will affect the presentation.

Video Content Publishing Tips

Once you’ve created a video, you shouldn’t have any trouble publishing it to the web. There are plenty of platforms where you can upload your video for free and make it available for sharing on social networks, or even just publishing on your law firm’s own blog.

Here are a few tips to get the most reach out of your video marketing content:

Publish to YouTube
YouTube is a great central sharing point. Once you’ve uploaded your video to YouTube, you can pretty much share it anywhere. You, and others, can use YouTube’s embed functions to put the video on your own blog or other sites. The links are also easily shareable on any social media platform.

Publish to Facebook
Facebook can really give your video a long reach, especially if you post it under your firm’s Facebook page and then have individual attorneys share that post as well. Of course, you can also pay to boost the post and get it in front of more eyes too. The great thing about Facebook is that every time someone likes or shares the video, everyone in their network will see that action and be exposed to the video too.

Publish to Vimeo and Other Social Platforms
Other platforms might not drive as much traffic and views as Facebook and YouTube, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t upload your video to the “other” sites too. Vimeo.com is very similar to functionality in YouTube and can get you some extra exposure and shareability. And, of course, you should also make a point of displaying your video content on any other social media platform where your firm has an established presence, too.

Take Advantage of SEO Opportunities
Wherever you publish your videos, be sure to include relevant keywords and links to your website with the listing. These will help viewers to know exactly where the content is coming from as well as help with organic SEO results for your firm’s website.

Enjoy Your 15 Minutes Of Fame

There’s no telling how people are going to react to any given video. Once you’ve made one, though, you’re sure to get plenty of feedback that will make choosing a direction for the next one easier.

Above all, try to have fun. Video content is about building a closer relationship with your audience. If you’re relaxed and confident, they will feel relaxed and confident about trusting you, and that’s what turns prospects into new clients.