I am frequently asked by law firm clients whether or not they should add videos to their marketing plan. The answer is almost always yes. When given a choice not everyone picks video over the written word—I know a lot of lawyers who still print e-mail so they can have that piece of paper in their hands!—but lawyers aren’t always representative of consumers as a whole.
So here we are in September and you’re starting to think ahead to the 2012 budget (okay, maybe not yet, but you will be thinking about it soon). As you discuss goals for 2012 and work on your marketing plan, add a line item for video marketing. Here are a couple of suggestions on ways to use video as part of an integrated strategy:
- Post your videos on YouTube using titles that contain your keywords. Include a complete description and tags for each video. This helps your SEO.
- Edit your Google Places (Bing and Yahoo, too) pages to link your video.
- Use video to educate clients about a process. As an example, we offer licensing for a Social Security Disability Hearing video that you can customize for your clients and use as giveaways. Your pay-per-click ads can use the free video as the call to action.
- Include links to your videos in your newsletters and reference them in social media and in your blogs. Embed them on your website.
- Combine in-stream video and banner ads within your pay-per-click campaigns.
- Use short clips (2-3 minutes) to address specific questions prospective clients may have about a practice area. Informal video clips are fine here—you don’t need to hire a professional.
- Consider a customized news show like Spotlight on the Law to showcase your staff and other experts.
There are many ways to utilize video within your marketing, and the costs vary depending upon your audience and goal for each video. In some cases, an inexpensive informal video is fine; in other cases (i.e., anything that will run on TV) you will want to spend the money to have a professional handle production. In any case, video is becoming an integral part of an integrated law firm marketing campaign. Questions? Call Lauren Currin at 919.637.9144 or send her an e-mail at lauren@lawyersmarketingassociates.com. If you have successfully used video, we’d love to have you comment on this blog and share your story!
