This post was updated in July 2018.
A video can make or break your firm.
A video often gives potential clients their first glimpse of you and your brand, and it’s important to make the right first impression. Attorneys are changing their mindsets to include video marketing in conjunction with their ordinary marketing efforts. To keep up, you should follow this guide to separate yourself from the pack with a legal marketing video that is undeniably impressive.
Don’t rush through the process of producing a video. Time and time again, people spend valuable time and money on a video that does not generate a solid return on investment or fulfill their goals.
To get our best guidance on defining your unique value proposition, communicating it through engaging video, and getting the most out of your brand video all in one comprehensive resource, check out The Game Changing Attorney. This is a book you’ll want to keep on your shelf to pull out every step of the way.
Here are the top 10 mistakes in legal video marketing.
10. Making a video just to make a video
Video marketing, much like life, requires a plan. No one wants to watch a haphazard video that doesn’t strike a nerve. Ask yourself why you’re making a video in the first place. Are you just desperately throwing something together in the name of content? Or does your video serve a higher purpose? If your answer to the first question is “yes”, do everyone a favor and go back to the drawing board before your produce your video. Don’t waste your or your potential client’s time.
The Fix: Approach video production with a plan, just as you would any other marketing campaign. If you can achieve a clear business objective through your video, then you have our blessing — but not a moment before!
9. Not branding correctly
At Crisp, we value the unique value proposition of a law firm. This is what makes you different from other firms in your market. Basically, it’s the reason someone should choose you over anyone else. Your video should be a direct reflection of what makes you the obvious choice in your market. Don’t get lost in the frills of video production. Instead, keep your message direct while appealing to your audience’s emotions. By the end of the video, there should be no question of whether or not you’re the best choice for representation.
The Fix: Brand your video with your firm’s logo, colors, consistent typography, website address, and other relevant information. Avoid frilly production.
8. Making your video too long
It’s easy to assume that your video should be long. How else should you fit in every bit of information about your firm? Answer: you’re actually not supposed to cram your video with that much information. Instead, keep your video no longer than 3 minutes or you risk losing your viewers before they have your contact information.
The Fix: Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Less is more.
7. Not focusing on a single message
I hate to break it to you, but you should assume no one cares. When someone watches your video, they will not care about the nuts and bolts of how you do business. They want to know why you’re qualified to represent them. That’s it. No need to drone on and on about your years of experience when it’s not applicable to their situation.
The Fix: Use your video to deliver a single message so viewers have one definitive takeaway. If you have multiple messages, split them up into multiple videos.
6. Not calling out your call to action
Did you include something like this in your video? If you don’t provide a clear call to action, your viewers will be unsure of the next step to take after watching your video; as a result, you just lost a valuable lead, sale, or click. Don’t assume your viewers will be willing to seek you out on their own. Even if they are interested in your services after watching your video, it is crucial that you make it as easy as possible for them to take the next step.
The Fix: Include a clear call to action so your viewers know what to do after they’ve watched your video. Encourage them to get in contact with you in some way as soon as possible, or promote your case studies or FAQs.
5. Improper placement of selling points
You should assume that your visitor has the attention span of a goldfish and won’t stick around for the credits to roll. Jam pack the most important selling points toward the beginning of the video.
The Fix: Put your most important information at the beginning to ensure no one has wandered off before getting to the good stuff. Include your firm’s name, your practice area, and maybe some stats about your success rate.
4. Failing to address your target audience
You may handle a wide variety of cases and clients. However, you can more effectively build trust with your audience by focusing on your specific area of expertise as it relates to your audience’s legal needs. Trying to fit multiple specialties in one video might dissuade potential clients who are looking for someone who will focus on their specific problem. Here are a few things you can do to avoid making a confusing video:
● Choose one area of practice as your focus
● Identify and segment your audience immediately
● Appeal to your audience’s needs and concerns
Choose one unifying message that your entire target audience can relate to and stick to it.
The Fix: Focus your message on a specific and well-defined target audience.
3. Expecting instant results
Slow and steady wins the race. You’ve heard this saying and it’s time you start applying it to your video marketing. It’s pretty rare for a video to go viral, but when it happens it’s mostly because the company already had a loyal social media following.
Or you could consider paid advertising. But keep in mind that who sees your ads is just as important as how many people see your ads.
The Fix: Understand that your video needs to matter to those who see it, so focus on creating a quality product.
2. Failing to use SEO for your video
SEO matters just as much for your video as it does for your blog posts. A few practices that you can utilize include:
● Blog posts – housing your video within a relevant post will help inform viewers who are searching for questions you can answer
● Titles, descriptions, and tags – include any key terms you are targeting to ensure that your video comes up in searches for them
● Custom thumbnails – choose an image that attractively showcases you and your firm
● Schema markup – provide Google with your video specs to include in search results
Check out this article for even more tips!
The Fix: Use proper video SEO techniques to increase the online visibility of your work.
1. Choosing the wrong partner
Your viewers and potential customers are subjective. They will be critical of the quality of your video and decide if it reflects on the quality of your firm. Sure, anyone can use a smartphone to make a video, but is that how you want people to see your brand? If you hire outside talent or an agency to produce the video, does the partner you’re working with know about your practice or understand the field?
Ask questions to get the answers you need. After that, it’s time to decide if your video partner can produce something that reflects the quality of your company. If not, it might be time to part ways.
The Fix: Do your due diligence before hiring any outside talent or company to create content for your brand. Put yourself in your potential client’s shoes and decide if what they’re seeing is top quality.
To get our best guidance on defining your unique value proposition, communicating it through engaging video, and getting the most out of your brand video all in one comprehensive resource, check out The Game Changing Attorney. This is a book you’ll want to keep on your shelf to pull out every step of the way.
If you would like to learn more about video marketing, just reach out to us. We are happy to help!
