Your 2015 marketing must-do

By now, you’ve probably accepted the reality that you must market your practice, and that you must do so consistently. But the bulk of your time goes into practicing law rather than marketing your practice, so you need to use your time as effectively as possible. You can’t afford to waste time.

And that leads to the “must do” marketing activity for 2015:

I don’t really like watching videos, and I certainly don’t like shooting or sharing videos of me. But the statistics are hard to ignore. Video is important and will become even more so over time. Ignore the product demonstration benefits (since lawyers don’t really do that), but if nothing else, consider this: when you have videos available, your potential clients and referrals sources get to “meet” you before you ever speak. It allows people to get a sense of who you are, how you talk, whether you’re approachable, and so much more that can never be conveyed in text.

Video is not the silver bullet to marketing your practice, but your approach is incomplete if you exclude video.

A few ideas about how you might use video:

• Report on a trend you’ve noticed. Video is especially nice here because it’s conversational.
• Discuss a recent development. You may find it quicker and easier to talk about the development rather than to write it, and if you’re engaged, it’s more likely to draw in your viewer.
• Talk about issues your clients face. Don’t step over the line into giving advice, but video is a nice way to connect with an audience and let them know you understand.
• Offer resources. A litigator might prepare a “how to prepare for your deposition” video that may allay a client’s discomfort. If you recommend the same service providers or tools over and over to your clients (for inventors, perhaps), a quick video will let you give more information and color than text.
• Introduce yourself. Notice that this is last on the list. A video that’s about your target client and what that client needs will outperform a video that’s about you. That doesn’t mean an “about us” style video (or webpage) is unimportant, but clients and referral sources will want to know how you can help first.

A few ideas on where you might incorporate videos into your marketing:

• On website pages specific to a practice area, to talk about the issues that your clients face.
• On a resources page on your website
• On the a “recent news” page on your website
• On your website’s about page, to describe yourself, your practice, etc.
• On your blog, to discuss recent updates or to spot trends for your readers.
• In a comment you share on someone else’s blog, to support or amplify your comment
• In client newsletter or alerts, to share insight in a conversational way
• On your LinkedIn profile, to bring your profile to life and distinguish you from others who don’t use video
• On YouTube—you do know that Google owns YouTube, right?
• On Facebook, if your market is there and if you’re jumping through the requisite Facebook marketing hoops. There’s good evidence that Facebook is now outperforming YouTube for video.
• In emails to clients, if you know your clients appreciate video.

If you’re ready to explore video use, consider these recommendations:

• Have your video copy transcribed. Google can’t index the content of your video, and not everyone will want to watch a video. Having the copy right below the video gives you the benefit of both video and text.
• Have evergreen videos professionally produced. Your “about us” video should be professionally created and edited, and that’s what you should use as your primary LinkedIn video.
• Shoot some “recent developments” videos on the fly. If you just attended an interesting conference or a hearing and want to share some information about it on your blog or as a client alert, you can shoot a perfectly good video with your cellphone. Just be sure the sound is good and that the image is stable, and make sure your comments match the immediacy of the format. (In other words, have a conversation with the viewer rather than speaking at the viewer.)

Make 2015 the year you incorporate video into your marketing. That’s one of my goals for this year, so you can expect to see more use of video in this newsletter and elsewhere.

How do you use and/or view video for business purposes? What engages you, and what turns you off?