Here’s an exercise: try to think of a law firm you know that doesn’t have a website. It’s tough, isn’t it? Thirty years ago, a law firm with a website was on the cutting edge, and many lawyers needed to be persuaded of the need for a website. Now, law firm websites are not only mainstream, but pretty much required to compete in the marketplace. 

So, you know you need a law firm website—but do you need video on your website? Increasingly, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” A few years ago, trying to persuade an attorney of the need for law firm video marketing was a lot like trying to sell a lawyer on having a website in 1992. But increasingly, attorneys are aware of the benefits of video for law firms.

The Growing Reach and Relevance of Video

A third of all online activity is spent watching videos, and over one billion hours of video content are watched on YouTube alone every single day. Brendan Chard, owner of The Modern Firm, observes that YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. 

Bill White, founder and president of ReelLawyers LLC, first realized the power of law firm marketing videos when he was working in a marketing capacity at a patent law firm. A video the firm created on an obscure area of the law got the attention—and business—of a multinational company that searched the topic online. A similar experience with another firm convinced Bill that it wasn’t just a fluke, and that video for law firms was actually the wave of the future.

What Are the Benefits of Law Firm Video Marketing?

Law firm videos aren’t just about helping the firm’s website have the latest bells and whistles; they provide real, concrete advantages for both the firm’s marketing and its website visitors. 

Search Engine Optimization

One undeniable advantage for law firms is the boost videos provide for SEO. As Bill White notes, “When people come to a website where there’s video, they stay on the website perhaps two minutes longer (than they otherwise would). Google interprets that as meaning that website has value, and ranks the website higher.” In other words, video is the ultimate sticky content. 

Enhanced User Engagement and Experience

Of course, anything that enhances your law firm website’s SEO is good. But the reason behind that SEO  is even more important: the fact that website visitors are sticking around because they are finding something of value on your website. 

Because so many people are accustomed to consuming information through video, providing video on your website encourages them to engage and gives them a more favorable experience of your site—and by extension, a more favorable impression of your firm.

Building Trust and Credibility

We’ve known for a long time that attorneys whose profile includes a picture are more likely to be contacted by website visitors than those who don’t. The reason? A picture helps the visitor feel like they know the attorney. Videos increase that effect by an order of magnitude. 

When people are deciding whether to trust an attorney with the most important issue in their lives, whether business-related or deeply personal, video is an effective tool. It allows the viewer to see the attorney’s expertise and begin to relate to him or her. Bill White emphasizes, “As a lawyer, you are the brand. You are what your law firm is selling.” Video conveys who you are and how you help more effectively than any other medium. 

Improved Accessibility

For many people, video is not just a preferred way to consume information online; it’s the only way. Video, especially with a transcript or captioning available, makes website content available to a broader audience. Video makes it more likely that a website will be ADA compliant, and appeals to website visitors with different learning styles.

There are many benefits to video marketing for law firms. So what kinds of videos should your law firm website include?

Types of Law Firm Marketing Videos

Depending on your goals, there are all kinds of video content you can create. Do you want to help clients get to know you and your firm? Highlight particular expertise? Overcome resistance to seeking an attorney’s help? No matter what type(s) of videos you choose, the end goal is to help the viewer understand that you do what they need, you do it well, and that they will be comfortable working with you. 

Meet-the-Lawyer Videos

There’s a reason attorney profiles are some of the most-viewed pages on a law firm website: people want to know who they’re working with. A “meet-the-lawyer” video, like the one of attorney Sunil K. Raju featured on Coast Land Law’s website, allows a website visitor to see your face, hear your voice, and feel just a little more comfortable reaching out to you. 

Many of The Modern Firm’s clients have said that “Once a prospective client meets with you, they usually hire you.” Video is a way of letting people meet you and realize that they want to work with you.

Explainer Videos

Often, someone comes to a law firm website because they’re trying to get a question answered. “Will I lose my house in a divorce if I move out?” “How do I file for bankruptcy?” “Do I need a trust?” Most people like to be informed before taking the step of actually contacting a lawyer. Explainer videos on your website serve multiple purposes: they help visitors relate to you, they position you as a knowledgeable resource, and they give visitors the information they need to feel more confident reaching out for services. 

As Bill White asserts, “The best marketing is to educate, educate, educate people.”

Client Testimonials

Let’s face it: nothing that you say about yourself and your credentials will resonate with prospective clients as much as a previous client’s experience. Client testimonials are valuable because they are far less biased about your practice than you are, and they can help a visitor to your website imagine what it’s like to work with you. And while a written testimonial can achieve that goal, a video testimonial helps the speaker’s experience come alive. 

In fact, the video on our homepage features testimonials from a few of The Modern Firm’s clients, interspersed with Brendan Chard talking about who we are and why we love working with small law firms. By the time the 90-second video is over, viewers know a lot more about us than they could have otherwise learned in that short time frame. 

Why Lawyers Don’t Use Law Firm Video Marketing

There are plenty of reasons that attorneys don’t make law firm marketing videos. It’s just that most of those reasons aren’t very good. 

“Ugh, I’m so awkward on video.”

Bill White cites discomfort in front of a camera as one of the biggest barriers to lawyers using marketing videos—even those who think nothing of standing up in front of a courtroom full of people and advocating for a client. But there’s an easy fix for this camera shyness. 

An interviewer who is experienced working with lawyers knows how to get an attorney talking about what they know and love—and when they get started, they speak naturally and enthusiastically. Not only do you not have to be perfect on camera, you shouldn’t be. Bill White says, “Imperfect is better, because it’s more human…when you start to sound like a commercial, that’s what we want to avoid. The last thing we want to create is a cheesy late night law firm commercial.”

“I don’t have time to make one video, much less a series!”

Sure, you can schedule a shoot for a high production value video of you striding purposefully through the halls of a courthouse in slow motion. But creating law firm marketing videos doesn’t have to be a high-gloss, time-consuming Hollywood production—especially if you remember your end goal. 

Your prospective clients don’t need you to be impressive and powerful. They need you to help them solve the problem they have, and they want to know they can trust you. Bill White says that an hour-long interview can yield up to fifteen videos—and remote technology means that you may not even have to have a videographer or interviewer in the room with you to get great results. 

“I can’t afford law firm video production.”

Like any product or service, including your website, producing law firm marketing videos does involve an outlay of cash. But also like your law firm website, that outlay should be viewed as an investment. The good news is that technology and systematized processes make production more cost-effective, so the expense is coming down. 

The better news is that one or two new clients who find and hire you because of your law firm videos will more than offset your investment, which will continue to benefit you long after it’s paid for. The real question is, can you afford not to be using video on your website?

“I don’t know enough about technology to make law firm videos.”

Companies like Reellawyers take the work of creating and posting videos off your plate. All you have to do is show up neatly dressed, and answer questions about what you know best: your firm and your practice areas. You don’t have to be skilled at shooting and editing video, creating transcripts, embedding the finished product on your website or uploading it to YouTube.

You don’t have to work with a full-service law firm video production company, but whoever you hire to help you, it’s best to confirm that they have worked with law firms (and to look at their work before hiring them). Bill White cautions, “If you work with the right people, (the process) is fast and easy. But if you work with the wrong ones, it’s a net negative; your videos could actually create a bad impression and cost you business.”  

Ready to Incorporate Video Into Your Website?

If you’re sold on the idea of using law firm marketing videos (and we hope you are at this point), The Modern Firm can help you get the most out of them, including optimizing for search engines and making sure they are optimized for mobile use so that they load quickly and operate properly. We can also help you track how they’re performing, so you know what resonates with your viewers. To learn more, contact The Modern Firm to schedule a consultation.