I've been getting a lot of questions from clients lately about online video. Mostly, the question goes about like this:
"Our attorneys want to start adding video to the website. How should we do that? Where should we put it? What should it be?"
Most law firms don't use online video in any way. Those firms that do offer video often just create video marketing pieces that play very much like commercials. These don't get much play from clients or prospective clients, who usually visit the website only to find a specific kind of information (not to watch a commercial.)
As law firms venture further into video marketing, it's important they keep focus on some basic principles:
1) Video is content, and content must be useful
Video needs to provide the visitor with some useful information that they actually want – otherwise it will be ignored. Instead of creating marketing videos (commercials or infomercials) that essentially brag about the firm, law firms should focus on delivering helpful information to clients. These can simply be videos of attorney speaking engagements and presentations, or presentations produced specifically for video in a more controlled environment. Whichever path you choose, make sure the content is information your target audience wants/needs.
2) Video should enrich the experience, not distract the viewer
Video should help the viewer to better understand the information being presented. If the video doesn't do a better job at presenting information than a document or web page would then there is no point in offering it.
In producing videos firms should make sure to take advantage of the possibilities it offers. Slides, diagrams, even simple animations can help the viewer to understand and pay attention to the information. Most people learn best when someone is demonstrating a concept by both speaking about it and presenting visual explanations. Take advantage of what video can do to convey useful information in this way.
3) Video should be of good quality or people won't watch it
Careful — don't think you can just set up a home video camera in a room, record an attorney speaking for an hour, and then just post it on your website. (Yeah, I know your home video camera is High Definition and the guy at the video store told you professionals use it, but…)
There is a lot more to production than most people are ready to take on. Producing good quality video requires planning, professional equipment, post-production, and, most importantly, experience. If you think your video idea could have wide appeal to your target audience then you should spend a little extra for professionals. It makes a world of difference (the difference being that people will actually watch it.)
4) Video ROI
Think about ROI before producing video. Does your topic appeal to a large enough audience to justify the cost? Who is that audience? What would it mean to the firm to capture a few more clients from that market?
In many cases it makes a lot of sense to go forward with a video project. Does your firm spend a great sum of money producing monthly or annual events? How much does that cost per attendee? Now, think about how many additional people your message could reach if you filmed the event and put it online. If video-taping the event costs only a fraction of what you spent on organizing the event in the first place then the extra cost of video probably makes a lot of sense.
For example...
See the Breakfast Seminar video page (by HFO Investment Real Estate) for an example of a well-produced video. HFO reports this video has been viewed thousands of times since it was posted about 10 weeks ago. Link: http://www.hfore.com/roundtable/