Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog
Category: Videos
Mar 18, 2014
Question:
I am the partner in charge of marketing for our 12 attorney firm located in the Dallas suburbs. We are an estate planning/estate administration firm exclusively. We have a pretty good website with attorney bios and photos, articles, practice area descriptions, client testimonials and a blog that is updated weekly. We have been discussing the pros and cons of adding videos to the site. I would appreciate your thoughts.
Response:
I believe that videos can add to the quality of the site if done properly. A quality video can help you showcase your personality and bedside manner and help a potential client "get to know you." What you say may not be as important as how you say it. However, unless the video is a quality video and well done – it can do more harm than good. Here are a few thoughts:
- Consider a video introduction by the managing partner introducing the firm linked off the home page.
- Consider a video by each attorney linked off their bio pages.
- Consider your audience – mom and pop individual clients as well as potential referral sources. Since your clients are individuals – dress and set your tone accordingly. Be a little less formal – speak to your client concerns. Think about their concerns.
- Smile and be friendly.
- Hire professionals to help you script and film professional quality videos. (Quality lighting and sound separates professional looking quality from homemade looking videos.)
- Provide on-camera training and have your attorneys – Practice – Practice – Practice before live filming.
- If you don't have anyone that looks good on camera – don't do it.
- Use your own attorneys – don't hire outsiders to be presenters in the videos.
- Don't let the videos sound like ads or commercials.
- Presentations should be educational in nature and goal should be to enable viewers to get to know you. Presentation style is critical.
Done well – quality videos can improve the performance of your website – done poorly videos can reduce the performance of your website.
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John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC