Free Webinar: Harness the Power of Video for Your Law Firm

Today I will be one of the presenters for a free webinar.  See details below:

Every month, 75 million people watch online videos. When consumers want an engaging visual experience, they turn to video. Video is expressive and allows for a real connection. It’s a vehicle for showcasing your law firm’s personality and credibility to potential clients, and a complement to your overall marketing strategy.

In this complimentary one-hour webinar presented by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® you’ll learn best practices for creating and sharing your own law firm video. How can your firm benefit from a video? Videos can:

• Demonstrate your credibility and personality
• Help attract new clients and grow your business
• Deliver return-on-investment within a flexible budget 

Lawyers who attend this webinar will learn:
• The Value of Video for Your Law Firm
• Why Video Speaks Volumes In Attracting Clients
• How to Create a Law Firm Video
• Which Videos Make the Most Impact with Consumers
• Video Social Sharing (YouTube®, Vimeo®, etc.)

Presenters:
Yours truly and
Jay Butchko, J.D., Director of Commercialization for Web Visibility Solutions, LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®

REGISTER HERE

Video is the Killer App to Get Found in Google

There is a "killer app" that will greatly improve the likelihood that potential clients will find you in a Google search.  Research confirms that it is online video, and many lawyers have gotten the message. Just pay a visit to the LawyersDotCom channel you YouTube and check out the 500+ lawyer videos.

Video is the No. 1 reason that people go online, according to Pew Internet Research.  Clients and potential clients would rather watch to a two-minute verbal explanation than read a two-page article. "I don't want anything on paper. I don't have an in-box; if I did everything in it would go into trash. I want something that will catch my eye in 30 seconds or less, certainly not a long block of text. I'm more likely to look at a video," said MeMe Rasmussen, VP and Chief Privacy officer of Adobe Systems Inc.

Consider this:

  • More than 4 billion videos are viewed on YouTube every day.
  • Video is the easiest way to a first-page ranking on Google. A website with video is 53 times more likely to be found on the first page of Google compared with a website without video, according to Forrester.
  • Statistics show that having a video on your law firm website increases the chances that a potential client will retain you, and increases the time a visitor spends on your website.

Therefore it is surprising that only 51% of lawyers in firms of 1-5 lawyers say they plan to use video in their online marketing, according to a LexisNexis/Vizibility survey of law firm use of social media. The lack of video on your law firm website is a marketing mistake.

"Lawyers should develop an introductory video that showcases their personality as well as expertise. Post the video on the Web, including YouTube. Our studies have shown that a well-produced video can be a primary factor in a consumer's decision to contact a firm," says my colleague Craig McGuire, Product Marketing Manager, Websites/SEO/SEM at LexisNexis.

A small firm that is harnessing video effectively is Tully Rinckey of Albany, New York.  The firm's videos have been viewed more than 140,000 times - an outstanding result for a law firm. Many are clips from TV news reports in which a station interviewed a lawyer for comment about current events. Chief Marketing Officer Graig Cortelyou has cultivated good relations with local TV producers who give him these videos for free.  The 33-lawyer firm also displays a video on its home page.

 

Tips for a good video

Recording a video is easy and can be done right in your office. An experienced videographer will have the camcorder, lights and lavaliere microphones that are required. I recommend that you do not write a script and read it word-for-word from a teleprompter. All you need are a set of bullet points to follow, as you would use when making a presentation.

Click Here for Information on LexisNexis® Personal Video Production

To create a video that generates new business, follow these tips:

  • Don't talk about yourself. Clients are more interested in their legal issue than your credentials. Instead, talk about the problems you solve for clients.
  • Keep your video short: 2-3 minutes tops. Any longer and you'll lose your viewers.
  • Get to the point in 8 seconds or else viewers will move on.
  • The more light the better. Do not rely on sunlight or office light, which will produce dark and off-color videos.   
  • Move when you speak, because video is designed to capture action. Most lawyer videos show someone sitting at a desk, which is boring. Try standing up and gesturing when you speak, which is how you talk to people in person.
  • Mind the background. What is seen behind you makes a big difference. Do not sit in front of your office window or a lamp, which will put your face into a shadow. There should be no distracting cars or people moving in the background. Get rid of the clutter too.

One thing is clear: video is the future of law firm marketing. Adding video to your website is like getting an audition with a potential client. Don't delay in bringing your website up to date. 

 

Marketing by Making Online Videos

YouTube is a potent marketing tool for attorneys. For example, when Ari Kaplan goes to conferences, he records short interviews of prospective clients he meets. Ari uses the video recording function on his iPhone, and uploads the videos online.

"Self-promotion is much more about promoting the good works of others and letting that reflect on your character," Ari says. When he records and uploads a video, "My goal is for the other person to think, 'Ari is really thinking about me, he understands my business — he's not a commodity.'"

Lawyers from across New Jersey and New York came to a recent LexisNexis LEXPO networking and marketing event to hear Ari Kaplan explain how to generate new business with social media — particularly LinkedIn. Ari is the author of the new book Reinventing Professional Services:  Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace.

Video is a very effective marketing tool. Of the people he's interviewed, "I've worked with 75% of these companies now," Ari says. View this video to learn more about marketing with online video:

 

Like this post? Watch all of Ari Kaplan's videos from this presentation in Marketing by Making Connections OnlineMarketing by Connecting to Groups and  Marketing by Making Introductions.

Follow Larry Bodine on Twitter: @Larrybodine

 

Levenfeld Pearlstein Displays Videos in Lawyer Bios

levenfeld pearlstein, video biography, law firm marketing, legal marketingWhen you visit the home page Chicago law firm Levenfeld Pearlstein, you're in for a treat. The firm has been a trailblazer in law firm marketing for years. Personalizing the attorney-client experience has been taken to a whole new level at the 60-lawyer corporate, litigation and real estate firm.

It appears to be the first law firm to develop attorney website profiles that incorporate video vignettes of lawyers speaking forthrightly about their practices and personal viewpoints.

“By having our attorneys speak candidly about their approaches to practicing law and their personal philosophies and passions, we are able to share this experience with a wider audience and give website visitors a better idea of who we are,” said Bryan Schwartz, the firm’s chairman. “As a firm, we don’t shy away from showing a more human side and in fact, we welcome the opportunity to do so.”

Andrea Crews, the firm’s director of marketing and business development, added, “The short, unscripted clips showcase our attorneys discussing their proudest moment as an attorney, what sets them apart from other lawyers, how they collaborate with their clients, what they would do if they weren’t practicing law, and their hobbies. We feel the videos are a very accurate representation of who they are and by extension, who we are as a firm.”

Visit here to see the full series of attorney video clips. Using video in law firm marketing to generate new business is a very effective business development technique.

LexisNexis Announces a New Suite of Website Services for Law Firms

David Palmieri, Vice President, LexisNexis, web servicesLexisNexis has rolled out Site Essentials, Site Edge and Site Exclusives, a suite of updated website development products and services — complete with blogging features and mobile device optimization — designed to help law firms establish an effective online presence and attract more clients.

“LexisNexis has updated its website development services to provide law firms with solutions that help them establish an effective web presence, generate robust site traffic and accelerate and track their web-based lead generation efforts,” said David Palmieri, vice president and managing director of Marketing and Consumer Solutions at LexisNexis. “When law firms engage with us, we can deliver higher return on investment with a wider variety of products and services that meet firms’ marketing goals.”

The new LexisNexis® Site Essentials product offers firms:

  • An effective, professional website, designed and hosted by LexisNexis, that can be implemented in as little as two weeks
  • A creative consultation
  • Home page content with suggested content for practice area descriptions
  • A website performance dashboard to track key site statistics including phone and email inquiries
  • A content management system enabling users to make copy adjustments and site updates
  • Basic search engine optimization
  • A mobile-optimized version of the site
  • Ongoing technical assistance from LexisNexis website experts.

Additionally, LexisNexis® Site Edge includes copywriting assistance as well as the addition of five articles each from three practice areas which update every two weeks, giving visitors a reason to come back to the site. Site Edge customers can also add a professionally produced video to their site.

Also available is LexisNexis® Site Exclusives, a custom, end-to-end web development product. In addition to providing all the features of the other two services, Site Exclusives gives customers significantly more copywriting and ongoing technical assistance, while also providing a fully customized site design and architecture and hosting services for up to five videos on the firm’s website.

While websites from all three services are optimized to render on mobile devices, LexisNexis® Mobile Website Personalization service gives firms the option to create versions of their site optimized for specific devices or to target specific clientele. According to a 2010 report from Gartner, Inc., mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common web access device worldwide by 2013, making it more important for firms to communicate their expertise and capabilities effectively on the mobile web.

For firms looking to increase online engagement via their website, LexisNexis® Blog Basics is an easy-to-use integrated blogging tool. LexisNexis Blog Basics provides customers with another effective way of promoting authoritative firm content and maximizing lead generation. According to a 2010 study released by HubSpot, companies that blog have 55 percent more website visitors and generate 88 percent more leads.

To learn more visit the Law Firm Marketing Center at http://lexisnexis.com/law-firm-marketing.