I’ve run into quite a few lawyers recently asking for advice about getting an online video produced and up on their site. They want to know the benefits of video and what they can expect with the investment. I want to share what, in my humble opinion, you can expect an online video will do for your website.

What Online Video Can Do:

1. Increase Conversion: A professionally produced video may help with conversion on your site. If the video is informative, well-done, and includes calls to action, it has the potential to help the traffic coming to your site convert into a lead for the firm. This is not a guarantee and does require testing to prove out the value.

2. Add Professionalism To Your Site: Let’s face it, a well-done video will make your site appear that much more professional. People coming to your site understand that you’ve made an investment and that you care about how you present and market your firm.

Some Things To Keep In Mind

There are some companies that push web video very hard with their website packages. The profit margins for these companies can be very good with video and sales guys receive better commissions on selling larger packages to you. Just be aware of this so that you are purchasing web video for the right reasons, not because it is being sold as the holy grail to getting new clients online. Videos can help generate some more leads from your traffic, but most likely will not bring a huge influx of new clients in the door on it’s own. Often web video appeals to our egos, it’s exciting to see ourselves in a little movie on the web. But we need to be aware of exactly what all those extra thousands of dollars are doing for us. As I always say, what is your return on the investment?

The truth is that while web video can be a nice addition to your website, there are other important things that should be a priority first. You need to make sure that you are properly allocating money and resources towards getting your site found, producing new content, etc. so that people can actually watch your video. An awesome video on a site no one goes to doesn’t do you much good. I think of it like buying a new car and spending a ton of extra money on fancy rims with no consideration, or money left over, to put gas in the tank.

Photo by: Voxphoto

Free Guide: How To Get Your Law Firm Videos Found In YouTube Want to learn how to get your law firm videos in front of more potential clients? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide On Getting Your Law Firm Videos Found On YouTube.

Is there no such thing as bad publicity when it comes to lawyer marketing?

When Irish author Brendan Behan said, “There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary”, he was referring to the attention he got from his drunken public appearances, on both stage and television.

Nonetheless, he may as well have been talking about Joe Jamail’s, now notorious, Texas-style deposition.

But does the “no such thing as bad publicity” idea really apply to lawyer marketing?  Perform a simple search for Mr. Jamail in google, and it becomes quite obvious that his reputation as a trial attorney is highly celebrated.  And he certainly isn’t alone.  The internet is filled with lawyer videos and advertisments depicting completely unprofessional, if not unethical, behavior.  But based on the sheer volume of lawyers that engage in these tactics, they must be working, right?

Perhaps “bad publicity” is simply a matter of opinion.  While my reaction to the “Texas-style deposition” was appalled, many people responded quite differently.

“Wow, what a fighter!”, “I’d like to have him fighting for me”, and “I wouldn’t want to face him”, were just a couple of the “positive” responses I have heard from others.

Now I certainly don’t consider myself self-righteous, but perhaps many of us have come to believe that cursing, insults, and threats a good lawyer make.

In any event, before engaging in this type of “lawyer marketing” strategy, you may want to consider the broader ramifications of such an approach (I understand that Mr. Jamail is no longer welcome to practice in Deleware, not that he cares).

Other consequences may include, losing professional relationships, high blood pressure, and getting your a** kicked!

While I don’t agree with many of the arcane, inflexible, and downright arbitrary attorney advertising rules, I do believe that some degree of lawyer marketing professionalism should be encouraged, if not mandated.

I am sure my criticism of such tactics will be met with, “Well he’s made millions with that lawyer marketing approach.”

This, I cannot deny.  However, in my professional experience, success with this type of “style” is the exception, not the rule.  Whether you’re a Boston bankruptcy lawyer or a Los Angeles civil rights attorney, the likelihood of benefitting from such an approach is low.

Call me weak.  Call me idealistic.  Call me “big-boy.”  But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It isn’t about what you do, it’s about what they need

I love this post by Seth Godin on self-promotion.  Seth explains the dichotomy of marketing your product as me-centric vs. you-centric.

Seth explains, the me-centric approach says “I published a book so I need you to read it.”  The you-centric approach says, “There’s something you need to read, so I wrote about it.”

Everyday I read legal blogs and look at law firm’s websites.  I’m overwhelmed by the number of firms that market themselves in very me-centric ways.

I wrote a blog post so people should want to check it out.

Our firm specializes in (fill in the blank), so you should hire us.

I’ve accumulated all these awards, aren’t I great.

While it’s important to have people understand your accomplishments and areas of expertise, there are subtle and more effective ways of acheiving this.  As we’ve pointed out in previous posts, writing and talking about yourself all the time can appear spammy and self-indulgent.  People don’t care about you, they care about themselves and their problems.  By addressing their concerns and tapping into the emotions of your potential clients, you will position yourself as someone that understands their needs (you-centric marketing).

Wouldn’t you be more likely to hire someone you feel understands what you need vs. someone who promotes how great they are?  Doesn’t everyone claim to be the best?  We need to do better than that to stay competitive in today’s saturated marketplace.

As the saying goes, old habits die hard.  This is no more true than in the arena of law firm marketing in the web 2.0 world.  Too many lawyers are still clenching tightly to the traditional marketing concepts.  Randy Brown’s latest post about the counter-productive effects of self-promotion is spot on.

But lawyers’ blogs are not the only culprit of being “billboardy”.  Newsletters, websites, and lawyer advertisements, are also guilty.

Thus, establishing a strong web presence becomes a double-edged sword.  While everyone might know who you are, they know you for all the wrong reasons.  Marketing one’s legal services is one area that the old P.T. Barnum saying doesn’t apply.  Not all publicity is good publicity.

Make sure you aren’t becoming a social media billboard (SMB)!

Here’s how to avoid the SMB trap:

1.  Never talk about yourself. You might be thinking this seems counterproductive.  The truth is, that by being informative, you are indirectly talking about yourself.  Think of the last time you read something you really liked by an author of whom you had never previously heard.  Chances are that if you enjoyed what they wrote, you found out who they were.  That’s what lawyer marketing 2.0 is all about.  Provide valuable information and you will be remembered.

2. The Internet has ADD. In lawyer marketing 2.0, you don’t have a lot of time to keep reader’s attention.  In fact, some services like Twitter, limit how many characters you have to convey your message.  Be informative, but be concise.  I always tell lawyers to think back to their attack outlines in law school.  Lot’s of information, not a lot of room.

3. Keep current, but not consumed. In addition to being concise, you have to stay current.  In lawyer marketing 2.0, no one is going to wait a week, let alone a month, for your next great post.  That being said, don’t get consumed or overwhelmed by lawyer marketing 2.0.  My friends at Hubspot offer the following advice, plan out a couple good blog posts per week (2-3).  Do the same for your social media efforts.  That way, you maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your lawyer marketing 2.0 efforts.

4.  Lighten up. Be interesting.  The sea of information deepens with every passing second.  To rise to the surface, you have to be interesting.  Check out this post comparing SEO to dating. When you’re having fun, it shows.

5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid Want to learn 5 of the most common mistakes when marketing your firm? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide: 5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

Thanks to Amy Campbell for bringing us this fantastic new resource for lawyers.  The Legal Marketing Reader is an easy way to keep tabs on law firm marketing news and resources. The web site is designed for lawyers and those marketing legal services.

The reader is a great way to keep track of law firm marketing news, tips and resources via the many blogs, news and resource sites around the net.

Legal Marketing Reader consolidates several law firm marketing resources from around the web.

Here are a couple lawyer advertisements that I pulled off YouTube.

The Ugly:

5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid Want to learn 5 of the most common mistakes when marketing your firm? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide: 5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

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One of the Internet’s strengths is its ability to help consumers find the right needle in a digital haystack of data. ~Jared Sandberg (The Wall Street Journal)

On December 30, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. (CST), a google search for find a lawyer produced the following: Results 1 – 10 of about 24,500,000 for find a lawyer. (0.25 seconds)

In other words, there are 24,500,000 needles in the “find a lawyer” haystack.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Am I in the haystack at all?  Where am I in the haystack?  How do I get to the top of the haystack?

To understand how to get to the top of the haystack, you have to understand how to get the search engines to “like” you.

This is where AttorneySync can help.  Here’s how:

1.  Search engine marketing tools and resources specifically geared toward lawyers.

2.  Contact information for potential clients in your geographic area and fields of practice.

3.  Lawyer marketing tools and resources to turn potential clients into actual clients.

Check back with us to find out more about our services and where we believe the future of lawyer marketing is going.