According to Wyzowl, over 91% of businesses used video marketing as part of their business strategy in 2023. The legal industry, however, lags far behind. Only 27% of legal firms include video marketing in their advertising strategy.
This means the potential of video marketing as an advertising avenue for legal firms is enormous. It can help showcase your expertise to clients, humanise your team, and revolutionise trust-building.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how your legal firm can launch a video marketing campaign to build client connections and grow your practice through compelling video content.
For many reasons — some valid, some not — attorneys have always received quite a bit of bad rep. A Gallup poll revealed that only 3% of people rate the honesty and ethics of lawyers as “very high”.
Although trust is the foundation of an attorney-client relationship, these numbers show that the general public does not view legal representatives as trustworthy.
This means attorneys must put in extra effort to cultivate that trust — and video marketing can help them do just that.
Businesses today rely on creating more personalised and meaningful relationships with their clients — and this is especially important for lawyers.
With the preconceived notion that lawyers are untrustworthy, unapproachable, or distant, humanising your firm and establishing personal connections with your clientele is more important than ever before.
Video marketing not only helps you showcase your knowledge and expertise but also humanises your brand and helps build trust with prospective clients.
It also brings a high return on investment. 74% of marketers say video has a better return on investment than static imagery.
These returns can be higher leads, increased revenue, or more cases, depending on the unique strategic goals you highlight in your brand’s marketing strategy.
With effective creation and distribution, video marketing can also help you rack up online traffic — according to a survey by Wyzowl, 86% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website.
While there are no hard and fast rules on the type of video content you create, many law firms use the following categories to powerful effect.
While you should never use video marketing to deliver specific legal advice, explainer videos can be an excellent way to dispense general legal knowledge for the benefit of the viewer.
For instance, a personal injury attorney can use explainer videos to highlight the basic steps an individual should take after a road accident.
Such videos have practical value for your viewers and make them regard your firm as an authority on the subject.
Providing testimonials is a major part of any effective legal marketing campaign. Prospective clients like hearing from previous clients on how your firm has helped them win lawsuits or receive damages.
These videos don’t have to be long to be effective — a few compelling sentences from your clients can go a long way in convincing the viewer to trust your expertise.
You can also make a case-study video where you outline in detail how you helped a specific client win a case.
Introductory videos are a great way to humanise your firm in the eyes of potential clients. It helps highlight your firm as real people and showcases your dedication to the profession.
You can use these videos to introduce members of your team, explain the areas of law you specialise in, and describe any stand-out features of your firm. Try to be as authentic and honest as possible — think of it like giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look into your firm.
For inspiration, take a look at this “About The Firm” video by Wattel & York. The host, attorney David Wattel, introduces the firm, how long they’ve been in practice, and briefly details how they can help personal injury victims with their cases.
Within a minute and 17 seconds, he’s able to give prospective clients important information about the firm, building trust and encouraging them to engage with his expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) videos serve as a direct channel for addressing common queries that potential clients often have about legal processes and your law firm’s services.
In these videos, consider covering topics such as:
Creating a series of short, informative videos where you answer these FAQs not only saves time for both you and your clients but also enhances your firm’s accessibility and approachability.
Just make sure to deliver answers that are straightforward and easy to understand, avoiding legal jargon that might confuse non-experts.
Dabbling with video marketing can be intimidating at first, but with a good strategy and the right tools, your law firm can reap its benefits.
Here are three actionable tips that can help you plan and execute a legal video marketing campaign.
Before you begin planning a specific video for your firm, take a step back to create a comprehensive video marketing strategy. This will serve as the blueprint for your efforts, and help you have a clear vision throughout the production process.
This entails specifying:
With a strategy in place, start working on the creative aspect of video marketing. Captivating storytelling is a highly effective marketing strategy, particularly in the legal space.
Here are some tips for nailing your video’s story:
One great way legal firms can attract an audience is by capitalising on content gaps and aiming to educate audiences with their videos. This is where keyword research becomes important.
When deciding on a video topic, conduct keyword research to find out which topics/problems your audience is searching for and try to create informational video content on them.
Here are ten common mistakes we see law firms making when it comes to video marketing. You want to avoid them at all costs:
Working with a professional video production agency means you automatically avoid these common blunders.
While making legal marketing videos in-house is possible, it’s always recommended to hire a video production company if you can afford it.
A video production company like Ivory Media brings expertise that isn’t easily learned overnight. They bring high-quality equipment that may not be easily accessible to you, and skills including lighting, shooting, directing, editing, and after-effects.
Plus, because they’ve worked on projects like yours, they know how to deal with quick-turn projects, what to do when things go wrong, and where to find good actors and filming locations.
What’s more, while you may have to pay a larger cost upfront, hiring a professional team can save you money in the long run. Once you account for buying brand-new equipment, hiring talent, and the time and effort it takes to make a video in-house, you’ll be spending a lot more than you think if you decide to do video marketing in-house.
Video marketing certainly holds an important place in the legal industry. It’s popular, accessible, and provides an easy way for your firm to build credibility and trust with prospective clients.
If your firm has the budget, consider outsourcing video production to a video marketing agency like Ivory Media. With over 40 years of combined industry experience and a track record of helping law firms succeed, we can help you create compelling video content and achieve phenomenal growth. Get a quote today!
