Businesses who use video grow revenue 49% faster, see 35% higher web conversion rates, and see 41% more traffic than those who don’t. People prefer video over text and static images, but only if they can find it first. So how do you get your firm’s video content in front of potential clients? For legal marketers savvy enough to recognize online video’s rise to prominence, the true conversion drivers lie in the channels with which they use it.
Here are 6 ways you can set your law firm apart with video:
1) Upload to YouTube, the right way
Always upload your video content to YouTube. But, there’s one thing most firms miss. Base your video content and your YouTube channel’s titles, tags, and descriptions on keyword research to increase visibility and drive views.
Potential clients rarely search directly for your firm online. Most potential clients aren’t familiar with your services, and they are simply searching for a solution to a problem.
Consider the search strings, “Best DUI attorney in [Your City],” “What should I do after a motorcycle accident,” “How to find a good divorce attorney,” etc. This is how most people search online.
Perform keyword research (here’s a quick article teaching you how) to determine the exact questions people in your market are searching and the monthly frequency of each search. Then, target the ones best related to your practice area.
Include chosen keywords in your YouTube channel/video descriptions, titles, and tags to help your content get found.
Here’s an example from The Law Offices of Jocelyn C. Stewart targeting the phrase: Court-Martial Military Defense Attorney.
2) How to properly embed Video on your website
The video hosting platform, Wistia, analyzed over 95,000 web pages with video and found the following about video placement:
The key takeaway: place your videos above “the fold” (i.e., Zone 1 or 2 where users don’t have to scroll to see it) to drive the highest engagement.
Also, use Schema Markup when embedding videos to give your content the best opportunity to rank highly in search engines. Schema Markup helps search engines properly index video content, giving a ranking boost for content embedded with Schema.
Here’s an example Schema embed template and the meaning behind the bolded text below:
<div itemprop=”video” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/VideoObject”>
<meta itemprop=”duration” content=”T1M42S” /><br />
<meta itemprop=”embedURL” content=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn8zJ01Ywko” /><br />
<iframe width=”100%” height=”350″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jn8zJ01Ywko?rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
Title:<span itemprop=”name”><small><em>Is DUI a Criminal Offense</em></small></span><br />
Description:<span itemprop=”description”><small><em>Maine Criminal Defense attorney, Bill Bly, gives advice on the question, is DUI a criminal offense?</small></em></span><br />
<img style=”visibility:hidden;height:0;” itemprop=”thumbnailUrl” src=”http://www.williamblylaw.com/wp-content/themes/billbly/images/criminaldefense.jpg” alt=”thumbnail text” /><br />
<meta itemprop=”uploadDate” content=”2016-03-02“/>
</div>
The sections in bold are to be replaced for each individual video:
- For the duration, specify the length of your video in minutes before the letter “M,” and seconds before the letter “S.”
- Next, the string of random letters and numbers corresponds with the URL of your YouTube upload.
- Your title should match the keyword-based topic of your YouTube video.
- You can pull from your YouTube video description to fill in the description section here, but keep it concise – no more than 1-2 sentences.
- For the video thumbnail, we recommend using screenshots from your video featuring faces or your company’s branding.
- Finally, fill in the date your video was originally uploaded to YouTube.
3) Upload videos to your Avvo profile
Avvo understands the power of video and the important role it plays in client conversion. As a result, the attorney profile just went through a major redesign that now features videos and images prominently under your headshot. You can easily add videos through the following process: Login to your dashboard > click on your profile > edit profile > scroll down to “About me” section > edit > upload video.
4) Post videos natively to Facebook
Many attorneys make the mistake of copy-pasting YouTube links into Facebook to share video content. While this isn’t inherently bad, uploading videos directly (i.e., natively) to Facebook carries a major advantage.
Natively uploaded videos play automatically in followers’ news feeds, increasing engagement with and ultimately leading to higher conversions. The takeaway: upload your content natively.
5) Include videos in your email signature
One seldom-used albeit effective way to share video content is in your email signature. Place a video thumbnail that links to videos on your website to engage potential clients who are communicating with you and / or your team.
Avoid embedding videos directly in emails, as the video size can make “heavy” emails that may get rejected and not delivered.
Pro Tip: For larger teams, tools like Xink allow you to simultaneously update email signatures across your entire team.
6) Repurpose FAQ videos to your blog
Repurpose FAQ video content in blog posts to increase exposure and help your site rank for targeted key terms. After producing keyword-based FAQ videos, you can then use that same content to rank your via YouTube, your website’s FAQ library, and your law firm’s blog page.
Use the same keyword-based titles, tags, and descriptions from YouTube in FAQ blog posts, and include a transcript of the audio for the body of the post. Search engines can’t “read” video content, but you can help them index and rank content higher by providing accompanying text for them to understand.
Pro Tip: To save time and resources, companies like VerbalInk offer video transcription services for as low as $1.50 per minute of content.
By combining quality video content with a strategic video marketing strategy, you can effectively target and reach potential clients through a variety of channels online. As video continues to grow in popularity, so will its use among competing law firms. The differentiator, then, is not only the quality and the message of your videos, but how you use them.
Implement the above strategies, and you’ll be well on your way to securing new clients and cases online.
Want to learn more about the value of video in your marketing efforts? Join my webinar on April 6th where I will be talking about “ROI roulette: the future of client conversion for law firms.”