Website Video Tips for Lawyers

No law firm can expect a user to visit YouTube and search for lawyer videos, but there are many reasons why a website video is near critical for your online client development efforts.

In an earlier post about marketing during a recession, I suggested recording short, informative movies and clips about your business. I’ll add to that by recommending you be genuine, passionate and energetic in front of the camera.

Video offers an opportunity to make you more personable and approachable, all of which influence that first client meeting.

Video Makes Your Website Sticky
Since it’s not uncommon for a website visitor to leave almost as soon as they click through to your website (just look at your Bounce Rate on Google Analytics if you don’t believe me), you immediately engage with video and keep them looking longer. So instead of viewing just one page, they’re more than likely to read on once they’ve viewed your video.

Here are some additional thoughts on using website videos to grow your practice:

• Keep videos short. We’re used to consuming content in bite-sized chunks, so try to keep your video under 30 seconds. Of course, if yours is longer, record the most important information first.
• When posting videos on your web pages, make sure to include content within context around the video. Consider posting a transcript as well.
• Now that you’ve recorded one or several videos, create your own YouTube channel and upload. Also use a service like TubeMogul for distribution to several dozen video search engines. Website videos are proven to increase your exposure on search engines. And if you’re listed attorney on Lawyers.com, add your video to your profile.
• Don’t forget a clear, call to action at the end of your video. Viewers should be invited to call or message you for further information about their particular legal needs.

And for those of you wondering where my videos are, stay tuned!

Photo credit by t9t.

What’s better than a client referral?

Professional service providers win when their efforts provide immense value, and thrive when their clients refer other like-minded people who have similar needs. So what could be better than a client referral?

A client testimonial!

An Econsultancy article from July 2009 refers to a Nielsen survey showing that 90% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know and 70% trust opinions of unknown users. The client referral pays you once (maybe twice), but the client testimonial earns it keep every time it’s used.

Here is a sample template you could use (where permitted and based on your profession) to solicit better testimonials:

1. Why did you retain (business name) for your (service provided) needs?
2. Please list three things you like most about our services. Why do you like them?
3. What, in your opinion, is the strongest feature of our services? Why?
4. Is there anything about our services you would like to see changed?
5. May we use your comments for promotional purposes?

Once you get these back, have them signed and dated for everyone’s benefit. Then use them on your website and in other promotional materials.

Have you hit a client development plateau?

Watching what your competition does for client development is a basic principle for your marketing activities. It’s usually OK to borrow, copy and steal their ideas. For example, if your competition is another law firm, and they’re listed on Lawyers.com, then you better be there too. If they have a professional looking website, nice office, thoughtful logo or other impressionable, you should have the same. But, if you only borrow, copy and steal, you’ll quickly run out of ideas. At some point, you’ll reach a plateau, where you’re constantly playing catch-up. What’s worse, if you’re constantly changing gears and trying the next new shiny thing you risk forgetting what’s unique about your firm!

The solution? Stop and regroup.

Don’t worry about what your competition is doing. Instead, plan out your own client development strategies and work your plan. You’ll sleep better, and your competition will worry about you instead.

Related Posts

• Three Free Ways to Grow Your Business in 2010
• The Guiding Principle of Marketing
• Strategy to get More Testimonials

What are your clients thinking?

One of the best ways to keep clients is to prove your dedication to them. So talk to your clients – frequently. Ask questions about your services, what you’ve done (and what you haven’t).

But if you really want to know what’s on their minds, survey them.

When writing your survey questions, keep them brief. I’m sure a study has been done somewhere proving a drop in response for each additional question on a survey, so limit to a half-dozen or so. Be clear, concise and always thank your clients in advance for their participation.

With today’s technology, it won’t cost a fortune to gather valuable business intelligence. Here are a few tools for surveying clients:

• Survey Monkey
• Zoomerang
• Cvent
• Poll Daddy – especially easy to integrate into your Twitter account (you are on Twitter, right?)

The most important thing when surveying? Not what you ask, but how you apply the answers to your business.

Photo credit by kikashi.

What is it you’re really selling?

It’s been said that in business, sales are King, but marketing is Queen, and she runs the show. Marketing is the engine behind your business, but also its weakest link. Before defining your niche, it’s helpful to create and implement a high level marketing plan containing the following:

• The purpose of the plan (what you want out of it — more sales, more website visitors, more email leads, etc.)
• Your main benefit to clients (more on this later)
• Your target audience(s) — describe the ideal client very specifically
• Your marketing budget, expressed as a percentage of gross sales, so it grows in step with your business’ growth

How to Define Your Niche
Your main benefit, or why a client does business with you, is critical to your success, so invest the time needed to carefully think about and answer these questions:

• How do I solve a client’s problem, achieve their goals or satisfy wants?
• What can I do to create desire for my service? Could be based around convenience, speed or a promotion.
• Could I make my service solve multiple problems or achieve multiple goals for my clients?
• What can I do to make it easier for clients to do business with me? For example, convenient hours, value pricing, excellent staff members, variety of services, speed of delivery, etc.

With your niche and plan in place, you’ll give clients a reason to hire you – and be foolish if they went with a competitor!

Photo credit by saavem.