The marketing industry for lawyers is changing because our world, as a whole, is experiencing dramatic shifts in the way we consume content and form connections.
Lawyers often question if using social media would actually be beneficial and if it would make a marked difference in their firm’s and personal brand’s visibility.
We get it. The evolving social media platforms and viral crazes can seem a bit juvenile and daunting, but the numbers really don’t lie. Social media is imperative for business.
We’re not here to convince you that your firm needs social media to succeed in their marketing efforts… because it’s factual; however, we are here to shed some light on why your firm should step outside of its comfort zones and into the newest and fastest growing social media platform: TikTok.
Why Professionals Need TikTok and Short-Form Video
If TikTok makes you immediately recoil, shouting “TikTok is for kids and dances” in objection, we’ve got good news for you.
Not sure if you’ve read, but Google is no longer the number one search engine in the world anymore for Gen Z. In the top spot now is TikTok, and that ranking has Google concerned. A senior official at Google recently said that Google sees TikTok as a threat.
Now, we know how much lawyers spend to stay on top of search. We see lawyers throwing thousands of dollars into SEO, Google Ads for keywords that matter, and investing countless hours into getting positive reviews on Google, then working hard to optimize their Google Maps listing.
This means, if you’re investing heavily in Search, then you should also be investing in short-form video platforms like TikTok.
What is Short-Form Video
You may have managed to shy away from TikTok until now, but short-form videos are nothing new to any business who already has a social media presence on other platforms. If you don’t have a strategy around short-form video content on your other platforms, let alone TikTok, whew!… YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
Let’s get to it. Simply put, any video under 60 seconds is considered short-form, with the optimal length between 31 and 60 seconds.
See, nothing scary about that. You’ve probably been creating these types of videos and animated graphics already, right? So what are the different strategies or ways to take advantage of the growing hype behind short-form videos, especially on TikTok?
Here are 6 tips to get started with short-form videos on TikTok and beyond.
Tip #1: Identify Which Platform to Make to Use for Short-Form Video Marketing
Ok, let’s see if you’ve been paying attention. What is the fastest-growing social media platform that uses short-form video? If you guessed TikTok, you guessed right.
Create Your TikTok Account
Start by setting up your account on the platform of your choice (you know which one we mean). We recommend TikTok over Instagram because of it’s easier discoverability and better algorithm. + Instagram is making a lot of updates and changes lately that have driven a lot of people away from the platform, and we’ve found their changes are mostly an attempt to replicate and chase the growth that TikTok is experiencing organically.
Maximize Visibility and Searchability with Your Setup
There are some pretty cool ways you can set your TikTok account up for success before you even create your first post. To learn more about setting up a business TikTok account that will help your target audience find you, be sure to review our Ultimate Guide for TikTok for Lawyers.
A key part of account setup is ensuring that the name on your account is searchable. It may seem weird, but we recommend setting your name on your account to a keyword your clients would type in the search bar.
For instance: Immigration Lawyer Austin, Texas versus the name of your firm. You’re probably wondering how that is supposed to build brand visibility for your firm. Sounds counterintuitive, right?
In order to connect your firm with that highly searchable service you provide, we recommend making your TikTok handle the name of your firm. We know it might be a bit confusing if you’ve never laid eyes on the TikTok platform, so be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide we mentioned for a full breakdown of these terms and practices.
Tip #2: Start with Keyword Research Before You Film
OK, so you have your account established and your brain is abuzz with great content ideas. Before you dive headlong into filming your brilliant video, you should do research on your target audience and for what your ideal audience is searching.
Research Your Target Client
You have to identify your target audience and build a specific persona for them. The key attributes that are common in your clients will help you develop the most relevant short-form videos.
Another way to determine what piques your clients’ interest is using the data you already have. If you have done quite a bit of content marketing in the past and your website has a decent amount of traffic, we recommend going back to your old blog posts to identify what content has the most views. This data from your existing content is a great place to start building your new short-form video ideas.
Use What You Already Know Works
Other ways to identify search terms that are popular with your target audience include online tools like Answer the Public and even Google Also Suggests to get ideas of what your target client base is already searching for so you’re able to make content around this topic.
Tip #3: Take Time to Plan Out Your Video Content, So You Spend Time on Your Highest and Best Use Work
Set a Schedule
One of the most common complaints I hear from busy lawyers is they don’t have enough time to do marketing.
This is typically because those lawyers are spending too much time each day trying to do marketing, when instead, they would be much more successful at marketing if they spent 1-hour per week working on strategically planned out marketing, versus trying to do a little each day.
Batch Your Content
Social media marketing, regardless of the platform used, should be planned months ahead of schedule. We recommend batching your video content. What do we mean by batching?
Start with filming all of your TikTok videos for the entire week, which ends up taking roughly one-hour to 30-minutes of your week. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it can even be a few different takes. Giving the big batch of videos to your marketing team allows them to edit, upload, and schedule in a strategic manner.
If you don’t have a marketing team, then we still recommend the batching technique to save time and sanity. Just note you’ll have to spend a bit more time than 1-hour each week in marketing and should plan for likely 2-3 hours per week of marketing if going it alone in your short-form videos.
Tip #4: The Most Important Part of Your Video is the First 5 Seconds
We know a lot of lawyers who spend a ton of time writing lengthy intros to their videos. We’re not here to shame the power of the plume, only suggest you keep those expanded explanations for your filings and keep it short and sweet on your short-form video. They are called short-form for a reason.
Keep Your Messaging Short
Those mile-long diatribes against injustices won’t work on Tiktok. TikTok is all about the hook – the first 2-3 seconds where you capture the viewer’s attention. You reel them in with matter-of-fact, jarring bait in order to engage them.
Again, we know it can be tough to curtail the power of the pen. We are just as guilty and have so many videos with long intros, which is how we know for sure that the abridged version of your most popular topics are much more likely to perform well.
You get it, right? People click on the video to learn about the promised topic at hand – right? So keep those hooks (intros) short and to the point.
What a Good Hook Looks Like
A short and engaging hook typically involves the word “You” and some problem, mistake, or mindset shift that needs to happen.
Take for example: “3 things you should never say to an immigration judge” OR “2 reasons why your trademark application is going to get denied” or “why you should never lie on your taxes.”
Notice the hook/intro immediately calls out the viewer and contains the topic of concern at hand. These could be things viewers didn’t realize were problems they had.
Want some more good ideas of hook formulas that work well for law firms? We put together a list of 10 of the best ones we’ve seen on TikTok in this handy guide. Download it now.
Tip #5: Lean Into Experimentation on TikTok
Although you’re a lawyer and you’ll likely want to make substantive content, it’s actually a good rule of thumb to experiment with different types and styles of content on TikTok. Yes, we know that means loosening up that tie and unbuttoning that stiff collar a bit, but it’s worth being a little bit more relaxed.
Some of the best content we’ve come across from professional service firms on TikTok actually comes from professionals who are using unique styles and approaches to content to market their services. We’re not talking Johnny Knoxville level of jacka** tomfoolery. You can be creative and stand out from the crowd without being foolish.
A few of our favorite styles of content that aren’t too formal but don’t require dancing or singing on camera include:
- Text Over Video
- Talking Head
- Trending Sounds
- Green Screen
- News Jacking
When you are willing to try different content types and styles, you learn more quickly what resonates with your audience and what you should continue to do vs what you should not do again. This helps you build more engaging content without wasting time and effort on something that’s not working.
Tip #6: Get Over the Idea that You’re Bad on Video
So many lawyers (and professionals, in general) are afraid of video because they think they don’t have camera presence. We’re going to let you in on a little secret:
Camera presence isn’t a natural talent, it’s a learned talent.
Your first video is definitely not going to be your best video, and that’s ok and to be expected. The more frequently and authentically you show up on camera, the more it all will feel more natural and build a deeper connection with your audience.
It’s important to remember that the point of all this marketing is to build connections and help clients see you’re a real human being who cares about them and helps them resolve their legal matters. So, save the self-shame for another day, because your next clients need your help and won’t know they can hire you if they don’t know you exist.
That’s it. You’re ready to conquer short-form video.
Now that you’ve learned how to use TikTok for your law firm, the next step is to learn how to fit TikTok into a larger marketing strategy. Watch this video where we’ll teach you how to develop a cohesive marketing strategy for your law firm so you can maximize results.
If you’re still a bit apprehensive about taking the dive into short-form video or need to supplement your in-house marketing team with some short-form video enthusiasts, reach out to By Aries to start perfecting your digital presence using short-form video and more!
