It’s been nearly a month since the 2023 LMA Annual Conference in Hollywood, FL, and we are STILL unpacking all of the insights gained, connections made, and tips shared with our favorite community.
That’s what is so great about the Legal Marketing Association and the collective community of passionate and brilliant legal marketers – the benefits and support never stop!
If you weren’t able to make it to LMA’s 2023 Annual Conference or missed our recap of the LMA ’23 session By Aries Founder, Jessica Aries, and Executive Producer and Founder of Kates Media, Rob Kates, presented, you can find it all here:
How Law Firms Can Use Video Marketing Effectively & Strategically | 2023 LMA Annual Conference Recap
We know session recaps and resource downloads often miss one of the most beneficial components of an in-person session at a professional development conference – the Q&A portion. Those provide feedback from the audience and clarification from the presenters, and we think you deserve that, too!
That’s why the By Aries team has taken an even deeper dive into their LMA ’23 presentation and pulled out the common questions we were asked after the session, which happen to be questions we regularly receive from clients and prospects regarding successful video marketing strategy.
Go All In on Video Content
Whether you made it to LMA ’23 or not, you’re likely already sold on the power of video marketing. In today’s digital age, you understand that video content has become an essential tool for marketers and really isn’t an option any longer if your firm is seeking engagement and building trust with their target audience.
With its ability to convey stories, emotions, and information in a dynamic and engaging format, video marketing has emerged as a dominant force in the realm of digital marketing. Despite video consumption continuing to rise, many questions often surround the practice when it comes to implementing video marketing strategies effectively.
So let’s get to the most commonly asked questions about video marketing we heard at LMA ’23, as well as what we routinely hear from clients and prospects when it comes to best practices, tips, and misconceptions.
Common Questions About Video Marketing Strategy Asked and Answered
- When working with a client, does By Aries usually use paid services when developing strategies around “search” or knowing what people are searching for? What about paid video ads?
- If a firm feels they are too conservative to use a YouTube channel, what other social media platforms does By Aries recommend for leveraging marketing videos?
- Some clients are fearful of their online videos being manipulated or misused. What’s By Aries take on that concern?
- How do you get buy-in on video marketing from firm leadership and attorneys?
- How do you handle putting out a disclaimer on your video content?
- What does By Aries recommend for video captioning?
- Boutique and smaller firms are using short-form video marketing, but what about the big firms?
When working with a client, does By Aries usually use paid services when developing strategies around “search” or knowing what people are searching for? What about paid video ads?
The short and straight answer about paid search tools and search strategy is a hard YES!
We are an agency that creates a lot of video for our clients’ digital marketing strategies, and we absolutely take advantage of paid tools to make the most impactful strategies. Whether it’s free or paid, you should ALWAYS start with search when developing your campaigns – key video marketing statistics are crucial to strong strategies.
Great video engagement for law firms is impossible to achieve without a thorough keywords research. We provides details about free and paid search tools in one of our recent blogs:
Law Firm Video: How to Build the Best Youtube Channel
Take a minute to review ways to optimize your videos with search, and check out one of our favorite search strategy tools, TubeBuddy to optimize your YouTube videos.
If a firm feels they are too conservative to use a YouTube channel, what other social media platforms does By Aries recommend for leveraging marketing videos?
The honest answer here is that nothing else has that search engine optimization powers that YouTube has, and you’re missing out on a ton of value and ranking power if you skip on YouTube. YouTube should be your foundation and home for marketing video content, and other social media platforms should be used as a supplement – not to mention the analytics and insight YouTube provides! It’s truly a powerhouse, and the world’s second-largest search engine. It’s a must, in our humble opinion.
If you’re not quite ready to share videos with the world but are still building a collection or wanting to create videos to use internally or embed, we recommend using Vimeo or Muse.ai, which is terrific for embedding and editing.
Some clients are fearful of their online video content being manipulated or misused. What’s By Aries take on that concern?
Is the infiltration of Sony’s internal network, hactivist groups like Anonymous, and the never-ending news cycles about data breach have taught us anything, it’s that nothing is this digital world is ever 100% safe.
At the end of the day, you have no control over external forces taking any of your content, video or not. We’re in a digital world in which safety is an illusion. You can put your video in the most secure place and somebody can still access is, edit it, and make it something completely different from what you’ve intended – and that’s the same with any sound bite, white paper taken out of context, or even the glossy legal photos and ads printed in annual law firm rankings.
Ultimately, you’ve got to look at the balance of what you’re losing versus what you’re gaining. If your strategies run on fear and play the safest card, you’re already playing a losing game. We’ve always found the risk to be well worth the reward (and ROI).
How do you get buy-in on video marketing from firm leadership and attorneys?
When it comes to showing value and obtaining buy-in from leadership (and even the most video-resistant partners), analytics are your very best friend!
Test the waters of video, and show them what you find! Pulling in actual data and being able to show leadership the viewership, the comments, the questions that come in directly from your video views will do the talking for you.
One of the biggest struggles we face as marketers, especially video marketers, is being able to attach the customer journey or the client journey to the work we do. laying the groundwork and pulling the reviewing the metrics are worth the effort every single time, despite how time-consuming it feels on the front-end.
They can buck trends all they want, but they can’t deny data!
How do you handle putting out a disclaimer on your video content?
We include a small written blurb in the caption of video posts, especially on TikTok when it comes to “legal advice” that isn’t technically legal advice.
By Aries has many attorney clients who proudly show up on camera and make it clear they are sharing their perspectives and unique experiences, and are sure to mention that everyone’s legal needs require personal attention and assessment from their own attorney. This is a more casual and conversational way of addressing that issue, but we also know attorneys are sticklers on putting disclaimers in writing.
By Aries will put disclaimers in the video caption on Tiktok or Instagram where it’s all about quick hit/watch time, and we use the actual content section where you can share your social blurb or takeaway to provide coverage and reduce risk. We also will put it on the actual channel page, Tiktok homepage, LinkedIn bio that these videos are for entertainment, etc
What does By Aries recommend for video captioning?
By Aries will always recommend optimizing video with captioning, not just for the hearing impaired but for ease of use digital video viewers. Video captioning boost views, as many people are scrolling through short-form videos in quiet or public spaces – providing your audience with the option to read what you’re saying keeps them from swiping next if they’re volume is low or turned off.
We like to use varied video format with two versions of videos so we can upload a non-captioned version to platforms like LinkedIn that auto-generate the captions to avoid duplicative and overlapping captions. Different digital and social channels have different requirements and practices. Take time to research the online platforms you want to use for short-form video to know if you should upload a captioned on non-captioned version.
Boutique and smaller firms are using short-form video marketing, but what about the big firms?
The common gauge most law firms use to decide if they’ll agree to a marketing strategy is whether or not other law firms, Big Law, are doing it. They err on the side of caution and rarely want to step outside the box and try something new or different for the first time.
Spoiler alert: Big Law knows the benefits of video marketing and is taking full advantage. We researched and analyzed video footage for over a year to create the Law Firm YouTube Index 2022, which delves into the video practices of the AmLaw 200 firms – check it out for yourself! Again, the data doesn’t lie. Video is IN for the biggest names in legal.
Still getting pushback from firm leadership on launching an effective video marketing strategy? We get it. Lawyers are inherently cautious.
Instead of announcing to firm partners that you’re creating an enormous video marketing campaign, you should organically include digital and video marketing efforts within their regular social media marketing campaigns. What do we mean?
Turn the graphic for what you’d include on your firm’s social media posts into animated videos by adding moving elements or making the graphic a loop with sound – it still looks like a safe and approved graphic but will draw more views and engagement simply because it is video.
Instead of using a still image from your firm’s client event or attorney presentation, use event videos and add your firm’s standard branding to it for use in a blog post or email campaign. You’ll be amazed by the boost in engagement with actual video, and you’ll get the numbers you need to sell firm leadership on the unlimited powers of video marketing and have leadership lining up to get started with video marketing!
Pretty sneaky, sis!
Video marketing is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your firm’s reach, engagement, and conversion rates. By understanding its importance, utilizing various video formats, and having the answers to the most common questions surrounding video creation process and the practice of an effective video marketing strategy, you can boost engagement, build authority and trust, and expand your firm’s reach.
Still unsure about our most favorite pillar of digital marketing or need strategy and video editing support to get your campaign off the ground? Schedule a call with us to discuss how we can help you perfect your firm’s digital presence and outperform all of your marketing goals with our video planning, creation, and support from By Aries!
