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- You don’t want additional cases. If you have all the cases you could ever want, then there’s no reason for you to use video in your marketing of your services. That’s it. Just skip right to the conclusion and have a nice day.
- You think only the MTV crowd watches online videos. If that’s what you think, I’d say you’re probably stuck in the stone age and haven’t heard of such conveniences as email, microwave ovens, iPhones, Twitter and Facebook. I’ll give you a hint: Millions and millions of videos are watched every day across the world. Everyone watches video clips online.
- Your clients don’t use a computer and have never heard of YouTube. I’m sure some of your clients do not have a computer. However, virtually everyone has heard of YouTube. If you only want to stick to marketing yourself offline, that’s fine. That means there’s a greater likelihood that your potential client will call me instead of you.
- You only have a “Radio” face. “I don’t look good.” “I don’t like the way I come out on video.” “I don’t know what to say.” These excuses are too simplistic and tell me that you are looking for a way not to promote yourself with video. Guess what? Your potential client will see you when they walk in your door. Don’t you want them to begin to trust you before they ever walk in the door?
- You think the Yellow Pages is a better return on investment. I love when lawyers say that their yellow pages ad is bringing them a ton of money. Either they’re on the very first page, or the first four pages, or they’re lying. The yellow pages is out and most everyone knows it- even the yellow pages reps.
I will tell you that creating video to market your legal services is the best return on investment anywhere. Hands down. Better than TV ads; billboards; newspapers; classified ads; radio; yellow pages and any other form of paid advertising. How do I know? I’ve done it. With more than 165 educational and informative videos on my website and video sharing sites, I receive calls every day from people across the country wanting to know if I can help solve their problems.
Have you created video today? If not, why not?
Gerry Oginski is a New York-based lawyer concentrating in the field of medical malpractice. Want to learn more? Take a look at the Lawyers’ Video Studio. It’s a great place to learn about creating video for attorneys. You can also join Gerry’s Facebook group, The Lawyers’ Video Studio, for great video marketing information.
Photo courtesy of Stuck in Customs
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I would add a related #6 (and this applies to blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, too). Don’t use it if you do not understand it and are not willing to learn it.
The worst thing you can do for your professional reputation is utilize any of these new media without a plan for how you are going to do them well (even if it takes you some time to get up to speed).
Jay
You know I’m a progressive when it comes to technology. If I thought video would help reach prospects I would use it; but I don’t. Not due to the reasons in your piece. To reach prospects I must communicate an idea to them; video could do the trick if it didn’t falter every 10 seconds to rebuffer, etc. You may have great high-speed connections available but here in the midwest we still contend with lousy service. So what do I lose by not using video? Not much. Feel free to prove me wrong.
Mazy, I don’t think I need to prove you wrong. As a practical matter, YouTube is the #2 search engine. YouTube results show up on the Google search results, which means that YouTube shows up in both places – that makes YouTube de facto the #1 search engine overall. With traffic like that, ignoring video as a means of distributing content is a serious problem spot in any lawyer’s marketing plan.
Excellent point, Aaron!
Practicehacker made an important point. There are some parts of the country that have poor Internet service. In those areas, watching video may be troublesome. He asks “so what do I lose by not using video?”
The answer is: everything. Why? Because even those Internet service providers in the Midwest with lousy service will eventually update and improve the quality of their broadband connection. By getting into video now you will be ahead of the curve when the technology improves. Further, you fail to take into account that videos online, are seen around the world. By focusing only on those areas with “lousy Internet service” you have limited your ability to reach out and take cases from outside your limited geographic area.
My goal in the article is not to prove you wrong, as Jay mentioned above. Nor, is it to convince you to get onto video. The purpose was to open your eyes and let you see how important video is in your marketing efforts. You are, as always, free to choose your own destiny and your own marketing in your practice. I wish you luck.
I also agree with Arron Street’s comments that if you are unfamiliar with creating video, or have clear defined purpose in how to use it to market your practice, then you would be wise to hold off until such time as you’ve learned more about how to use this incredible tool to your benefit. In that light, I once again invite you join me in the lawyer’s video studio so you can see exactly how video is used to market a legal practice.
If you’d like to see one of the ways I use video to market my practice, go to http://nymedicalmalpracticevideoblog.com.
You mage some good points Gerry! I remember seeing a lawyer promoting his valentines day discount in a youtube video where he appeared in a hot tub, and I found it disgusting. I think all people that have legal jobs should be forbidden to advertise their services through internet videos.