By Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC
You saw the statistics in The Big Trend in 2016: Adding Videos to Your Website: Adding videos to your website will engage your audience and make them interested in you, your message, and your business — meaning prospective clients will be more likely to contact you. Following are additional tips for creating your videos, as well as ideas on how to promote them.
Identify Questions
Create a list of questions that help convey why your clients hire you, your approach and philosophy, and what questions clients ask most frequently.
- Give Your Videos a Theme. Your videos should fill a specific niche for potential clients and as such, should connect to one another.
- Hire a Pro. While digital technology has become more state-of-the-art, making it easy for novices to produce digital video, make the investment and work with a professional video grapher. The pros will ensure your videos have a news-quality appearance.
- Practice, Practice, Practice. While you want your videos to appear comfortable and conversational, practice your responses with your partner, spouse or pet. The more you practice, the more comfortable your responses will sound.
- Keep It Short. One of the goals of adding video to your website is to encourage viewers to contact you. While you want to address the question, you want to do so with an eye toward piquing interest in the viewer. Set a goal of 30-seconds to one-minute responses (maximum) to each question.
- Be Yourself. Let your personality show through. Smile, blink, and use vocal inflection to get your points across. Remember, you are talking to people who could hire you or refer business to you. Let that personality shine!
- Dress the Part. Dress as if you were going to have a professional photograph taken. Depending on the number of videos you will be shooting, you may want to include a wardrobe change so you are not wearing the same thing in each video.
I Took The Video Plunge: Now What?
Don’t let your videos just sit on YouTube. Be proactive about how you use them. Consider the following tips:
- Have Your Website Developer Imbed a Video Player on Your Website. Time and time again, Google Analytics show us that the most viewed pages on a firm’s website are attorney profile pages – consider adding a video to your profile.
- Create a Consultation Room on Your Website. Creating a consultation room allows potential clients to get a feel for the type of advice you give. It shows them the breadth and depth of your knowledge.
- Create a Video Blog. Faster than writing, with a more personal touch, Video Blogs (Vlogs) are a great alternative or addition to the classic blog.
- Promote your Videos on Social Media. Videos get more views on social media than written posts and images. Promote your video on as many social channels as possible.
- Include New Videos in Your Client Communications. Include new videos in client communications. When you communicate with your clients, make sure to feature new videos on your website
- Portfolio for Other Video Appearances. If a television station needs an expert commentator, having videos on your website can serve as a video portfolio for other video opportunities.
There’s no need to fear – videos are a great tool that clients love to see. Having a video series starring you – yes, you! – gives you more credibility in your clients’ eyes and allows them to connect with you before they even meet you.
About the Author
Terrie S. Wheeler, MBC is the founder and president of PSM Marketing (PSM). Terrie has spent the last 25 years as an in house marketing director, marketing consultant and marketing coach to lawyers and law firms. She currently serves as a video coach for the MSBA’s Video Shoot program for lawyers. If you have a marketing question, schedule a call with Terrie now >>