Watch Dave Lorenzo’s video to learn about typical attorney marketing mistakes. Make sure you’re not making these mistakes.
Watch Dave Lorenzo’s video to learn about typical attorney marketing mistakes. Make sure you’re not making these mistakes.
“Why would you ever bother with the yellow pages anymore?” Since it’s a money-losing proposition and most people don’t use the yellow pages anymore, why would you throw away all of your marketing dollars on a static ¾ page in a competitive market? A consumer searching for an attorney will have to wade through 20 full page ads (in New York) to find a personal injury attorney. Then they’ll get to the ¾ page ads, then the ½ page ads and on and on.
Do you?
You know how to press “Record” on your flip camera, right? You know not to shoot in low-level light, right? You know not to use your on-board microphone, right? You know how to set your white balance, even on your little handy video camera like your Kodak Zi8, right?
Excellent. Then why aren’t you creating video to market your law practice? If you are, why aren’t those viewers calling your office? What are they waiting for, a personal invitation? Are your viewers really expecting you to reach through the computer screen and physically pull them into your office? Get real.
I opened up my e-mail today and noticed an interesting headline in my Google alerts. The headline read “When Black Ice Strikes, Who’s to Blame?”
I was even more curious because it had my name and website listed under the headline. I knew that I didn’t write a blog post with that name or a video with that title. I was intrigued.
The website URL was the New York Times online blog. I clicked on the link which took me to the New York Times online site. The blog post was all about black ice and how dangerous it is in New York City. Further into the article the writer mentioned a video I made titled “Slip and fall on snow and ice-who is at fault?” and some of the comments I made in my video.
It wasn’t that long ago that I considered myself a trial attorney focused solely on handling my client’s cases.
As I learned how important it was to get new business, there was always the requisite get-to-know other lawyer meetings in order to expand my referral base. I also tried all the traditional forms of advertising including Yellow Pages, TV commercials, display ads, classified ads, 1-800 number campaigns, free recorded messages and on and on.
It wasn’t that long ago that I considered myself a trial attorney focused solely on handling my client’s cases.
As I learned how important it was to get new business, there was always the requisite get-to-know other lawyer meetings in order to expand my referral base. I also tried all the traditional forms of advertising including Yellow Pages, TV commercials, display ads, classified ads, 1-800 number campaigns, free recorded messages and on and on.
You can do it for Google search. You can also do it for video as well. The question is: Should you?
Lawyers who use pay-per-click are literally paying rent to be on the right-side of Google search results, or at the top of the page with the yellow background. Many of these firms are nowhere to be found in the organic search results. What does that mean? If you stop paying rent, nobody will find your website.
1. DO NOT USE YOUR WEBCAM
The quality of a webcam, frankly, stinks. The lens is microscopic and usually plastic. The resolution is poor, and it universally cannot deal well in low light situations. It’s good for sending a quick “Hello” to your friend who lives across the country, or maybe even Grandma. It’s not for creating professional looking videos that someone looking for an attorney will be impressed with.
2. DO NOT LET YOUR VIDEO PRODUCER DECIDE WHAT MUSIC AND BACKGROUND TO USE
As an attorney, you know what your State’s ethical rules are. You know what you can and cannot put in an advertisement. You also know, from watching other attorney videos what kind of background music, if any, you want to use. You also know what kind of background you like. Do you want to be in front of a court house? How about your conference room? Standing on the street? You decide, not your video producer.
Who is my ideal attorney client?
Simple. An attorney who:
* Understands the benefit of creating video to market themselves online,
* Recognizes that video allows you to create a message that is not truncated by the size of your ad,
* Realizes that they have so much useful content to tell the world,
* Has the right mindset to market their legal practice,
* Wants to get onto video now,
* Wants a turn-key system, where all he has to do is show up for the video-shoot and start talking,
* Already has a website or a blog,
* Is eager to learn how video can improve the likelihood of an online viewer calling him instead of his competitor,
* Has read my articles in the Lawyers’ Video Studio,
* Has seen my New York medical malpractice video blog as just one example of how I use video to market myself online.
Here’s a quick BLOOPER video that will have you wondering whether I can talk at all while creating video for the Lawyers’ Video Studio. Enjoy.
Lawyers: Call me with questions about getting on to video: 516-487-8207 or by email: Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com