As most readers may know, Linkedin.com is a very popular business and professional networking site on the web.  In fact, most people use it to stay in touch with their professional contacts; some people use it to promote their businesses; some people use it to network for new jobs, and business related opportunities.  However, as more and more people continue to use Linkedin.com, what can you do to make your profile page stand out from the rest of the pack using the networking site?  If you are currently using Linkedin.com, what if you could add your video to your Linkedin.com profile?   What if you could use any video that promotes your business, or helps the public understand what you offer, and how you can help them?  Well, I recently found a way to do this through using Google Presentation Application in conjunction with Linkedin.com.   The ability to add video to your Linkedin.com profile has only recently become possible so not many people know about this.

For those of you who already have video on your website, and you have uploaded your video to the video sharing sites, uploading video to your Linkedin.com profile is a more creative way to show your contacts who you are, and what you can offer since most of the people on Linkedin.com do not have video on their profiles.  You already invested time and money in your videos so you should maximize their use whenever you can; besides it is free, and helps you stand out to showcase your practice or trade. As everyone knows, each day more and more potential clients and business opportunities are searching Linkedin.com profiles.  In fact, recent statistics have shown steady growth of the use of Linkedin.com world-wide in 2010; some statistics suggest the growth is comparable to what Twitter is doing in growth.  Also, using Linkedin.com is another great way of obtaining “back links” back to your website for those of you concerned about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  This idea is yet another reason to invest in video if you have not already done so.

In order to get your video on your Linkedin.com profile, you will have to add Google Presentation Application to your profile by clicking on your “add an application” button on your profile.  However, to make it even easier for you, reelsocialmedia.com has done a great video on how to do it step-by-step, and it is available for free on youtube.com.  Just search “How To Add, Embed Video on Linkedin” when you log onto www.youtube.com.  It is easy to follow and should get you rolling in minutes!  If you have any questions, or need to contact me I can be reached at mark@blanelaw.com.  I wish everyone much success with this creative way to display their business videos on Linkedin.com, and I would like to thank attorney Gerry Oginski at www.lawyersvideostudio.com for allowing me to post this guest blog.

About Mark C. Blane, Esq.

The Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, APC
Golden Eagle Plaza
525 B Street, 15th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel:  (619) 858-4772
Fax:  (619) 946-7835
E-mail:  Mark@BlaneLaw.com
Web Site:  BlaneLaw.com
Follow me on Twitter:  twitter.com/blanelaw

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So what’s the big deal? Not what she said in her voice mail, but what she didn’t say. Importantly, it’s what I heard in between what she was saying that was amazing.

It sounded almost like background noise. Listening carefully, I noticed something familiar about what was being said in the background. Then I heard my name. I realized she was calling me while watching one of my educational videos.

How cool is that? She liked what I was telling her in my video and decided to call to ask questions. That fact confirms what I teach attorneys about how video can be used to convert online viewers into callers.

Ideally, you want your viewers to click on your video, watch it fully and then call you to ask questions. It’s really cool when they call while watching your video.

Want to learn what will convert your online viewers into callers? Come join me in the only video coaching group for lawyers anywhere in the country.

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Here’s one way I created a breaking news video just hours after receiving a $1.5 million verdict for podiatric medical malpractice case here in New York. Watch the video to learn more.

After leaving court, I could have kicked myself for not bringing my video camera with me. It would’ve been the ideal time to capture a client testimonial after achieving this remarkable verdict. On the other hand, had the verdict gone the other way, I would definitely have kept the video camera locked in my briefcase to be used for another day. In any event, upon returning to my office, I immediately set up my equipment and created a quick and dirty summary about the case while it was still fresh in my mind.

I shot this video using my new Canon dSLR and even though the lighting and color settings are not perfect, they are more than adequate to get the job done. Content will always trump post-production technique.

So how can you use this in your own practice? Simple.

If there is breaking news in your field of law that your clients or potential clients could benefit from, then you owe it to yourself to create video that will help your viewers understand why this information is important to them. If you do not have the ability to create the video yourself and upload it to your website and video sharing sites, then it is vital that you have an experienced video production team who can get this done for you, without you having to learn anything technical.

That’s exactly why lawyers who participate in my total online video solution love what I offer, since they don’t have to learn anything technical in order to get their videos online. In addition to having their videos professionally done, if they choose the option to purchase the video equipment, then those lawyers have the ability to turn on their equipment at any time of day or night and create fresh new videos that will help their potential clients get fast breaking news. How do we do that? Simple.

After creating five new video clips you simply send us the memory card in a prepaid FedEx mailer and in a very short time you receive an e-mail from us telling you that your videos have been uploaded to your website and to the video sharing sites. That’s it. That’s why participating in this program is so simple, fun and easy. In addition, I offer the only mastermind coaching call for attorneys in order to help you create your content for your video.

To learn more about the total online video solution for lawyers, I encourage you to click here. If you have questions about how my video solution can help you, I urge you to pick up the phone and schedule a phone consultation with me. I welcome your call or e-mail. You can reach me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com.

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Canon T2i dSLR camera

If you’ve been following my blog posts, you know I use a Canon Vixia HF S10 to shoot my own videos. Great camera, excellent quality and it does everything it’s supposed to do.

I recently sold my Sony digital camera to a great trial attorney in Virginia (thanks Sandra!) and needed to upgrade. I took the plunge and bought a Canon T2i dSLR. It takes 18 megapixel photos, has a 3″ viewing screen and also takes hi-definition video. I justified my purchase by convincing myself that I could use it to shoot my videos that I make to market my own practice. Oy, what a production.

You may have also seen a recent blog post I did while I was on vacation, testing out my new camera. Yes, I took 938 photos and 35 videos. It was awesome. (Just try color correcting and cropping 938 photos- it’s enough to make you bleary eyed for weeks). Anyway, I recently shot 2 videos about medical malpractice. The videos were about 4 minutes long.

I spent a really long time playing with the settings. Why? Because this is not a ‘point-and-shoot’ camera. It’s not a ‘press the red record button’ and start talking.

First, it has no flip out monitor. That means you can’t tell exactly whether you’re in the frame or not when shooting your own video. That means you have to repeatedly go back and forth to see if where you were standing is good. I could have hooked up a separate TV monitor, but didn’t want to go that route. I wanted to see how easy/difficult it would be without it. Also, the camera doesn’t come with a remote control to press record or stop. Aggh. That means I press record, then walk to where I’ll be taping.

Wait…there’s more. Remember how cool your autofocus function is on your video camera? No matter where you stand, your camera will automatically bring you into focus? Not so with my shiny new dSLR. Why not? Because it’s not a point and shoot camera. You must pre-focus, either manually or by autofocus and press the shutter down half-way.

“But wait!” you scream. “How can I focus on myself, if I have to pre-focus the camera and stand next to the camera to do that?” you ask. A great question! One that perplexed me for some time; especially since I was shooting the video on my own and there was nobody to stand behind the camera and press the shutter half-way. Needless to say, that required a creative solution that I’ll save for my video coaching group (which you are invited to join).

When I played back the videos I was stunned. Amazed. In awe. The quality was magnificent. The depth of field was wild to see on a consumer level video camera. Depth of field is where one object is in focus and everything behind it is blurred. You can often tell the difference between a soap opera, where everything is in focus compared to a feature film where people are often in focus but the background is blurred.

Stay tuned for the herculean effort needed to now get those videos off the camera and into my non-linear video editing software; also known as Final Cut Express.

Final point. If the technical stuff bores you, as I’m sure this will for some attorneys reading this, why trouble yourself figuring out how to do this stuff yourself? Stop wasting your time struggling with getting the video off your camera. Stop trying to get those edits and transitions just right. Don’t worry about how to do lower third graphics with fly-in effects. Have you really gotten those compression settings just right? Do your videos look anamorphic?

Take a breather and pick up the phone to schedule a phone conference with me. 516-487-8207. Go back to doing what you do best; practicing law. Let me take the burden off you. I make creating video fun, simple and easy. Stop struggling and wasting hours of your day. Give me a call. I guarantee it will be eye-opening and refreshing when you realize you don’t need to do this yourself.

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Canon T2i dSLR camera

That’s exactly what my brother asked me when I returned from vacation from the Caribbean after having just purchased the Canon T2i camera with an 18-55mm lens and a 55mm-250mm zoom lens. I was super excited when my camera was delivered the day before we were leaving. I had just sold my previous Sony Cyber Shot DSC F828 camera and had bought the Canon dSLR primarily to shoot video. I am a medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer in New York and have created a business where I help lawyers produce educational video to market themselves online. I had been using my Canon Vixia HF S10 video camera to create excellent quality video up until that point.

When the reviews came out about this Canon digital SLR I was fascinated with the fact that it took full high definition video, and importantly had an external microphone input that would allow me to connect my wireless lavalier microphone. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try out the camera’s functions, quality and importantly, video capability.

Another dolphin to swim with

The primary reason for buying this particular camera is that it allows me to create depth of field when shooting video. Standard video cameras keep everything in focus. This dSLR allowed you to have your video image crystal clear in the front, and had your background blurred to create depth of field. The difference is remarkable and is comparable to watching daytime soap opera or watching a feature length movie.

This camera has a super-fast high speed shutter and high-speed exposure, up to a maximum of 3200 ISO. It shoots 3.7 frames per second in continuous shooting mode. The camera comes with a very smart booklet on photography that provides a quick read that explains what the different settings are on the camera. Importantly, it shows you how you can utilize those settings with actual photo results.

Swimming with the dolphins

We were away for five days and I was actually stunned by the quality of the 18 megapixel photographs that were showing up on the 3 inch LCD screen on camera. The low light capability was incredible. We were in a steak restaurant for my mother-in-law’s birthday, and the lighting was very dim. The pictures I took that evening in the restaurant were among the most memorable.

We took the kids to swim with the dolphins one morning and I’m extremely pleased that this camera had the ability to shoot high speed photos and take great action shots. My wife was getting frustrated since she has a small point and shoot camera and every time the dolphin would jump in the air and do tricks she would miss the shot since her camera took too long to compose the picture, autofocus, and then take the picture. My camera was able to take beautiful, crystal-clear photos and video of action shots showing the dolphin in midair and interacting with my kids.

Swimming with the dolphins

The 18 mm-55 mm lens produced great quality photo and video images. There was abundant light generated from this lens that I was really happy with. The zoom lens worked perfectly. It was a perfect complement to the smaller lens.

The settings are easy to learn, and even my eight-year-old became very proficient at shooting great quality photos and video with this camera. Each of my kids had a chance to play around with the camera and each of them said “Dad, this camera is great and takes great pictures.”

Don’t worry, I won’t show you all of my vacation photos…only some of them

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Gerry

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The hotel says you get a nice room for the price. Fair enough. When you check in, they tell you that you will have a mandatory $20 fee, per night, per room, for use of their gym, sauna and steam room, whether you use it or not. Ok. We have two rooms.

When you get to your room, there are two really nice tall bottles of water waiting for you. Until you get closer and see tags around the bottles saying that if you touch them you will automatically be billed $7.50 per bottle. Ouch. To use the internet is another $15 per day. To use their business center costs $1 per minute. Then they charge in increments of $10 per 10 minutes.

Then, since there were no rooms with two double beds they gave us a king size bed. That’s nice, right? Well, where’s my other son supposed to sleep? “You need a roll-a-way, right?” they asked at the front desk. “Yes…” I answered. “That will be $15 per night, per room,” came the quick reply. We needed two roll-aways. (My mother-in-law was so incensed that because they didn’t have the right beds, we shouldn’t be charged for the extra bedding. They agreed. “Thanks, Helene!)

This is how a nice hotel nickels and dimes their way to customer hell. It’s not that I can’t afford this. I can. It’s the way they use these little charges to ruin a great experience at a nice resort.

How does this relate to you?

If you charge clients for your services, you might have noticed a similar pattern. You might charge for postage or photocopying. Maybe you keep track of your paperclips for each client. There’s nothing wrong with that from a tracking standpoint. But look at it from the client’s point of view. Every time you think or breathe on the case, the client gets charged. Fedex; charge. Highlighters; charge it. Binders; charge it. Phone usage; charge it.

As far as the hotel goes, if they simply charged me an extra $75 per night for my room and included everything else in the hotel for ‘free’, I’d be fine with that. In your law practice you might consider the same thing. Charge a higher fee and then tell your client that all the incidentals are free. “Compliments of the house!”

Don’t banish yourself to client hell by nickel and diming your clients. You’ll regret it.

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Why does attorney video do so well online and convert online viewers into callers?

For the very specific reason that people with legal problems go online to get information. When they search for information about their problem, you have an opportunity to educate them about their problem. You have the chance to enter the conversation going on in their mind with a video. You can’t do that with traditional forms of attorney advertising.

To learn more about how you can benefit from creating educational attorney video, explore my blog here, and my Total Online Video Solution for Lawyers.

_____________

Here’s a really nice comment from Alex Valencia, marketing director of We Do Web Content.  Here’s what he had to say after hearing me speak at Ben Glass’ Great Legal Marketing super conference in Virginia in June 2010…

“You are super passionate about what you do…You stole the show! I felt inspired after hearing you talk.”

Alex Valencia

“Gerry,

You made video seem fun and simple. It’s a way to laugh at yourself and allow for others to see you as a person and not just a company. Your success gave us the push we needed to take action.

After listening to your presentation, we began outlining topics for our company’s videos and immediately created a YouTube page. Like you, we understand the value of content. We also understand that by educating our potential clients you can more easily win their trust and hopefully their business. Nowadays content is your sales person and you’ve got to be out there. Videos can be the next big thing to meeting in person. Thanks so much!”

Alex Valencia

Director of Sales

We Do Web Content

Fort Lauderdale, FL

O. 954-617-2148

C. 954.648.0565

E. alex@wedowebcontent.com

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Don’t get me wrong. I like listening to boring CLE lectures as much as the next attorney. I’m required to rack up a certain number of CLE credits each year, just like you.  I like having the same speakers talk about the same trial tactics seminars I’ve been listening to for more than 21 years. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve learned a lot from these attorneys. I’ve also gone to ‘marketing’ seminars put on by the bar associations with these same personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers. I honestly can say that I have not learned much there. I wish someone had instead directed me to Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer (direct response marketers that teach other people how improve their bottom line).

Over the last year, as I began to fine-tuned my total online video solution for attorneys, I wanted to get the word out to fellow attorneys who could benefit from video marketing that was making my phone ring. I have lectured to attorneys at the New York City Bar Association in Manhattan about medical malpractice law. I have created CLE approved lectures both in person and on video, discussing medical malpractice in New York. I have also been invited back to lecture on the same topic. In fact, I am lecturing to attorneys this month, July 15, 2010, at the NYC Bar Association about medical malpractice law. Thinking that I could offer attorneys useful information about video marketing, I approached the New York City Bar Association and the NYS Trial Lawyers Association.

Each has a committee that vets topics deemed worthy. That’s understandable. They don’t want their attorneys to be inundated and bored to death with topics they can’t use or relate to. Also, they have to be able to offer CLE credit to their members and there are various requirements needed to justify approving CLE credits. Also understandable.

When I suggested that I present a seminar about video marketing for attorneys and have other legal marketing experts talk to attorneys about how to market their practice, the response was eye-opening. The NYC Bar was quite clear. They said they do not want a seminar where attorneys or marketers are pitching or selling their services to their members. Not even if the material was educational and informational only. “Hmmm,” I thought. Rejected. Ok. Maybe the NYS trial lawyers would have a different take on it.

I was wrong. The seminar topics were selected two years in advance and they didn’t see a need for topics on attorney marketing. However, they did offer an alternative. They said I could become a preferred vendor and appear outside each of the seminars in order to promote my service. “No thanks,” I replied.

I finally realized that the bar associations didn’t want to run marketing seminars since they could not justify giving CLE credit. That’s understandable. I finally realized that attorneys who want to learn about my services and how they can benefit from video marketing can learn tons of useful stuff from my online webinars, live seminars, video blog articles, my video coaching group for attorneys (the only video coaching group for lawyers in the country) and my Total Online Video Solution for Attorneys. Oh yes, they can also contact any one of the attorneys who have used my services and ask them personally what they thought.

You can be sure that the next time you hear me speak about video marketing for attorneys at a seminar, that my content has never been given to any bar association for CLE credit. What’s more important to you? Accumulating CLE credits or learning how to improve your bottom line and convert online viewers into callers?

The decision, as always, is yours. Choose wisely.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Gerry

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This article appears in the online website REELSEO, an incredible resource for all things dealing with online video. I highly recommend subscribing to this site. If you want to learn all about the latest online video advances, then this is the site to get your information.

FYI- I wrote this article a few months ago, and Mark Robertson, the head of REELSEO just posted it last week. It’s my second attorney video article for REELSEO. (The first one I did for them was in 2008).

Click here for the article.

2. The Risks of Using a TelePrompTer in Your Law Firm Video

This is a critique of an attorney video that I did for Technolawyer Blog that used to be called “YouLaw” which was a play on words with YouTube and the Law. My video critique is now published under the blog feature called Smalllaw. Editor Neil Squillante describes Smalllaw as “Small firm, big dreams. SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future.”(FYI, fellow attorney and blogger Lee Rosen of North Carolina is also a featured writer for Smalllaw.)

Click here to read the article.

3. What lawyers can learn from Gary Vaynerchuk

If you don’t know who Gary Vaynerchuk is, I daresay you are living under a rock. He’s the guy who created a web tv show about wine. He’s developed a massive following and has leveraged that momentum into a marketing empire. This article from Imperius Legal Websites looks at what Vaynerchuk, author of “Crushing It,” has done in order to achieve extraordinary success. His story is remarkable and every attorney would do well to learn from him and study what he has accomplished and how he’s done it.

I am pleased to say that the author, Kelly Spradley, mentions me in the article along with two other remarkable attorneys.

“If you don’t believe that this strategy can be used by lawyers, take a look at Gerry Oginski, Carolyn Elefant, and Lee Rosen. Gerry Oginski is passionate about medical malpractice and accidents. He has created his personal brand online with videos. Carolyn Elefant is passionate about Small Law. She has been blogging on MyShingle.com since 2002. Lee Rosen has developed his personal brand through online videos, blogs, and podcasts.”

Read the full article to learn more about Gary Vaynerchuk and how you can learn tons from everyone mentioned in the article.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and have a great day!

Gerry

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