Maximising impact with social media video marketing

In the past, law firms have tended to shy away from videos and social media, preferring simpler and sometimes more old fashion methods to broadcast to their audiences. But it seems that these law firms are now embracing the medium of video and social media and reaping the rewards of their commitment to it.

Video marketing has long been heralded as one of the most effective ways to promote a business online. It is perfect for websites, including on a home page or specific service page. At the same time, videos run well on social media, and have been proven useful in engaging audiences and driving enquiries and quote requests. Google, Bing and other search engines often prioritise videos in their search results, giving them top billing. There is strong evidence that shows audiences who watch videos and social media are far more likely to buy a firm’s products and services.

Firms will need to choose a specific style of video, as they come in many shapes and sizes. Some will choose a face-to-face interview with the owner or manager, talking about the business and or its services. Some will adopt an ‘explainer’ style, while others will show-off past successes with client testimonials, and many will discuss the merits of their services as a whole. Some firms are even uploading their videos to mobile phones and social media platforms.

Videos can be published to websites and or social media accounts where they can be more selectively targeted. Social media such as YouTube, Twitter, Linked In, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok, each warrant video input and commentary.

Websites with lots of text are better off switching to a 60 second video; you can say a lot more about the business and in an engaging way. Statistics show websites that include videos receive longer visits and are 50 times more likely to be ranked on Google’s first page.

So, where do you start? The whole idea is to gather your audience around you and encourage them to buy the firm’s products and services, using videos and other promotions. There are all sorts of ways to do this. Having a brief on what to say in a 60 second video is essential; it needs to pack in as much information about your firms’ business as possible. Again, this might be in the form an ‘explainer’ and ‘client testimonial’ video to reach your audiences with the firm’s reputation and credibility being promoted in the background.

The legal, financial and insurance sectors have become more accepting of these forms of promotions since the covid-19 pandemic, with law firms keener than ever to show-off their wares. There is no doubt that firms have been working hard to engaged with their audiences since the pandemic, with bigger and better marketing programmes to nudge ahead of their rivals.

Video Marketing
Having published your brilliant video, it needs promoting to make the most of it and to put it out there. Your video could be published on YouTube, while being embedded and linked to the firm’s website, on one or more pages. It is then worth planning how your new video can be marketed and promoted on your chosen social media platforms, to ensure you get the most from the investment. It is always good to have a schedule of dates to send out these postings and to maintain the momentum.

Scepticism
The scepticism of the legal, financial and insurance professions in social media promotions is diminishing with growing numbers now eagerly engaging with them. The enthusiasm for video has been growing steadily with law firms eager to attract the attentions of their clients and prospects, whilst continuing to look after their most loyal audiences.

There is no question that social media is already packing a powerful punch in other markets. But firms are now joining the surge to compete with these in other markets to embrace this boom in popularity. The choice of social media will depend on the audience you address.

Planning a strategy for this is relatively straightforward and allows firms to connect to mobile phones, social media platforms and websites to present yourself to your target audience, with all considerably cheaper than conventional marketing methods.

Designing a Strategy

When designing a marketing strategy of this sort, it is best to agree a style and approach, which might address factors such as: objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs); audiences; suggested channels; calls to action; and tone of voice.

Such planning would help identify the audience in much more detail and to report on each of these five elements to agree a strategy. This can be followed by a ‘content planning’ to create suitable elements for future campaigns.

In planning a campaign, various types of content can be discussed, including emails, blogs, guest posts in appropriate publications, short videos, long-form videos, polls, graphics, infographics, and images. It's advisable to create a 'Promotional Calendar' for organizing weekly posts and other key messages targeted at both online and offline audiences.

Marketing today focuses more on brand building to promote your firm as a leading expert in the field, positioning it as the go-to provider for specific services. This can involve adopting a three-step approach: firstly, Awareness, which is about introducing your firm and developing brand recognition; secondly, Profiling, which involves supplying more information about your firm and its services; and finally, Conversion, aimed at selling your services, driving enquiries, and quote requests.

The great thing about social media is its algorithms can identify and target specific people, with particular needs, based on certain interests, job roles, pages they like, and their online behaviour. Social media is a really powerful tool, to attract attention to your law firm, while developing greater brand awareness.

With more firms now targeting their audiences with video and social media adverts, these results are all paying off today. The trick is to get organised and plan your campaigns, strategies and persist with them, and not to look back. Video is one element of a broader marketing strategy that can be used on its own, as well as alongside a wider marketing strategy.

Alastair Murray is director at The Bureau