Are Your Law Firm Videos Really Helping?

Many lawyers are frustrated actors, but that doesn't mean they should be making movies.

After all, how many people actually want to watch a lawyer video? According to a new report, not that many.

The good new is, however, the numbers explain what consumers really want from attorney videos. And it's not special effects.

Please Explain

Jason Bland, a legal marketing leader, studied 53 law firm websites with 3,000 visitors per site. He reported his results in Forbes, dividing videos into commercial, testimonial and explanation types. And the Oscar went to ... "Explanation."

"This is a video where an attorney is explaining a topic like what should be included in a will or what happens if my case goes to trial," Bland said.

In other words, it's not the commercial quality, high tech, testimonial-laden films that people want to see from lawyers. It's the matter-of-fact, "please help me understand" videos they like most.

"I cannot deny the fact that you like me!" as Sally Fields put it. "You like me!"

60,000 and Counting

Despite low ratings for most lawyer videos, one firm in the Forbes' sampling had 60,000 visitors to its website and 1,800 viewers who watched some portion of its videos. Bland said it suggests lawyer videos should "focus on creating short one- to two-minute clips that answer your prospective clients' questions."

Of course, there is more than one way to make a law firm video. They run better -- and often get more traffic -- on third-party websites like YouTube and Facebook.

And some lawyers have successfully thrown out traditional movie-making -- a kind of "cinema nouveau." The Texas Law Hawk, for example, has almost two million views for one of his YouTube commercials.

Want information on effective advertising? Let the experts at FindLaw's Lawyer Marketing give you a hand.

Related Resources:

• How to Use Live Video in Your Legal Marketing (FindLaw's Strategist)
• Maniacal Marketing: More Bad Lawyer Commercials (FindLaw's Strategist)
• What to Do When Your Judge Is a Creep (FindLaw's Strategist)