For most people, YouTube is an accessible resource for educational information and entertainment. You don't need a paid subscription or an account to enjoy this content, which is a huge draw for potential leads.
Since 73% of Americans use YouTube, your firm has a prime opportunity to connect with more people. You'll have the chance to pull in more leads than if you stuck to one marketing channel.
But getting started on YouTube and tapping into those leads can be hard for attorneys.
Lawyers who want to use YouTube to market their firm can take inspiration from other successful lawyers. We will show you what you can learn from them and how to stand out in the process.
The Challenges of YouTube Marketing
YouTube is a rapidly expanding platform with a massive reach. Many businesses have realized that it's a great way to get in front of their audiences. This means new YouTubers face competition and challenges when they enter this space.
One challenge is standing out from businesses that want the same clients. To overcome this, you need to know your audience and how you'll reach them. The channels that understand their audience best are the ones that win.
Another challenge is adapting to an algorithm that changes frequently. When algorithms change, people may have a harder time finding your videos. You can't predict the future, but you can be flexible and keep an eye out for shifts. That way, you can adjust for algorithm changes when they happen.
Another challenge is taking inspiration from creators while respecting ethical restrictions. Creators in other industries may have more freedom to self-promote than attorneys. Lawyers can't always do what other channels do to attract followers.
You can overcome this by understanding your bar association's marketing ethics standards. In many cases, this involves avoiding misleading statements or coming off as soliciting.
Understanding these challenges will help you plan your YouTube content campaign. Once you've created an account, you're ready to get started on the next steps.
Setting Up Your YouTube Channel and Brand Guidelines
After creating an account, you can begin customizing it to fit your firm's branding. When starting out, the most important element of branding is keeping things consistent.
Great legal YouTube channels match the style of your website and any social channels you use.
When setting up your YouTube channel, it's best to fill out certain details and have some assets ready to go. Here's an example from one of the best YouTube lawyers, Legal Eagle:
A good YouTube channel should have the following:
- A channel name
- A channel logo
- A cover photo
- A channel trailer
- An "About" section and links to any social media accounts
- Consistent video thumbnails
Legal Eagle's video thumbnails are a bit over the top, but they are consistent. He aims his videos at a broad audience so they follow common YouTube trends. If this is inconsistent with your brand, you could go with something a little more muted.
Finding Your Target Audience
Solving your target audience's problems is the foundation of successful YouTube marketing. When you understand your audience, you can make better content.
What are your ideal clients looking for in a YouTube video? How can you speak to them on a personal level? Potential clients will have common factors that make them easier to target. Putting these details together is sometimes referred to as building a persona.
The field of personal injury is unique because your persona is broader than other industries. Anyone who is recovering from an accident counts as a potential client. You can narrow down your ideal client with details such as location or demographic.
If you're already using legal content marketing, you may already know who your target audience is. If not, one way to learn about ideal clients is by researching their goals and frustrations. You might do this by talking to your past clients or through social listening.
For example, a personal injury lawyer might aim to get more car accident claims. To do this, they could focus their channel entirely on the ins and outs of accident injury claims. They can research what their audience wants to see, whether they should focus on long videos or YouTube Shorts.
Check out JZHelps as an example of matching content to a target audience. This Florida injury firm focuses on long videos that break down common PI questions. They address anxieties about personal injury cases, such as filing paperwork or scams.
Getting the Right Equipment for the Job
Getting a bunch of equipment to start a new channel may seem like a hassle. The good news is that quality equipment is easy to come by and affordable.
After you create your YouTube account, look for a high-quality camera. This camera should have autofocus and image stabilization features to save you work.
If you want to save money, you can use your phone camera. Both Android phones and iPhones have advanced cameras that deliver high-quality video.
Even the best camera will struggle if your lighting is poor. Make sure to film in well-lit interiors such as your firm or home office. You could also buy a lamp to help frame your face during filming.
Good audio is a must for a successful YouTube account. A recent study found that poor audio makes you sound less intelligent.
Simply buying a high-quality microphone isn't enough. You also need to reduce surrounding noise and position your mic close to you.
Finally, you'll need a way to edit your footage. Video editing software comes in the form of freeware or paid versions. DaVinci Resolve is a free video program compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac. If you want a more user-friendly tool, consider Adobe Premiere. This software is industry-standard and is easy to use for simple or complex projects.
Generating Topics For a Variety of Video Content
Your target audience regularly encounters new hurdles or new questions. When you regularly generate ideas, you give them a fresh stream of solutions. The key challenge is finding appropriate topics to explore.
Once you have your ideal clients in mind, what will you talk about?
The occasional YouTube short won't satisfy your potential clients' needs. You need to offer a variety of video content that lines up with the content marketing funnel. YouTube is great for top of funnel and middle of funnel marketing.
Top-of-funnel marketing raises awareness about your services. YouTube shorts and videos with broad appeal are a few examples of this type.
Middle-of-funnel marketing helps you reach people who need legal help. How-to videos or breakdowns of complex legal questions are perfect here.
When you're looking for topics, you have three solid options:
- Social listening
- Your current and former clients
- Keyword research
Your potential clients are often active online in one way or another. Following their activity gives you insight into what they watch and why. Studying their behavior is known as social listening. You can keep an ear to the ground by following hashtags or forums. You can also reach out to previous clients to ask about their experience.
Feedback from your clients could provide useful ideas for educational YouTube videos. Ask previous clients what they enjoyed about working with you. Ask them if they had any questions or frustrations during their case process. Then turn that feedback into video topics.
Just like with SEO for Lawyers, keyword research on YouTube tells you what people are looking for. This helps you find the topics people are searching for most often in your industry. Tools like Ahrefs Keyword Explorer help speed up this process.
But keyword research can be challenging if you've never done it before. Getting help from a law firm marketing expert will save you time and energy.
Once you have some topic ideas, you can match them to different types of videos. This will help you reach potential clients more effectively. Below we'll help you choose the most appropriate video formats for your topics.
Long-Form Videos to Break Down Complex Topics
The legal industry is notoriously complex. Using videos to break down complex topics will be a welcome addition to your channel. One study found one-third of Internet users look up a how-to video every week. Your firm has a prime opportunity to find people at the best possible time.
Educating your audience increases your chances of qualified leads. After all, a lead who knows you can solve their problem is more likely to sign up with you.
You also generate trust by offering free, helpful content. YouTube has its own process for gauging how helpful your work is, similar to other search engines. This analysis follows a philosophy called EAT — Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Demonstrating expertise and authoritativeness build trust, a huge factor in working with you.
An example of this in action is real estate lawyer Tiffany Webber. Her videos break down complex real estate topics for buyers, sellers, and real estate pros.
Tiffany demonstrates expertise in her field with these 5 to 10-minute videos. By breaking down each topic, she can get in front of potential clients who need her help the most.
YouTube Shorts to Capture Short Attention Spans
The average attention span is just two and a half minutes. Just look at the popularity of TikTok to see this fact in motion. Will your firm be able to educate or entertain in that amount of time?
YouTube has a great feature for capturing short attention spans—YouTube shorts. With a maximum length of 60 seconds, these videos force you to trim the fat. This helps you catch the eye of people with short attention spans.
For example, Frekhtman & Associates is a law firm with a channel called Injury Justice. They create shorts targeting topics in personal injury to keep their audience informed:
You can create original short videos or repurpose content from your longer videos. For example, you can turn an eight-minute video on elder abuse into sixty-second shorts.
Redistribute a Podcast Using YouTube to expand Your Reach
Do you already host a podcast? Consider uploading it onto YouTube to expand your audience reach further.
Reuploading your podcast to YouTube can make your content accessible. People who love podcasts may discover you and subscribe. Potential clients who prefer all content in one place will appreciate the convenience. You can also appeal to clients who don't want to watch a video and just listen instead.
Livestreams or Q&A Sessions to Interact with Potential Clients
Trust in the legal industry is difficult to gain due to legal jargon. YouTube makes it easier to generate leads with livestreams or interactive Q&As.
You'll have an easier time building trust when clients can talk with you directly. Livestreams and Q&As combine educational content with talking to people in real time.
For example, Consumer Warrior is an attorney that hosts livestreams to answer questions. This livestream focuses on debt-related topics that anyone can ask about:
Livestreams can be anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. You can then repurpose these videos into shorts or a video series.
Video Testimonials From Former Clients to Build Trust
A real person speaking to a camera feels more impactful than a photo or written message. Potential clients will easily relate to someone sitting and sharing their experience.
Most people on YouTube won't go out of their way to find your testimonials, but you may want them on your channel. Potential clients who are deeper in your funnel may look for these to decide if they want to hire you.
Getting Mileage Out of Your YouTube Marketing
You won't get subscribers overnight, but you can get mileage out of YouTube right away. You can use the marketing channels you already own to redistribute video content.
For starters, you can embed YouTube videos in your blog posts. When someone doesn't feel like reading the entire piece, you keep their attention with a video.
You can embed YouTube videos in an email newsletter. These videos can be the focus of the letter or a bonus.
Redistributing videos on social media is a reliable tactic for getting mileage out of them. Some video types perform better on certain platforms. For example, Twitter and Facebook are both great environments for short-form videos. Long videos are better suited for your blog.
Now’s a Great Time to Use YouTube Marketing
YouTube won't be going away as one of the most used video platforms anytime soon. Now's a great time to start using it as a way to help your clients and stand out amid the competition.
YouTube marketing campaigns work alongside your existing marketing channels. Using video addresses your client's appetite for high-quality video content. Likewise, you enjoy the benefits of happier and more informed clients for your firm.
We're ready to help you with your marketing campaign. For ten years, we've helped law firms stay competitive with SEO, video marketing, and more. Contact us today for a consultation so you can start bringing in more clients.
