Everyone (and his brother) is touting video as THE marketing tool you MUST use. You have to deliver content using sight and sound and movement. You have to entertain people. Nobody reads anymore. Yada yada yada. . .
Of course it’s true that a well done video is a great way to engage people. Video also allows you to control the staging of your material, so you can deliver it for maximum effect. Millions of youtube views per day demonstrate the public’s appetite for video content.
But there’s a problem with using video in marketing: there are too many of them.
With everyone (and his brother) using videos, with so many coming at me every day, I don’t have time to watch them. So I delete the email or close out the web page. Or I bookmark it to watch later, and we all know that later never comes.
A brilliant video that nobody watches is worthless.
The written word is, and always will be, better than video.
People can skim a written message, and get the gist of it. If they like what they see, they will find the time to read more.
People can print a written message. When it’s in front of them on their (real) desktop, they are more likely to read it.
People can read a written message in their email inbox, without doing anything more than opening it.
And if people read your message, even if it is only mediocre, it will always outperform the brilliant video they do not watch.
I’m not saying ‘don’t use video’ in your marketing. Use it if you can. Audios, too. A lot of people like to listen while they are commuting or at the gym.
But if you don’t also use the written word, you’re missing out on a boatload of people who might be interested but didn’t have the time (or bandwidth) to find out.
David, you raise an excellent point. Yet there are two problems with the viewpoint you pose.
First, you are not your ideal client.
Second, your ideal client is actively searching for information online.
That means that what you look for is not what your ideal client is looking for. That’s a problem that attorneys often make when making pronouncements about what marketing tool or message is right for them.
The reason why video marketing works so well compared to other, less relevant forms of attorney marketing is that typical lawyer marketing messages were based on interruption-based marketing, i.e. TV ads, Radio, etc. While enjoying our lives, these messages interrupted what we were doing.
In contrast, video marketing is search based. People are in search and find mode to learn about their legal problem and who might best be able to help solve their legal problem.
Potential clients who are searching are actively looking for video information. In fact, Pew research confirmed that adults online prefer to watch video 2:1 compared to reading text. That means that 2/3 of all adults online watch video over reading text. That’s significantly different that your anecdotal story you relate about your own viewpoint.
Having said that, it is critical to also have a text-based version of what you’re talking about since the search engines recognize text. They cannot ‘read’ the video file, even though YouTube has a voice recognition program it’s still not 100% accurate.
The key reason why video works well is because a viewer gets to see you, hear you and begins to trust you before they ever meet you. A viewer can never get that same experience simply by reading a text-based message.
The key with any marketing message is to understand what content your viewer wants and needs. If the attorney fails to understand how to target their ideal client and content, it makes no difference what tool or media the attorney uses.
When you look at the available tools an attorney has to market a message today, if you compare video to text, which one is more compelling to THE IDEAL CLIENT? Not to you as a practicing attorney.
That will answer the question about which marketing tools you need to use.
Thanks for a great viewpoint.
Gerry
Founder, Lawyers Video Studio
http://lawyersvideostudio.com
NY Medical Malpractice & Accident Trial Attorney
http://www.Oginski-Law.com
Good points, Gerry.
I wasn’t referring exclusively to search traffic, however. But we agree: A prospective client searching for solutions might find your videos OR your written content, so use both. Give them multiple ways to find you and learn about you.
One thing I’ll add is that some attorneys are better off NOT putting their face on video (or audio). I’m just saying. . .
David
David,
Once again, you raise a very valid point.
However, keep in mind that if an attorney is so worried about how clients and consumers view him BEFORE they walk into his office, what is the client’s perception about them when they actually meet him or her? The attorney must ‘reveal’ himself to the client at some point in the consultation process.
I much prefer to have a viewer get to know an attorney before they ever meet. This way it eliminates surprises and the viewer gets comfortable with who the attorney is, their appearance, their command of their legal specialty and their ability to communicate.
In light of all that, if an attorney is shy, introverted and has physical characteristics that would make most cringe, you might be right…video may not be the best form of advertising for that person.
I don’t think there is any marketing profesional who would argue that you should ignore a certain medium (such as the written word). However, video has been proven in multiple studies to keep people on your site longer and increase conversion over having simply text on your site.
Your point about too many videos out there is well taken. The solution that my company (www.startcut.com) takes is we allow users to upload their video to over 20 sites in 1 click. The fact is many of these sites have way less traffic than lets say YouTube, but because there are alot fewer videos on them your chances of being found are much greater