OK so at some point you've becoming convinced that you need to do some video marketing for your law firm.
Congratulations! And welcome to the party.
The next question on your lips is…
what the heck do I do now?
That's where this article comes in.
We're going to go through a simple process to get you started in video marketing.
Step 1 – Set Up Your YouTube Channel
While I recognise that there are a tonne of places to put videos these days, we're in the business of building digital assets around here.
And right at the moment, that means most of what you create should end up on YouTube at some point.
So head over to these handy instructions from Google themselves (duh – I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here) and create yourself a YouTube channel.
We'll deal with channel art, pictures, organising stuff and the like in another article – for now, we're after a quick “getting started” package.
Step 2 – Come Up With a Content Plan
While it's tempting to leap into the fray and just start creating stuff willy nilly (and I confess I've done this before… often) the chances are good that you're going to run out of ideas fairly quickly.
So you could go through the detailed process, or for now just start with the obvious method:
- who is your ideal client (some people call this an “avatar”)?
- what are their top 20 questions?
Congratulations – you now have 20 topics to do videos on.
Step 3 – Get Some Gear
It's true that you could simply record everything on your phone and you'd probably be fine, but there are a few small acquisitions you could make which will make your life a lot easier.
I'm going to assume here that you're recording video inside your office, rather than out and about.
So picture this: you're sitting still, at a desk, and want to record a video – what do you need?
First – Something to Record With
This is probably your phone. Use the back camera, not the selfie-camera (it's almost always a better image).
Next – A Tripod and an Adapter
Getting a tripod is going to make your life about a bajillion percent easier. Something small that can lie in a draw until you need it is ideal.
If you're intending on vlogging at some point you might get a Joby GorillaPod, but it can be annoying to set up straight on your desk.
That being the case, grap a Manfrotto Pixi of some kind (there are a few) because it's a well built, solid and small tripod.
Unless you have a camera, you'll need an attachment to hold your phone properly. Just to future proof yourself a little, get an attachment that can hold a “universal cold shoe” mount on top of it, in case you decide to invest in a light or microphone later. This will allow you to attach many things above your phone, but lights and mics are the most common.
For attachments that meet the criteria, that usually means:
- the Manfrotto twist-n-grip (this is what I use)
- the Joby Grip-Tight Pro 2
Nearly There… Get a Mic
While you probably won't need professional lights just yet, getting a microphone can offer a significant help – especially if your phone is going to be more than a metre or so away from you (the echo becomes a real problem).
First – test a recording and see how it sounds on your native phone microphone. If it's good, then it's good. The closer the mic, the better result you'll get.
If it's not good or you're unhappy with it, grab a Rode VideoMicro – it's a nice quality directional shotgun style mic for phones. You might need to get an SC7 adapter (also sold by Rode) but it's worth it.
If you don't want that, just remember to get something that has low noise, directional sound, and good pickup. Things that pick up a bunch of noise from all directions won't be good for most video marketing that lawyers do – it'll just get too noisy.
Option – Editing Software
If you're just going to record something and then post it everywhere – this isn't necessary.
But if you want to edit your video, even just a little bit, you're going to need some software.
If you're on a PC or Mac, then you can look at Camtasia or Screenflow as easy options. They are affordable and simple to use.
If you want to edit on your phone, then consider Filmora Go, KineMaster and PowerDirector. These will give you some good tools to get going with. Each has their pros and cons (I have them all, if you're wondering), so find the one that works best for you.
The thing that won't be good on any of these is audio control – so capturing good audio is essential, and you should assume you can't edit it much.
If you just like spending money then you can get Adobe Premiere Pro – this is what I use for many things, but for most people it's unnecessary.
Step 4 – Do It
This is where most people fall down. Even if they've been through the previous steps.
Here's what I suggest:
- take your first question from Step 2 and record 15 videos about it.
- delete those videos
- record one more
- post it to YouTube.
Then you're off 🙂
The first 15 help you get used to hearing and seeing yourself (it always feels awkward), and to shed a few of the jitters the generally come up with recording video.
The next 1 is to test your mettle. Record something, post it, share it. Then do it again.
The barriers to video production now are so low, that if your law firm isn't getting in to video marketing in a serious way then you're going to ultimately lose out to those that do.
It's time to start.
