An introduction to YouTube for law firms

You might think that YouTube is better suited for home-made music videos than attorney videos, but there is a massive potential audience you’d be missing out on. Not only is YouTube the home of professionally produced commercial content, it’s also the second largest search engine next to Google. That means that people aren’t just going to YouTube searching for Gangnam Style or laughing babies, it’s often people’s first stop when searching for anything.

Traffic statistics from YouTube

• 800 million + visitors a month!
• 4 billion + hours of video are seen a month
• 72 hours of video are uploaded every minute
• In 2011, YouTube had over1 trillion views which is about 140 views for every person on Earth

More YouTube stats can be found here.

“Universal” or “blended search results”, appear in the main results pages

There’s also what’s called “blended search results”, referring to search engines producing results including text pages, images, and VIDEOS. When a potential client types into Google, “How do I find a Personal Injury Attorney?”, a video with that title has a five times higher chance than a text page to appear on the first page of results.

Example of search results for a search for “what to do if you get pulled over for drunk driving”

Ultimately, producing online video is all about significantly increasing exposure. Let’s take a hypothetical (yet realistic) scenario- An individual is arrested for drunk driving and needs an attorney. They go to Google and type in “How to beat a DUI charge”. The search results produce several different options and attorneys, one of which has a video specifically addressing the question. The potential client is able to physically see the attorney as well as hear them intelligently answer their question. Not only is it quicker than filtering through a series of text, but a video also makes a more personal connection.

One of our law firm client’s helpful YouTube videos

Let’s say that the individual seeking an attorney didn’t type in a specific question, but rather just searched local results for a lawyer. Google actually shows preferential treatment to sites that regularly produce videos, meaning that you’d have a better chance of showing up at the top of search results for having any sort of relevant video.

Quality content generates quality leads

Video is an essential part of online marketing for attorneys and we have had numerous firms tell us that our videos generated leads that turned into sales and that the client told them specifically that they found them on YouTube/video search results.

Quality INFORMATIVE content combined with professional production produces valuable marketing material versus just a sales pitch. An effective video can result in a quality lead, which in turn bolsters reputation and ultimately feeds back into your overall ranking. An intelligent online marketing strategy is has depth and a variety of parts are required, including online video.