How lawyers can integrate content marketing

The shift to web marketing has placed new meaning on the old adage "content is king." Flashy campaigns don't cut it online – consumers spend more time on websites and also expect content to be more valuable. Whether they are reading blogs, watching videos or analyzing whitepapers, content is one of the most effective strategies for reaching Americans online.

This is particularly the case among lawyers. While most firms leverage 30-second television spots or Yellow Pages listings to garner new clients, the ones going online are also having a tremendous amount of success. Long-form content, such as video testimonials, is key to these lawyers' internet campaigns.

Take, for example, the Chicago law firm Levenfeld Pearlstein. The business' website makes extensive use of video vignettes of lawyers speaking about their professional philosophies and personal viewpoints. As MarketingProfs notes, this effectively humanizes them to their viewers – they are no longer impersonal lawyers, rather, potential clients know what they stand for.

"In one vignette, Steven Bright, a partner in the Banking & Finance Service and the Real Estate & Finance Practice groups, talks about what he was like as a child. In another, Lisa Vandesteeg, an associate in the firm's Litigation, Bankruptcy, and Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Groups, gives a tour of her office," the news source notes, highlighting how engaging video content doesn't even necessarily have to be related to the business.

The firm's 70 lawyers each have their own vignette, with most lasting approximately one minute. An outside production company was leveraged to help make the videos, and in all, approximately $10,000 was spent on shooting and editing the videos. Levenfeld Pearlstein is staggering the release of the videos so the website constantly has fresh content, with the goal of publishing all the vignettes by the end of the year.

The key is they established themselves as people first and lawyers second – consumers are more likely to relate with someone they understand, helping the firm win prospective clients. It seems to be working – according to the firm's web analytics, the video pages are some of the site's most frequented content.

"Video isn't exactly groundbreaking, but the way we used it is," Andrea Crews, the firm's director of marketing and business development, told MarketingProfs. "We saw these videos both as a way to differentiate who we are, and also to start the relationship off right … They're a way to tell our story."

More consumers watching online videos

Using online videos to promote products and services is becoming a more common tactic, especially as consumers are increasing the amount of time the spend watching web clips.

According to a separate report from comScore, more than 181 million Americans viewed at least one online video in September, the equivalent of approximately 85.3 percent of the U.S. internet audience. Similarly, the length of time spent watching online videos is also increasing – in September, the average viewer watched clips for more than 1,167 minutes.

Does your company use online videos to further engage customers? What video strategies have you found the most effective? Do you use public video portals, such as YouTube, or do host all your clips on your own server? 

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