Every start of a new year for the last 6, there has been the prediction that this year is the year of video! Well, we think it now is!
The question of whether or not your law firm should do videos yourselves needs to be predicated on the question, “can” you do videos.
What’s the Difference Between Should and Can?
Most law firms probably concede that they should do videos, but the “can” part is the sticky point. Sure, some firms will say, “sure we can, we’ll use the iPhone, or buy a camera and away we go.” However, it doesn’t really address the “can” as we see it.
Can your law firm do videos has a couple of counterparts to it? One relates to technology and the other relates to the people. Both can let you down.
What Do You Mean?
Let’s get a few things straight! Your law firm’s design, marketing and technology derive from your brand. We bang the drum on all this here!
In the context of video, if your brand is accurately positioned, then you don’t want to do anything that is inconsistent with that positioning. When we work with law firms on brand, we use what we call brand archetypes to anchor the firm. With this in mind, when it comes to video production, firms can make the mistake of thinking it’s a good idea and jumping to it, without consideration of their brand.
Let us explain a little more! If Virgin was to release a video on April 1 that was full of dancing cats (not that we’ve ever seen dancing cats) but you know what we mean, that would be acceptable within the context of the Virgin brand. In contrast, if Emirates released the video, there would likely be an outcry…a disconnect, with viewers, thinking…WTF.
It’s a crude example of brand archetypes in practice but it’s a good example of the importance of staying true to your firm’s brand personality. Most firms don’t really have a clue of the importance of archetypes and brand personality, but those who do, are usually significantly more successful and scale accordingly.
So, getting to the point! Videos that are inconsistent with your brand are dangerous. Videos that are with the wrong people are dangerous. Both of these can lose your firm business then win it. Similarly the case with technology, if your firm is a hip, funky, conveyancing practice and you’re the “virgin” or in brand archetype speak, “the jester” in your industry, then videos of your lawyers out in the suburban streets vlogging about what you need to know about building and pest inspections may be a good fit.
Accordingly, the “can” part of the question is anchored in brand and people.
What About the Technology Piece?
Again it depends upon how your firm is positioned or how you want it to be positioned. Cheap and cheerful, then you might be able to do it yourself. But, use a good camera and good external sound recorder) If you want to be taken seriously, then work with an agency that really gets your brand and will respect your style guide and design collateral to date and won’t tug at it in the wrong direction.
Can Fast Firms Help?
Sure! We can work with your law firm on understanding your brand, its positioning, the planning, test the talent, do the video production, the hosting, the analytics and integrate it anywhere that you like (website, socials etc)
You Can Easily Schedule a Call With Us Right Here
What are Some Example Videos You Have Done?
Here is a couple of example videos that fit the archetype of each specific brand.