“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Yeah, right. People judge, including your potential clients. You have to impress them with all that you’ve got. Your website has to be killer, including the design and content. Your book or free offer has to be enticing. And your videos and YouTube Channel have to knock their socks off.
Web video is a proven way to get more contacts. Videos are a must-have marketing tool on any law firm’s website. If you’re already creating videos for your website, then it’s a natural next step to syndicate your videos on YouTube. We already made the move to host all our web videos on YouTube—it was an obvious choice that gives us loads of options to attract viewers!
The great news is that uploading videos and creating your own YouTube Channel (where your videos will be showcased), is FREE. Below, you’ll get an introduction to everything you need to know to succeed on the most popular video-sharing site in the world.
How Does YouTube Rank Videos?
Just like its parent company, Google, YouTube is a search engine. Your video rankings will suffer if you don’t follow the rules or don’t take advantage of optimization options—and that means fewer people will see your videos.
YouTube takes a lot of factors into account when ranking your video, including:
- Your video titles, tags, descriptions, and keywords
- Any annotations that have been attached to your video
- How viewers have rated your video
- The number of times your video has been viewed
- The number of views and subscribers on your YouTube Channel
- How many times your video has been shared or embedded
- How long ago your video was uploaded
- The quality of your video
- If your video has been flagged for violations or review
- The comments and responses that your video receives
Don’t get too stressed out about your YouTube video rankings, though. Just like the content on your website, it’s possible to over optimize your videos. Ultimately, YouTube just wants to connect users with videos that are relevant and high quality. If you’re already producing relevant, high-quality videos for your perfect clients, then you’re already most of the way there.
What Attracts People to YouTube Videos?
If you want to get the most out of your videos, you should approach YouTube with a strategy to attract the viewers you most want. Simply uploading videos and hoping the right people stumble onto them is not enough. Instead, you should be thinking through:
- The intended viewers of your videos. Just like everything else in your marketing strategy, a successful YouTube strategy starts with your “perfect clients.” Who do you want to attract with your video? Who are the perfect viewers for your video? Why are you trying to attract them to your law firm?
- The needs of your target audience. Why is your perfect viewer looking for videos on YouTube? What are they looking for? A lot of attorneys make the mistake of shooting videos that are only about themselves and why their firms are so great. Truthfully, though, most viewers aren’t interested in that (at least not immediately). Your videos should be compelling, helpful, and focused on what your perfect viewers want to see.
- Questions your prospects will want answered. Lots of people type their questions right into YouTube’s search bar, so make videos that answer those questions. What are the most common questions you hear from clients? What are your clients afraid to ask in person? What do your clients need to know?
- How you will set yourself apart from your competitors. A lot of attorneys have figured out that YouTube is a great place to reach out to leads and drive more interest from prospects. What will make your videos stand out? Why will people watch your video instead of a competitor’s video? How does the quality of your video and sound compare to others? Remember that the key here is to hit the right notes for your perfect viewers while delivering something that looks professional and offers value.
Your YouTube Channel is another opportunity to build your brand and build bridges with potential clients, so you need to create videos that do just that. The more you are able to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of your viewers, the better your videos will perform.
How Do I Get More Views and Subscribers on YouTube?
Uploading videos and building a successful YouTube Channel establishes you as an authority in your field, increases your reach, and can ultimately get you more and better cases. To be wildly successful on YouTube, though, you need to start building up the number of people that interact with your brand. That’s not always easy when you’re starting from zero.
Need some tips? Here are some great ways to bring in more viewers and subscribers on YouTube:
- Make sure everything is optimized. YouTube gives you lots of options for customizing and optimizing your videos and Channels, and there’s a lot you can do on your own. For example, make sure your video has a strong title and description, and naturally include relevant keywords. Create calls to action that encourage people to subscribe to your channel, call your office, or visit your website. There’s a lot to learn here, so give us a call at 888.886.0939 if you need a little guidance on optimizing your videos.
- Get active on YouTube. If you want people to watch and comment on your videos, you have to do the same. Being active in the YouTube community is a great way to get more video views and more subscribers—and it’s a way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry. Comment on relevant videos and reply to comments left on your videos. Subscribe to relevant YouTube channels. Make friends and start conversations—YouTube gives you tons of ways to connect!
- Promote your videos. Don’t just post your video on YouTube and call that good. Videos are made to be shared! Embed your videos in relevant pages of your website. Create a video library on your site and make videos that accentuate the written content you already have. Tweet about your video and post it on Facebook. Pin it on Pinterest. Post your video along with a great teaser or question to get people interested. Add a YouTube subscribe widget to your blog and website, and ask your followers on other social networks to subscribe to your Channel.
- Post new material consistently. Keep your YouTube Channel alive by posting new videos often. Your videos should always be helpful, relevant, and “snackable.” Don’t use YouTube to refurbish old, outdated videos—it’s usually a waste of your time. While loading some previously used content, such as television commercials, is okay, you also need to upload new and relevant content continuously.
- Never forget quality. You can promote your online videos using all the above steps and not achieve success. If your videos aren’t helpful, if they don’t answer questions, or if they have a poor production value, no amount of marketing will help you get views and subscribers. Start with a great video, and all your other efforts will be made easier.
Remember that creating a successful YouTube presence for your business takes a little time. Be patient and try not to get frustrated. Keep promoting your videos, creating new videos, and trying to get useful information to your potential clients, and you will begin to see results.
Want to produce awesome videos for your website and YouTube? We make it easy to do, from start to finish. Our seasoned video crew will come to you to create and shoot your videos, then our team edits and optimizes your videos to attract the right kind of attention online. We can even guide you through promoting your videos and developing a stronger video strategy.
Ready to get started? Learn more about our on-site video shoots.
Are You Considering Adding Customized, High Quality Videos To Your Legal Or Medical Website? You Should Be!
In today's fast-paced, highly technical online world, if you're not using unique, customized video to attract new leads and clients you're definitely missing a key component to your marketing strategy. Foster Web Marketing is here to help! Please contact us online or call our office directly at 888.886.0939 to schedule your free consultation with our experienced marketing team. We have been helping clients throughout the United States and internationally since 1998 and are confident we can help you not only reach, but exceed your goals.