Legal Marketing Video @ Fields and Dennis

This week we shot a legal marketing video at Fields and Dennis, a family law and estate planning firm. This was another example of our quick and easy  production approach like our work here. We shot a short one minute video in just a couple hours at the firm’s offices.

First impressions are everything in marketing, so it’s important to introduce yourself on your website. A short video gives a friendly face to your company, introduces visitors to your services and indicates that you take what you do seriously enough to invest in a video production. More and more companies are creating video content, and it is quickly becoming a standard marketing tool. If you make a short and sweet video it will entice viewers to read more about what you do and ultimately contact you.

The client had prepared a short script, but when we shot it, the video was about 2 minutes long. Over the course of several takes we worked with the client to cut the video down to one minute. That’s the perfect length for a quick introduction. We like to call these short marketing pieces Videomercials.

Check out other examples of Videomercials on SVG’s portfolio page. Here are a few more reasons you might want to invest in a Videomercial for your company.

James Brady and Associates

Last week we shot a short marketing video for James Brady & Associates, a Walpole law firm. Skillman Video Group is carving out a nice list of legal clients.

One of the challenges of shooting legal marketing videos is avoiding the typical, clichéd lawyer voice you hear in commercials. James Brady wanted to present a friendlier, more approachable face and avoid the histrionic, pushy approach seen in those  scary black-and-white commercials on daytime TV. Mr. Brady is naturally a friendly guy, so we didn’t have to coach him. We only needed a few takes and a couple hours to set up, shoot, and wrap out.

While shooting we discovered that there was a lot James wanted to talk about, but it didn’t fit into a short 1-minute marketing video. This videos might be the perfect opportunity for Skillman Video Group to produce a series of longer legal marketing videos I talked about here.

Marketing Your Law Firm with Professional Video

There are many different applications for video on law firm websites and Skillman Video Group can assist you in creating the right content for any of your needs.  As most clients seeking counsel are sensitive towards the issues facing them, a video introducing the actual lawyers that would be helping them through their difficulties could be the deciding factor in them choosing your firm over its competitors.  Clients seek attorneys who they feel they can trust, and it is much easier to develop a sense of assurance from a video than a picture with accompanying text alone.

Another great way to showcase your firm is to create a video of an associate addressing the audience at an event or conference.  Displaying someone speaking to an audience demonstrates their expertise and can make your company appear larger, broader, and more real to an internet viewer.  It can position your firm as a leader in your area and convince prospective clients that your firm has the knowledge and experience to handle their needs.

Please contact Skillman Video Group today to learn more how tools for allowing video to help market your business or firm!

Online Marketing Videos

At Skillman Video Group we believe, when used correctly, online marketing videos are of the most successful and cost effective way to market your company on-line. We will soon be releasing a case study on our new service, Social Video Marketing. Social Video Marketing combines the use of high quality video marketing with Internet marketing technology to convert web visitors into new leads.  As we have mentioned before, Internet Marketing works in two ways.  1) getting people to first come to your site through SEO and social media and then 2) once on your site, the content must be engaging enough to compel the casual visitors into a valuable lead.  This is what we call at Skillman Video Group the “video conversion point” .  Combining the power of the video medium with the power of the Internet gets our clients the best return on investment possible!   We focus not just on producing the highest quality video, but also  on the importance of routing as many viewers as possible to that video thereby expanding your presence in the marketplace. By using the right keywords and tags, we make sure your videos can be found on the web. Also, by incorporating a  blog posts and web announcements on your site, you can keep your content fresh and Google relevant.

We started implementing these techniques ourselves in October 2009. Google ranks website traffic and searches on a scale of zero to ten, with nines and tens being the Facebooks of the world. When our new site launched in October 2009, our website was ranked a zero by Google. Our old html site was static and we weren’t generating leads from the web. In October 2009 we started an agressive Internet marketing plan using the services outlined in our soon to be published Case Study.  By the time our case study had concluded, we were coming up as #1 in 9 targeted key words.  Within 6 months of us launching our new program, our paged jumped to a number four ranking on Google, a very impressive feat for a company of our size. The results of this online marketing effort is that our traffic is up, our content is fresh, and it’s helping our business grow. For example, our recent blog post on Video Legal Depositions was the direct source for Duane Morris LLP locating our services (please read about that job below) though a Google search and booking us just a day later. Our Social Video Marketing program is the most efficient way to market on the web. Our online efficiency techniques direct maximum traffic to your site, and our quality videos tell your story in the most effective and dynamic way possible. Call us today about your Online Marketing Video!

The Importance of Closed Captioning in Professional Video Production

Skillman Video Group offers closed captioning services for both DVD and web based video formats.    Closed Captioning is a term describing several systems developed to display text on a television or computer/video screen to provide  interpretive information to viewers who wish to access it. Closed captions typically display a transcription of the audio portion of a program or video as it occurs, and can include non-speech elements such as music or background noise.

A lot of times we get asked what the difference is between “closed captioning” and “subtitles”.  The term “closed” in closed captioning indicates that not all viewers see the captions—only those who choose to decode or activate them (usually through your TV).    “Subtitles” assume the viewer can hear but cannot understand the language, accent, or  that the speech is not entirely clear, so they only transcribe dialogue and some on-screen text. “Captions” aim to describe to the hearing-impaired all significant audio content—spoken dialogue and non-speech information such as the identity of speakers and, occasionally, their manner of speaking—often along with music or sound effects.

However, the benefits of closed captioning extend far beyond the deaf or hard of hearing community. As time goes by, the general population is beginning to recognize its other useful applications.  For example, it is not uncommon to see closed captioned programming in noisy public environments such as airports, public lobbies, and sports bars.  It has also been said that Closed Captioning can aid those who are trying to learn English as their second language.

Closed Captioning is a great and very affordable “add on” for many of your live event, marketing or corporate video productions.  The power of video is that you audience can see AND hear what is being spoken.   For what equals out to be just a few dollars per minute, you would be widening the audience for your marketing, training, testimonial or social media video to include those who are hearing impaired.   Captioning is a service that betters our community and enhances the teaching power of media.  Contact Skillman Video Group today to see what we can do for your video production with our transcription, closed captioning and subtitling services today!

Using Video for Legal Marketing with Law Firms

Skillman Video Group has had the privilege of working with businesses and organizations of all shapes, sizes and industries. As we start editing the footage from our shoot last week with the Boston personal injury law firm  Parker | Scheer LLP, I thought I’d take a few minutes to talk about how law firms can use on-line video for legal marketing and to promote their expertise and grow their client base.

1. What is different about your Law Firm that you would want potential clients or the general public to know about? How do you provide better service to your clients from your competitors? Video is a simple yet powerful tool to communicate what you do, how you do it, and why businesses and/or consumers should come to you first. Let people see your passion and commitment to getting results first hand!

2. What is your expertise or practice area? Video is a great way for potential clients to see and hear what it is that you do and why YOU are the most qualified to help them with their legal needs.  If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, how much MORE is a moving/talking picture worth?  Don’t just rely on stale words on a page to communicate your qualifications!  The power of the visual medium to entertain, educate and persuade your viewers is unmeasurable.  When done properly, video can help you build trust and rapport with prospective clients – before they even pick up the phone!

3.  Who are your clients?  What are the unique challenges or obstacles they face on a daily basis?  Understanding what will resonate with your viewers will help us craft on on-line marketing strategy that will get you the legal marketing results you desire.  Working collaboratively we will create a video that is clear, concise, professional and one that will grab viewers and turn them into clients!