Andrew Stickel

Should Lawyers Add Animated Intros To Their Videos

The question:

I will be making videos to embed on my website, using my iPhone camera. Do you recommend any software for editing, for example to place a nice animation in the beginning? Or do you recommend any services that will provide this?

My answer:

Why I don’t recommend using animated intros

I would recommend not using an animation at the beginning of the video. Maybe at the end of the video if you want to, but I don’t like it because you have to remember that people’s attention span is extremely short. You got like half a second to get their attention.

And these animations are five to six seconds long, and five or six seconds may not be a long time. But it is an eternity when somebody is deciding, should I watch this video or should I just move on to the next thing.

I don’t use any animations at the beginning of my videos, although I used to, briefly. If you look at my old videos, maybe the first three or four videos I ever did, you’ll see that I had animations on there. But when I go back and try to watch those videos again, I just skip past the animation.

I don’t recommend having animations at the beginning of the videos. If you’re dead set on this then go to fiverr.com and just search for video animation. There are a ton of them on there and you can get some of those.

Editing software options

If you want software to edit yourself I don’t really know any for a PC. For a Mac, I know very basic software that you can use. What’s the one that comes with the Mac… Movie Maker?

I’m looking at my computer right now. I use Final Cut Pro. It’s like the dumbed-down version of Final Cut Pro. I’m drawing a blank though. If anybody knows what it is tell me in the comments. iMovie, that’s what it is.

If you’re trying to do some very basic video editing, you can use iMovie. I use Final Cut Pro which I think is only like $300. It’s not that expensive but it’s a really good software. Or you can use Premiere Pro if you’re on a PC. Actually Premier Pro works on PC or Mac. Final Cut Pro only works on Mac.

The Best Website Page Your Law Firm’s Listings Should Link To

Can Lawyers Get Clients From Live Events and Trade Shows

The question:

What do you think about setting up a booth at a trade show or an event? How can I get clients from the table to my sales funnel?

My answer:

I think the trade shows and events are good. But a lot of law firms set up an event and have some sort of signage with them. They’ll have a big banner with basically just the name of the law firm.

The biggest mistake law firms make at tradeshows

It just says, “Mike Smith, Law Firm,” and it doesn’t really say what the firm actually does. And it’s not just lawyers. Businesses do this all the time. They basically just display their branding.

There are things that work a lot better than that for getting attention at an event. That’s because nobody really cares about your branding. Your branding is not going to help you that much.

What to do instead

Instead, you can put in really big, bold letters what you help people do. I don’t know the type of law firm you have. But if you’re an estate planning attorney, you could say, “I help families have peace of mind if the worst should happen.”

Or if you’re a bankruptcy attorney, you can say, “Eliminate your debt and get peace of mind, and buy a house within seven years. I can help you do that.”

These aren’t really great examples but they’re something that people are actually going to look at and they’re going to think, “Oh wow! That’s something that I definitely want. I can see the benefit.”

What I would do at events

If I was to go to a law firm marketing event with a table, I wouldn’t put Social Firestarter on my signs, which is the name of my agency. I wouldn’t put that really big in the background. Instead I would do the same thing I always do.

I’d use my standard line, which is, “I can help you get more law firm clients,” or, “I can help your law firm get more clients without wasting any more time, money, or energy, and without getting screwed by a marketing company.”

What you should do to get better results

If you go to a live event, a trade show, or something like that, make sure that your signage just talks about the benefit to the actual consumer, the actual potential client. Do that rather than advertising yourself, your branding, or your firm.

That’s going to get you a lot more people to start conversations with you. And it’s probably going to get you a lot more clients as well.

This is a subject that comes up often. People will ask me if buying reviews is okay, adding that they know someone who they are sure does this.

The Black Hat SEO, White Hat SEO Debate

When I began, I wanted to do everything 100% white hat SEO. I wanted to stay well across any line of question and clearly away from Google radar. As I grew in the industry and my relationships grew in the industry, people I knew and respected pointed something out to me.  You can always be 100% right and you will be 100% beaten by those who bend or break the rules. In my eight years of business. I can report, this is absolutely true.

What Can You Do?

A lot of people ask if they should report these “people” they know to Google.  I will tell you point-blank, I would not report them. I have never reported them and it is not my plan. So, yes you can. But I don’t advise it. That is their decision and it is between them and Google.

What I do advise is that you get more reviews for yourself.

Ways To Get More Reviews For Yourself

• Incentive reviews

I like to offer my clients or future clients an incentive in exchange for their review. Sometimes I will offer them a gift card, or a card for dinner at a popular restaurant, or some other gift for their time. This is what I call walking in the gray area. It allows me to compete without crossing the line.

• Colleague reviews

Your people do not have to be a current client to leave a review. Here are a few examples of colleague reviews:

“If I ever get arrested for DUI, Bob Johnson would be the first attorney I would call. Bob is a great guy and a hard worker. I know he would get the job done.”

“Brenda Greene handled my co-worker’s personal injury case. If I ever need an attorney, I will hire her.”

These are quality reviews and they are perfectly legal.

This Is A Case Of Quantity Over Quality

This may be the only case you will see where quantity takes the prize over quality. You may have 20 reviews on your site. Perhaps only 2 of these reviews are pulling in 4.2 stars, It doesn’t matter. The fact that you have 20 reviews gets you the calls you need.  Think of it this way. The last time you were shopping on Amazon and were narrowing down your search did you look down at the search numbers? Sure you did. Now if one seller had 20 reviews and the other only had 3, you probably went straight to the one with 20, right? Of course. You probably assumed if they sold enough of them that 20 people took time to write, they are the ones. I doubt you stopped to read the 20 reviews. This is something I have been saying for 10-years and recently, Search Engine Journal has published a report saying the same thing.

I don’t encourage anyone to go crazy breaking rules and doing anything they want to. But sometimes you have to skate close to the line if you are to compete with those who do. You have to be smart and understand the rules in order to navigate SEO waters.