Over 15 million people in the UK watch 200 million videos daily. ComScore Video Metrix, January 2011 and we know that in 2009 1.4 million out of 3.4 million UK small business owners visit an online video site each month and are 32% more likely to visit an online video site than the average user. TGI Net
These statistics are available on Google's random stats pages and demonstrate how media can help you reach your audience online. As lawyers we can easily find content for our promotional marketing efforts and so we use educational marketing regularly as a means of reaching our audience. Most often we rely on ‘free seminars’ to reach the audience but if they are going online to YouTube in their droves then video blogging will be the next big thing for lawyers.
While surfing for resources on this topic I came across Trey Ryder who is a US based legal marketer. He focuses on ‘education based marketing' for lawyers so I thought it worth passing on the fact that he offers a free guide to help lawyers avoid some fatal mistakes.
Trey says “My marketing method is dignified, efficient and effective because it gives your prospective clients what they want,information and advice, and removes what they don’t want, a sales pitch."
I think we would all agree with that sentiment and my blog marketing for lawyers has lots of articles that help lawyers to market their practice in a way that helps their clients buy from them, rather than selling to them.
Your prospects are much more likely to give you air time if you offer to help them solve a problem or help them deal with a situation for free and if you do this by teaching them something new then they will appreciate it and the relationship starts to build. As relationships are key to sales, you can see where this is going.
As lawyers we are comfortable with this legal marketing technique so it's just a case of finding new ways to educate our prospects without charging them for the privilege.
Happily, the proliferation of legal discussion topics and the accessiblity of podcasting and video blogging technology on our desktops means that the world is your oyster when it comes to using educational marketing to increase the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
Admittedly it takes time to put these educational nuggets together and then to make them available to your prospects online and as time is always a precious commodity there is a cost to producing these materials. However, I find that the rewards are worth it. 'Just ask yourself who are you most likely to buy a new car from... the person whose video helped you 'choose the right car for you and your lifestyle', or his competitor who you have never heard of?'
Tags: Social Media, Blogging, Relationship Building, Free Courses and Guides, Educational Marketing, Video, Statistics
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I recently spoke with Lara King of BBC Radio Humberside on the subject of Employment Law. Click on the Play button, above, to hear the interview.