I have always believed in education-based legal marketing by using articles, blog posts, and video. That’s how I started teaching and educating my ideal clients online.
Years ago, we had only professional-grade video equipment, costing thousands of dollars and expensive lighting. We had to invest hundreds of dollars on good quality microphones. Now, you don’t need any of that; you actually do, but not like we used to. Now you can just pull out your iPhone, attach your external microphone into your lightning port and have good lighting and press record on your phone or go live on Facebook or YouTube.
Previously in a PILMMA magazine article, I talked about how I shot 60 videos while on vacation in St. Maarten. I recently took my family back to St. Maarten, and I took all of my video gear with me. Did I bring my DSLR, my portable LED lights, and my wireless microphone? No. Instead, all I took was my iPhone, my external microphone and a hand-held video gimbal. That’s it.
While in St. Maarten, I did what I always do…pulled out my camera gear and started shooting video. On location. With whatever gear I had. In this case, it meant no gear other than my phone.
The first day I did take my iPhone with me, but no microphone and no video gimbal to keep the phone level and stabilized. I tried shooting some video. But there were problems from the start.
No shade; there was no shade anywhere. It’s a deserted island with no trees and no shade.
Lots of wind; also, there was lots of wind coming off the ocean. It was a very windy day, and the wind would destroy my audio.
No Video Stabilizing Gear or Tripod: I had no tripod or video gimbal, which is a 3-axis hand-held battery-operated device that allows you to move around while your camera remains steady so as not to induce nausea with your viewer.
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I only had my sunglasses; I wear prescription sunglasses. I personally don’t like wearing sunglasses when shooting video since my viewer doesn’t get to see my eyes. That creates a psychological barrier. It really is a barrier to effective communication, but I didn’t have a choice. I was standing in the bright Caribbean sun and didn’t have my regular eyeglasses with me.
Shooting video was going to be a problem.
Try this at home…
Hold your phone in your hand with your arm extended for three or four minutes without moving the camera. Try it. It’s virtually impossible. Your arm gets tired, and it’s not fun. If I shot video this way, I knew the video would be jumpy, and the audio would be filled with wind noise.
What the heck could I do? I wanted to shoot video, but I didn’t have the right gear or right location. “It won’t be perfect, but let’s give it a try and see what happens,” I thought.
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At first, I tried a one-minute video. Nah, I didn’t like the way it came out or the way it sounded. Then I tried a two-minute video, didn’t like that either. The sun was in my face, the wind was loud, and my audio was terrible. I tried holding the phone vertically. Then I tried it horizontally. The one- and two-minute videos didn’t work since they didn’t give me enough time to explain my topic and generate trust with my viewer. I tried cupping the bottom of my phone where the microphone is located. That was an improvised windshield that helped but wasn’t the perfect solution.
Here’s what I found worked best in not-ideal circumstances…
I shot a video in the vertical position with my hand cupping the bottom of the phone to avoid wind noise. That was tolerable. Then I tried horizontal video while cupping the side of the phone where the microphone was located. That shielded some of the audio. I even apologized on video for the likely wind noise.
Importantly, I wanted to tell my viewer where I was shooting video to give them a sense of where I was and why I was shooting video in this beautiful location. On playback, the videos were ok. Not great and not 100% stable. My arms were exhausted after five or six videos.
The next morning, I grabbed my iPhone, my external microphone and my video gimbal along with my baseball hat, sunglasses and drove to the French side of St. Maarten to an area known as Lucas Bay. I pulled out my video gear and walked up to the massive rock formations. There was no wind. It was quiet. No shade, but that didn’t matter much. I placed my iPhone into my video gimbal and pressed record. An hour and a half later, I had shot a total of 13 videos. My videos ranged from 3.5 minutes to 8.5 minutes in length — average duration: about 5 minutes.
My videos were conversational. I invited my viewer to join me on a walk in this exotic locale as we walked in a tight circle (so as not to stray from the rock formation and into the open, exposed land where the wind would destroy my video). Using my external microphone with a windscreen made a big difference. Also, using my video gimbal eliminated any shake associated with hand-held video. What a difference this gear made.
Were my videos picture-perfect? Not by a long shot.
Were they professional, studio-perfect videos? No way.
Do you think viewers really care? That’s my ongoing experiment to see if this style of video makes a difference. Are viewers engaging more with these videos? Are they calling more often? Are the formal barriers relaxed in this type of casual video?
Here are my reactions to this ongoing video marketing experiment:
1. I like the casual, conversational video style. It’s easy-going and that suits me well. It may not be for everyone. Some lawyers are buttoned up and formal, and that’s ok. That’s not my personality.
2. Viewers like it when you are relatable to them. Remember, it’s all about your ideal client who is watching your video. It’s all about what matters to them, not you. Not your soulmate. Not your best friend. Not your law partner. Not your secretary. If your consumer expects to see you sitting behind your desk wearing a three-piece suit with a pocket-watch and a top hat, then you better shoot video wearing that at your desk.
3. I strongly believe this style of video should be used in conjunction with a professionally done video. You never know precisely which style your ideal client will prefer.
4. Your perception of what a lawyer should look like on video is mostly in your mind. Focus on the fact that your viewer wants information. My theory is they don’t care so much about what you’re wearing or where you’re delivering your information.
5. Use your available video equipment to shoot but be mindful that it won’t be perfect or ideal. If you can live with that, fine, but recognize with a bit of planning and the ‘right’ video gear, you can improve the quality of your video, helping you exponentially build trust with your viewer.
6. Ten years ago, shooting video this way was impossible. “Now it’s simple, easy and fun,” said the man who shot 60 videos on one vacation and 18 videos on another. Also, while waiting at the airport and on my flight home, I was able to edit all 18 videos using my iPhone.
What are you waiting for? Get out there and shoot some great video!
