Last month we reviewed —
- Benefits of Shooting Live Video
- Drawbacks to Shooting Live Video
- You’re Creating Content for the Wong Audience
- Why Do people go onto Facebook?
Let’s continue with —
Why Do People Go Onto YouTube?
Again, there are many reasons, but a few are:
1. To watch puppy and kitten videos.
2. To learn about topics they are interested in.
3. To learn how to do something, cook, fix a sink, change electrical wiring, how to open a safe, etc.
When someone goes onto YouTube, they are usually doing a SEARCH for something. Of course, you can subscribe to different channels you’re interested in, but many people use YouTube as a Search Engine. So, let’s go back to my earlier comment about matching your message to your audience.
Today, I shot a YouTube Live video about “What Happens if a Doctor Alters Your Medical Record in Your Medical Malpractice Case?” I can tell you right now that of the people who follow me on Facebook, very few if any will be searching for what happens in a medical malpractice case in New York. That’s the nature of Facebook. Having said that, I certainly will promote my YouTube live video on Facebook, but nobody I know will actively be searching for that information on that platform. If it shows up on their feed and looks interesting, maybe they’ll watch it.
But on YouTube, they’re searching, searching for information about their problem, on how to solve their problem. They’ll find a related video. Then YouTube will serve up another related video. And ten more related videos. Most of those will be mine.
After watching a few videos that teach and educate a consumer LOOKING for information, my trust factor will increase significantly.
Then my viewer is likely to click on more of my videos and maybe my video channel.
These YouTube live videos tend to generate more interest than my prerecorded videos. In turn, that generates more video velocity (the total number of minutes my video is watched in the initial 24-hour period after the video is launched). That tells YouTube that my video is of more interest than others. That moves my video to the top of the pile and is offered up more often as a related video than other static videos. This creates a snowball effect that has a positive effect on this video and other related videos I’ve created.
Don’t Forget Other Social Media Platforms
Claim your Free Law Firm Growth Strategy Session
Just because I’ve been talking about the two most popular ones, YouTube and Facebook, don’t neglect Instagram and LinkedIn. I still haven’t figured out how to get the same engagement and involvement on Instagram as on Facebook yet. Want to know why? It’s because Instagram users are a different demographic than Facebook users.
Claim your Free Law Firm Strategy Session
They use Instagram for different things, and those users are, for my field of law, definitely not searching for information on how to solve their legal problems. There are ways to use it to market yourself, but a long-form education-based video for attorneys does not appear to work well on this platform.
LinkedIn is a hybrid that, so far for me, has not worked well as a video marketing platform. I still use it to promote my video content to my followers, but again, you must identify why someone is on this platform. Are they searching for information? Or do they just happen to occasionally click on a video you post because it looks interesting? I personally don’t find much engagement with videos I post on LinkedIn, but you may have a different experience.
Remember, with social media; there’s no right or wrong platform. You must test each platform to see what works for you and your legal specialty. Keep in mind that nobody wakes up in the morning and says “Hey, I’m going to search on Facebook now, so I’ll be prepared and know which car accident attorney is right for me if I get into a car accident today.” That’s not how it works.
Conclusion
You need to cross-promote your videos and share them with all of your social media platforms. You are a marketer, a broadcaster, and a promoter. Just keep in mind that your live videos may be better suited for one platform over another. For me, it’s definitely YouTube. For you? You’ll have to try it out repeatedly to get the answer. So, what should you do now? You know the answer…pull out your phone, go onto your favorite social media platform and press the “LIVE VIDEO” button and start talking.
I guarantee that once you start shooting live videos, you’ll want to do it more and more. You’ll want to improve each video, improve your presentation, the location where you’re shooting, and the video quality. One last point to remember…nobody is born knowing how to be a great broadcaster or marketer. It takes lots of practice. Everybody starts at the same exact place but at different times.
What are YOU waiting for?
Till next time, see you on video! ◆
