While Google Remains King of the Search Engine, it’s important to appreciate just how big youTube is and how big it is likely to become in the near future. We already know that YouTube is the second largest Search Engine next to Google. (FYI: It’s owned by Google, as one of its subsidiaries; No monopoly there, lol.) It is the second most visited site, after Google. Here are some recent stats that might surprise you: YouTube has 1.9 billion logged-in monthly users! In an average month, 8 out of 10 people between the ages of 18 and 49 watch YouTube videos. Viewers watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos a day, more than Netflix and Facebook video, combined! On average, there are 1 billion mobile video views per day. The time people spend watching YouTube has more than doubled in the last year, alone!
Among Millennials YouTube accounts for two-thirds of the premium online video watched across devices, while Generation Z users increased their YouTube usage 59 % just last year. But it’s not just the Millennials and Generation Zs that are catching the wave: YouTube is easy enough to use that half of American Internet users aged 75 and over, use YouTube. YouTube was the top iOS app last year, meaning it beat out Snapchat and Facebook as the free app with the most downloads of the year.
Claim your Free Law Firm Growth Strategy Session
Here’s another important statistic to make a note of: 70 percent of Millennial YouTube users watched a “how-to” video to learn how to do something new last year. According to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, millions of people turn to YouTube for educational purposes-to learn. Google is so convinced of YouTube’s educational power that they decided to invest 20 million dollars into its YouTube learning initiative, paying creators like The Verge and Ted-Ed to increase their educational content. (The Verge, Julia Alexander, 10/22/18). While TV Ads receive viewer attention only 45 percent of the time, YouTube mobile ads receive viewer attention a whopping 83% of the time. (Ipsos, 3/20/17).
Claim your Free Law Firm Strategy Session
By now, you know where all these statistics are going: More and more Americans of all ages are actively engaging with YouTube. Those numbers are continuing to rise. If you want to increase your visibility, brand awareness, and connection with potential clients, then you need to make sure you are adding lots of engaging videos, not only to your website but to your YouTube channel. Think in terms of YouTube’s search engine status, and start building a library of educational, and “how-to” videos, maximizing keywords that your potential clients are interested in learning about when they need a lawyer.
Too many lawyers have shied away from creating a YouTube presence, but this is an excellent means of generating traffic and business. We can see by the statistics and numbers regarding user engagement that people gravitate towards videos, even more than that written material. Videos grab your potential client’s attention in ways that written text does not. Videos allow you to present yourself as a real person that the potential client can relate to and connect with. You want to be the lawyer in your market that the ideal client “knows, likes, and trusts.” It’s that connection that ultimately prompts the hiring/buying decision. Given the growing trend towards YouTube as the “how-to” venue of choice for internet users of all ages, you want to get ahead of the curve here. You have the potential to dominate your market when it comes to YouTube videos that engage and educate the viewers in your market!
When your potential client needs to know how to do something new, the odds are they will either “Google it,” or “YouTube it.” That reality creates a great opportunity for law firms that understand what’s going on and start leveraging this knowledge through increased video postings. If you aren’t sure how to go about creating great content, then make sure you check out frequent-contributor, Gerry Oginski’s YouTube Channel. You will find a wealth of examples of how it’s done. As a personal injury/med mal attorney, Gerry uses tons of videos to connect with prospective clients, and presents himself as an “expert,” but also someone that a viewer can connect with, and “know, like, and trust.”
Just like Google, YouTube has its own algorithm, that ranks content. It appears critical to try and make sure that when you first post your videos, you use SEO, descriptions, links, and keywords right from the get-go. Try to obtain as many likes and hits as possible from friends, family, staff, etc. within those first 48 hours, for YouTube Optimization. Consistency is also important, so strive to post videos regularly. The great things about videos are that you can post them across a variety of platforms, so there’s no need to put all your eggs in one basket.
Creating a YouTube channel also gives you the ability to create Play-lists; Most law firms have not yet started to maximize this added YouTube feature, but YOU can! You can create playlists maximizing keywords, just as you would when creating organic Content to Optimize for Google keyword searches. You can also utilize You-Tube video descriptions to leverage keywords, as well as to drive traffic to you via links to other content, other landing pages, etc.
One last tip: Posting videos means you absolutely MUST create a great thumbnail. When users search on YouTube, the results come up with thumbnail pics. It’s like the book jacket on a book: You want your video’s thumbnail to be interesting, professional, and engaging since it’s the first thing the prospective client will see. If you’ve ever looked online and seen videos that start with a weird looking shot of the subject with their mouth open, grimacing, or otherwise looking strange, it is because that person did not create a thumbnail for their video. Thumbnails aren’t tough to create, just “YouTube” it! The bottom line is that the attorney who wants to Leverage Online Marketing to Grow their law firm needs to be taking advantage of YouTube. Second only to Google, YouTube the Social Platform you want to be taking advantage of now and in the next few years if you want to continue to reach and influence your prospective ideal clients.
