Online Video Effective for Client Acquisition?

A couple of days ago, I was speaking to a lawyer that was "making the leap" into online advertising. He had spoken to at least half a dozen different outfits that specialize in helping lawyers market their services online and was quite taken with the notion of producing a short video.


2008 brought substantial buzz and investment into online video advertising for local advertisers. Companies such as TurnHere, Mixpo and a handful of other VC-backed players have attacked the market and are offering some really reasonably priced video production services.

Not much argument from me that a cool online video ad can help you feel proud about your practice. But, is it just good for vanity? Or, does it actually get you customers?

I think the jury is still out and here's why.

• Most consumers search for an attorney while they are at work. It amazes me, but when I look at case lead volume by day of the week and time of the day, it indexes directly to work hours. Not sure if the boss knows that their employees are on facebook, amazon and google during work hours, but they are.
• Employees know that they shouldn't be taking care of their personal issues while on the clock, but they do. They may quickly search . . . scan . . . come back to or send an email. But, it is unlikely that they are taking 30-45 uninterrupted minutes to evaluate anything.
• Very few employees that are doing this enjoy the privacy that online video requires. Either they sit in cubes where their screen is visible or they avoid video because their colleagues will instantly know that they aren't working the moment they hear the video rolling.