How to Create Video Content That Actually Converts Law Firm Leads

It’s no secret that law firm generation is expensive. Depending on your practice area, you’re likely spending hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars for a single click. 

But getting leads to fill out a form or request a consultation is only half of the battle. You still need them to sign a contract or pay a retainer before those website visits actually become a client.

Video content can become your secret weapon here. The right video shown to a specific lead at the perfect time can be the difference between landing a client or them walking away. But there are nuances to this strategy that a lot of law firms get wrong. 

Importance of Videos For Legal Marketing Conversions

Video marketing for law firms often gets lost in the shuffle amongst other strategies because it’s perceived as something that’s more difficult to produce and distribute. 

And while it’s true that video content isn’t quite as simple as just turning up paid spend for a particular keyword, the conversion aspects of quality legal marketing videos can’t be ignored. 

• 52% of legal marketers say video content is a top driver of new business.
• Law firms with video content on their website get 2.6x more engagement. 
• Landing pages with videos increase conversions by 86%. 

Simply put, video content can legitimately move the needle for your legal practice.

You’re spending all that money getting people to your website, landing pages, and filling out a form. Don’t let them go elsewhere for their legal needs. While video does require some additional investment, it’s well worth it once your conversion rates jump.

Types of Video Content Lawyers Should Produce

Your law firm should have a good mix of video content for your big-picture video marketing strategy. This can range from:

• Introductions to attorneys at your practice
• Answering common legal questions
• A look behind the scenes at your firm
• What to expect during a consultation
• How your fee structure works
• Real cases and settlement success stories

However, you need to understand which videos are more conversion-oriented. Those are the ones that need to be placed alongside lead forms or sent out via email ahead of a free consultation.

For example, video testimonials from clients are better for driving conversions vs. generic introductions to your practice. 

Matching Video Content With Intent

Rather than just creating a bunch of random video content for your legal practice, each one should be crafted for a specific purpose. 

Not everyone who sees your videos will be ready to convert. And that’s totally fine. The key is making sure that your conversion-oriented video content is shown to the leads who are ready.

The easiest way to approach this is by understanding your legal marketing funnel:

• Top of Funnel: Video content that raises awareness for your firm. This is potentially the first time a potential lead even learns who you are and what you do. Nobody at the top of your funnel is ready to convert yet.
• Mid Funnel: Focused more on targeted positioning instead of general education. Explain what separates your firm from others offering the same thing.
• Bottom of Funnel: These leads are ready to hire a lawyer today. This content has to be conversion-driven.

Let’s put this into practice now and think about how this can work for your firm.

If someone just happens to be scrolling through social media and sees a video ad for your law firm pop up, it’s unlikely that they’re going to hire you right there on the spot. Their intent in that moment is unrelated, and they’re still in the awareness stage of the funnel. 

Now compare this to someone who already filled out a lead form and scheduled a consultation. If you want to send them a video via email ahead of the meeting, that content should be very different from your social media ads and offer even more value than whatever video you used on the lead form landing page. 

The intent is drastically different at each stage.

Timing is Everything

Timing works on two levels when it comes to legal video content. And both need to be valued equally for your videos to convert.

The first aspect is video length. 30-second clips and five-minute videos serve completely different purposes. So using the wrong length in the wrong place is one of the fastest ways to lose a lead.

Social media ads need to hook people in the first three seconds while wrapping up quickly before they continue scrolling. These should be 15-30 seconds long. Whereas landing page videos can be a bit longer (90 seconds to 2 min) because the lead is already there and has some intent. But going too long risks them bouncing before filling out the form.

You can stretch out 3-5 minute videos after you have their contact information. This is when an attorney can walk leads through what happens next, address common concerns, or share relevant case outcomes here. These people want more information.

The second layer is when the video actually gets viewed.

Videos introducing your law firm have no business showing up after someone schedules a consultation. They already know who you are, and at this point, you need something that reinforces their decision to talk to you. 

Same concept works in reverse. You shouldn’t be sending a detailed case breakdown to someone who just happened to discover you via social media. They aren’t ready for that level of detail just yet. 

You need to map out your video library to funnel stages to ensure each piece of content is being deployed at the right moment. 

Get Specific

Generic videos are probably the biggest reason why law firm video marketing fails.

Lots of firms just produce one large “here’s what to expect when working with us” video, and then use it for every lead regardless of their situation. That approach treats every prospect like they have the same problem, which they don’t.

Let’s say you run a personal injury practice. Someone reaching out about a wrongful death case is going to be in a completely different headspace than someone who slipped and fell at work. 

Consider a lead who reaches out for a commercial truck accident consultation. They need to see that your firm has handled these types of cases at scale and won big settlements. Showing them a case study from a mesothelioma settlement is irrelevant here, even if that success story was the biggest case your firm ever handled. 

This same logic applies to other practice areas, too. 

Family law leads dealing with a custody battle are going to feel completely different from someone filing an uncontested divorce. Whereas a young healthy family doing estate planning in their 30s just wants a lawyer who is efficient without emotional reassurances. 

The more specific your video matches their situation, the more it feels like you understand their problem before they’ve even spoken to you. That’s what closes the gap between a lead form and a signed retainer. 

Final Thoughts

There’s a lot more involved in creating law firm video content than most firms realize. Especially video content that’s focused on conversions.

If you’re using videos already as part of your legal marketing strategy, you’re already taking steps in the right direction. But now you need to step it up a notch and pull on those conversion levers.

My best advice is to just avoid generic fluff. Get specific, and create videos that speak directly to people as if they’re already a client. Explain that you understand their problem and offer them a solution. And hit them again with your best pitch right before the consultation.