The Power of Video Marketing with Gerry Oginski

Summary:

In this week’s episode of The Law Practice Doctor, Sam Gaylord interviews Gerry Oginski, who is a medical malpractice attorney based in New York. Gerry has been a solo practitioner since 2002 and has created more than 2,100 educational law videos. During this episode, Sam and Gerry discuss video marketing, education-based marketing, providing information in advance, common problems, and the first steps for creating your own video.

Main Questions Asked:

Talk about how you decided to move into video marketing.
What is the advantage of getting information out there in advance of a client coming into the office?
Tell us about the Lawyers Video Studio.
What are common problem lawyers have when creating videos?
What are the first steps for creating videos?
Can you create videos using an iPhone?

Key Lessons Learned:

Education-Based Marketing

This was designed for articles and blog posts, and has migrated to video.
Teaching your ideal client and consumer information they need to learn about. E.g. “Three things you need to know if you are injured at work.”

Marketing Activities

You have an obligation to do the marketing activities you believe will generate calls as a result of your efforts, as long as you stay within your ethical boundaries.
It’s hypercritical you have read the rules in your state.

Information in Advance

You need to get into the mindset of someone searching for an attorney.
Referrals are the best way to find an attorney, but for those who don’t have that, people go online and search.
What are people looking for, and why? They have a legal problem and need either answers or to learn more about their legal problem.
If the attorney can answer the questions of the potential client, it shows that the attorney has the information, experience, and knows what works in previous cases.
Offering information and advice is a way to stand out from competitors who handle the same type of cases as you.
While clients are looking and learning through your content, they are developing trust with you.
An attorney who creates useful information is more likely to generate a call than those who offer a free consultation.

Common Problems

1) The mechanical aspect of physically doing the video.

This is wholly teachable.

2) The content they are putting out online.

There is a disconnect between what attorneys think clients want to know and what they actually need to know.
Attorneys aren’t focusing on who the video is for and how the message is generating trust with the ideal client.

Stop Talking About Yourself

Saying how great you are isn’t what drives people to call. Instead, eliminate, “I, me, my, my firm, and our firm.”
Your ideal client doesn’t care about you, so don’t talk about yourself.
Focus on your client and what they need to know.
Change the focus, and your marketing message will change.
Become a teacher and not a salesperson.
Your goal is to teach them before they meet you in person.

First Steps

Don’t just think about creating a couple of articles or videos, but rather do it on an ongoing, consistent basis.
Put aside 15 minutes to write a timeline of every step from the moment a new client calls the office to the very end.
The timeline forms the basis for creating content for every piece of marketing you do from now on.
Create a video for each segment of the litigation process.
Every week, take another 15 minutes to identify each topic area to talk about.

Tips for Using an iPhone

Hold the phone horizontally, not vertically
Don’t use the built in microphone. Add a lavaliere mic.
Place the phone on a tripod.
Clients think the quality of the video relates to the quality of your legal abilities.
You will still need lighting, audio, and good images.
Start with an iPhone, and see what happens.
As you get more proficient, you can always upgrade.

Creating Systems