Content Is More Kingly Than Ever

Video is a public reputation tool whose time has come ' and the time is right now. In fact, video and audio/podcast files are quickly becoming the most preferred method of content sharing, and it doesn't look as if anything can stop the juggernaut.

Video blossoms in new media and social networking environments; in fact, the latest digital PR tools really need video to truly be effective. It is a known fact that video is growing in use so rapidly that YouTube is now the Number Two search engine behind Google and its popularity is growing day by day.

Wherever you go today, you will likely see large numbers of people buried in their mobile devices ' and they are often watching video: news, sports, or home videos ' or they might be even be video chatting or conferencing. The future of the Internet, and correspondingly, the future of PR, is video content viewed on hand-held mobile devices.

Being Web-Ready

The world has become so Web-ready in every way that we are now craving more “in-person” real time interaction. This doesn't mean we want to or can always have live face-to-face interaction. Live isn't always possible because of time, distance and preference, but we will use video when live isn't possible. As the YouTube stats suggest, we search for and consume online video at a rate second only to searches on Google ' and law firm clients and prospects are no different than the general population.

The fastest growing sources of traffic to videos are social media favorites Facebook and Twitter ' and, interestingly and more importantly, referral traffic from Facebook and Twitter ' leads to the longest viewing times of video. Over 50% of online video viewers share video links (source: Pew Research Center, June 2010). Online video is second only to word-of-mouth for its ability to influence decision makers in every stage of the purchase life cycle. If that fact alone hasn't convinced you to add video to your marketing toolkit, consider that:

• Your clients are using social media platforms that all access video;
• Seventy-one percent of corporate counsel are members of a social network (source: Leader/LexisNexis, August 2009),
• Forty-three percent of corporate counsel cite blogs among their leading sources of news and information;
• Sixty-two percent of in-house counsel prefer to access business/industry news online versus print;
• Nearly half of all in-house counsel aged 30 to 39 say they have used Facebook in the past week for professional reasons;
• Facebook was the third-most frequented new media platform among in-house counsel from companies with $1 billion ' 10 billion in revenues, with 28% having used it in the last 24 hours;
• Fifty-three percent of in-house counsel expect their consumption of industry news and information via new media platforms will increase over the next six-12 months (this number is 69% for ages 30-39);
• Fifty percent of in-house counsel agree or somewhat agree that in the future, high-profile blogs authored by law firm lawyers will influence the process by which clients hire law firms (So, why not vlogs?);
• According to a March 2009 survey of general counsel by the Wicker Park Group, two-thirds of respondents “expressed interest in video interviews that would appear in the lawyer bios.” Several respondents explained that video “would be helpful in evaluating a lawyer's demeanor, presence or style.”

(Source: 2010 Corporate Counsel New Media Engagement Survey)

Capture Your Piece of the Marketplace

There is no doubt that video will help you distinguish yourself from your colleagues and competitors. Video gives you the platform and time to actually explain something to a viewer. And, by explaining, you are actually able to “show” a viewer your legal expertise. Videos enable potential clients to get to know you, maybe like you, identify with you, learn from you, and see you as an expert or thought leader. Anyone who owns a new flip-style camera or smart phone basically owns a television production studio and can distribute news videos, audio sound bytes, podcasts and photos instantly.

Here are just a few of the ways the early adopters will use these new law firm publicity tools ' and capture their piece of the marketplace:

• Comment on or discuss legal victories and distribute these “ready-to-broadcast” pieces to appropriate media sources;
• Comment on breaking business or legal news or trends in real time from anywhere they happen to be;
• Easily post audio and video comments and other relevant information on their own Web sites;
• Increase their search engine rankings through the use of video and audio because they are searchable and rankable by the major search engines; and
• Use video and audio to enhance and support their efforts in the world of social networking.

What Are the New Videos Like?

The new videos being produced for publicity purposes are the opposite of costly, slick videos with high production values. They are raw, man-on-the-street (MOTS) style videos that allow the shooter to merely point, shoot, plug and play. The flip-style cameras even come with built-in USB plugs (that flip open), allowing the user to quickly download videos to his or her computer and share them in real time with the world.

While the new standalone cameras, smart phones and smart “pads” have aided the proliferation of video, it is the low production quality video itself, as a new form of content that is driving the revolution. It's not about hardware ' it's all about content. The message is king and the cameras will be constantly morphing into new, easier-to-use digital products that will be predictably smaller, lighter, with better video and sound quality. Probably very soon we will see a solution to the shakiness that seems to befall the user of any handheld camera.

Video PR

The news media love the new video media because they turn every person who has a video device into a roving reporter, allowing them to capture everything from fun, quirky behind-the-scenes news stories to video blogs from senior leaders. And, if you're in public relations, the fun is just beginning! The benefits there are even greater. The new videos are very cost-effective, easy to produce and distribute and they are ultimately “leverageable.” You can:

• Bypass the media and take your news directly to your audiences;
• Post news items that can easily be distributed and downloaded by bloggers and/or mainstream reporters (further driving traffic back to your Web site);
• Distribute images and videos quickly and for free ' and around the world
• Practice on-screen interviews and play them back for a quick critique;
• Create screen tests for senior leaders to select and train best spokespeople;
• Post video quotes on your online newsroom or in your press releases;
• Be prepared to capture breaking news making sure that all employees have the hardware necessary to always be ready to “film”;
• Send video clips along with press releases and pitches to increase chances of securing coverage;
• Develop relationships with grateful editors and reporters functioning in thinly staffed newsrooms and eager for video-rich content;
• Leverage your attorney video content across numerous and growing social media sites;
• Post video quotes on your online newsroom and in other appropriate spots on your Web site;
• Post video case studies or testimonials from satisfied clients on your Web site;
• Create educational and training pieces;
• Post internal announcements that people will actually pay attention to; and
• Increase and improve your recruiting outreach.

Conclusion

Law firms are starting, at a rapidly increasing rate, to take advantage of this engaging and interactive tool and you don't want to be left behind. The future of all news and the future of PR is totally video ' and the future is now. The audiences you know about are waiting to see and hear you and lots of other people you don't even know may be waiting as well.

Jay M. Jaffe is President and CEO of Jaffe PR, a public reputation resource devoted solely to law firms and legal associations. Jay can be reached at 301-881-6991 or [email protected].

Video is a public reputation tool whose time has come ' and the time is right now. In fact, video and audio/podcast files are quickly becoming the most preferred method of content sharing, and it doesn't look as if anything can stop the juggernaut.

Video blossoms in new media and social networking environments; in fact, the latest digital PR tools really need video to truly be effective. It is a known fact that video is growing in use so rapidly that YouTube is now the Number Two search engine behind Google and its popularity is growing day by day.

Wherever you go today, you will likely see large numbers of people buried in their mobile devices ' and they are often watching video: news, sports, or home videos ' or they might be even be video chatting or conferencing. The future of the Internet, and correspondingly, the future of PR, is video content viewed on hand-held mobile devices.

Being Web-Ready

The world has become so Web-ready in every way that we are now craving more “in-person” real time interaction. This doesn't mean we want to or can always have live face-to-face interaction. Live isn't always possible because of time, distance and preference, but we will use video when live isn't possible. As the YouTube stats suggest, we search for and consume online video at a rate second only to searches on Google ' and law firm clients and prospects are no different than the general population.

The fastest growing sources of traffic to videos are social media favorites Facebook and Twitter ' and, interestingly and more importantly, referral traffic from Facebook and Twitter ' leads to the longest viewing times of video. Over 50% of online video viewers share video links (source: Pew Research Center, June 2010). Online video is second only to word-of-mouth for its ability to influence decision makers in every stage of the purchase life cycle. If that fact alone hasn't convinced you to add video to your marketing toolkit, consider that:

• Your clients are using social media platforms that all access video;
• Seventy-one percent of corporate counsel are members of a social network (source: Leader/LexisNexis, August 2009),
• Forty-three percent of corporate counsel cite blogs among their leading sources of news and information;
• Sixty-two percent of in-house counsel prefer to access business/industry news online versus print;
• Nearly half of all in-house counsel aged 30 to 39 say they have used Facebook in the past week for professional reasons;
• Facebook was the third-most frequented new media platform among in-house counsel from companies with $1 billion ' 10 billion in revenues, with 28% having used it in the last 24 hours;
• Fifty-three percent of in-house counsel expect their consumption of industry news and information via new media platforms will increase over the next six-12 months (this number is 69% for ages 30-39);
• Fifty percent of in-house counsel agree or somewhat agree that in the future, high-profile blogs authored by law firm lawyers will influence the process by which clients hire law firms (So, why not vlogs?);
• According to a March 2009 survey of general counsel by the Wicker Park Group, two-thirds of respondents “expressed interest in video interviews that would appear in the lawyer bios.” Several respondents explained that video “would be helpful in evaluating a lawyer's demeanor, presence or style.”

(Source: 2010 Corporate Counsel New Media Engagement Survey)

Capture Your Piece of the Marketplace

There is no doubt that video will help you distinguish yourself from your colleagues and competitors. Video gives you the platform and time to actually explain something to a viewer. And, by explaining, you are actually able to “show” a viewer your legal expertise. Videos enable potential clients to get to know you, maybe like you, identify with you, learn from you, and see you as an expert or thought leader. Anyone who owns a new flip-style camera or smart phone basically owns a television production studio and can distribute news videos, audio sound bytes, podcasts and photos instantly.

Here are just a few of the ways the early adopters will use these new law firm publicity tools ' and capture their piece of the marketplace:

• Comment on or discuss legal victories and distribute these “ready-to-broadcast” pieces to appropriate media sources;
• Comment on breaking business or legal news or trends in real time from anywhere they happen to be;
• Easily post audio and video comments and other relevant information on their own Web sites;
• Increase their search engine rankings through the use of video and audio because they are searchable and rankable by the major search engines; and
• Use video and audio to enhance and support their efforts in the world of social networking.

What Are the New Videos Like?

The new videos being produced for publicity purposes are the opposite of costly, slick videos with high production values. They are raw, man-on-the-street (MOTS) style videos that allow the shooter to merely point, shoot, plug and play. The flip-style cameras even come with built-in USB plugs (that flip open), allowing the user to quickly download videos to his or her computer and share them in real time with the world.

While the new standalone cameras, smart phones and smart “pads” have aided the proliferation of video, it is the low production quality video itself, as a new form of content that is driving the revolution. It's not about hardware ' it's all about content. The message is king and the cameras will be constantly morphing into new, easier-to-use digital products that will be predictably smaller, lighter, with better video and sound quality. Probably very soon we will see a solution to the shakiness that seems to befall the user of any handheld camera.

Video PR

The news media love the new video media because they turn every person who has a video device into a roving reporter, allowing them to capture everything from fun, quirky behind-the-scenes news stories to video blogs from senior leaders. And, if you're in public relations, the fun is just beginning! The benefits there are even greater. The new videos are very cost-effective, easy to produce and distribute and they are ultimately “leverageable.” You can:

• Bypass the media and take your news directly to your audiences;
• Post news items that can easily be distributed and downloaded by bloggers and/or mainstream reporters (further driving traffic back to your Web site);
• Distribute images and videos quickly and for free ' and around the world
• Practice on-screen interviews and play them back for a quick critique;
• Create screen tests for senior leaders to select and train best spokespeople;
• Post video quotes on your online newsroom or in your press releases;
• Be prepared to capture breaking news making sure that all employees have the hardware necessary to always be ready to “film”;
• Send video clips along with press releases and pitches to increase chances of securing coverage;
• Develop relationships with grateful editors and reporters functioning in thinly staffed newsrooms and eager for video-rich content;
• Leverage your attorney video content across numerous and growing social media sites;
• Post video quotes on your online newsroom and in other appropriate spots on your Web site;
• Post video case studies or testimonials from satisfied clients on your Web site;
• Create educational and training pieces;
• Post internal announcements that people will actually pay attention to; and
• Increase and improve your recruiting outreach.

Conclusion

Law firms are starting, at a rapidly increasing rate, to take advantage of this engaging and interactive tool and you don't want to be left behind. The future of all news and the future of PR is totally video ' and the future is now. The audiences you know about are waiting to see and hear you and lots of other people you don't even know may be waiting as well.

Jay M. Jaffe is President and CEO of Jaffe PR, a public reputation resource devoted solely to law firms and legal associations. Jay can be reached at 301-881-6991 or [email protected].