How do you want prospective clients to view your firm? This question is at the heart of all branding strategies, and the variety in answers might surprise you. Some firms want to be seen as passionate fighters willing to get down in the gutters if it will help their clients. Others want to be seen as beacons of justice with the highest ethical standards. Each approach requires radically different branding strategies, but all strategies share similarities as well. All firms want their message to get out to the broadest possible audience. All firms want to be seen as knowledgeable practitioners of the law. All firms want to be seen as being made up of true, experienced professionals. When it comes to achieving these goals, there is one relatively new branding tactic that inexpensively fits the bill: online lawyer videos. A growing trend among law firms is to post online videos answering legal questions that typically get asked by new clients. The intent behind these videos is both to inform people seeking legal help and of course, to help brand the firm—as well as to bring in new clients. So how to these firms use online videos to help brand their firm? Read on for some tips.

Choose the tone of your video carefully. How well the speaker in your video projects the qualities you want your firm to represent is of vital importance. In the examples from the above paragraph, the “fighting” firm needs a speaker who projects passion and a boxer’s mentality, while the “just” firm needs someone who radiates intellectual detachment. Even if the information imparted in both videos is identical, the message is very different.

Don’t aggressively sell your firm. While it might be tempting to go on the offensive and directly ask for the viewer’s business, it’s a mistake. The people who go to your website to view your videos aren’t doing so to be sold something; they’re there because they have questions that they need answered. If you answer their questions effectively, it will both improve your brand by presenting you as professional, knowledgeable and experienced, and make them more likely to call you. If, on the other had, you try for a “hard sell,” you risk turning prospective clients off—and damaging your brand by bringing to mind the clumsy television commercial videos that comprise the majority of legal television advertising.

Keep it short. Attention spans aren’t what they once were, but more importantly, most prospective clients don’t want a dissertation, they want clear, direct answers to their questions. If you find yourself creating videos that exceed 10 minutes, then consider breaking them up into two discrete videos with different topics. With modern technology, you should have no problem hosting multiple videos on your website—enough to answer a variety of questions that prospective clients might have. You don’t want clients to associate your firm with long-windedness.

With strategic use of online videos, you can help brand your law firm, increase your firm’s exposure, and build a new client base for your firm.