YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. In fact, YouTube is the second biggest search engine, losing only to Google. As a website, it’s the third most popular in the world. YouTube may be a great way for your firm to not only attract more potential claimants, but host your own legal videos easily. Here are some pros and cons of using YouTube for your firm.

Pro: Host & Imbed Videos Easily

YouTube is great for quickly getting sharable content online. According to Brandwatch, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. This means it’s very easy for your firm to quickly add some kind of video to your website, whether it’s an opening welcome to a quick commercial about your firm’s services. Nearly every website platform, even Wordpress sites, will allow you to embed YouTube videos into content, seamlessly bringing your videos to potential claimants.

Con: YouTube May Hurt Your SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a digital marketing strategy gearing towards optimizing your site and its content so it’s easier to find on search results, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Social media plays a large role in getting unpaid traffic to your firm’s website. YouTube may detract from your SEO efforts because any shares or back links to your firm’s videos will go to YouTube, not your website.

For example, if you were to create an informative video about the arbitration process of a personal injury claim and upload it to YouTube, any potential followers who discuss your video online or share it on Facebook or Twitter will be directing clicks to YouTube, not your firm’s website. YouTube is a “middle man” in this sense—Once on the video, someone would then need to click through to your firm’s website. A good way to ensure traffic and back links go to your site first is by uploading a video to your firm’s site first, then to YouTube.

Pro: YouTube Opens Your Firm to Billions of Potential Claimants

Nearly 3.5 billion hours of video are watched every month on YouTube. Younger generations in particular are more likely to watch online videos, which will revolutionize the way Social Security disability attorneys in particular connect with claimants. It’s possible to extend your firm’s brand to YouTube by creating a top-of-the-line profile with information about your firm, contact information, links to your site, and of course, informative videos. Dismissing YouTube as a viable platform may mean you’re missing out on spectacular cases.

Con: How Many People Find Attorneys on YouTube?

YouTube videos go viral because they’re sharable. While legal videos are informative, they’re not likely to take off as a music video, or a 30-second clip on how to make mashed potatoes. Realistically speaking, it’ll be very challenging for your firm to find a high volume of clients on YouTube. It’s simply not the first place someone turns when they need legal help—According to NiftyLaw, more people will ask friends or family members, or do a simple internet search. It’s possible your YouTube video could show up on search results, particularly on Google (as it owns YouTube), but creating snappy videos alone is likely not enough to get the clientele volume your firm is looking for.

If you want to supplement your digital marketing efforts with high-quality Social Security, personal injury, workers’ compensation, or employment case leads, give us a call today at 617.800.0089. We’d be happy to go over our lead pricing and availability with you and your team today.

Sources:

https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/36-youtube-stats-2016/

http://niftylaw.com/how-people-find-lawyers-in-2015/