Storytelling is a powerful way to grow your law practice, especially if you can leverage the power of video. Eighty-two percent of global Internet traffic comes from video downloads and streaming. Providing valuable content through videos can build interest that will encourage viewers to become clients. Adding videos to your website and social media accounts will only be effective if you learn to do it right, however. Keep reading to learn the best storytelling techniques and video production tips.

Purposes of Business Storytelling

Annette Simmons, author of “Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins,” identified the following six purposes of storytelling for businesses:

• Explaining who you are. Why are you qualified to be telling the story?
• Explaining why you are here. What is in it for you? Establishing this will increase trust and open the minds of your audience.
• Teaching something. Aside from telling “how to do something,” you can illustrate how overcoming obstacles can lead to success. 
• Showing values in action. What is most important to you, and how does it influence what you do?
• Inspiring through vision. How have you overcome obstacles to achieve your goal, and how can your audience do the same?
• Knowing what they are thinking before they say it. What natural objections do you know your audience has, and how do you overcome those objections?

Telling Your Story with Video

Videos on your website or social media pages can bring your story to life. Here are some helpful tips to tell the story of your business through compelling videos.

Consider Your Goals

Before making a video, determine its purpose. Setting a measurable goal for the video will guide the creative process. Goals for your video can include

• building brand awareness and professional credibility,
• increasing website traffic, and
• gaining trust and building relationships with leads.

Define Your Target Audience

Whom do you want to receive your message? The answer should not be “everybody.” You can narrow your target audience by age, gender, income, and other factors to aim your video at the most receptive audience. Research the demographics of your target audience to discover what is important to them and the best way to communicate with them. Focus on the kind of clients you relate to best.

Hook Your Audience Quickly

Grab your audience within the first ten seconds of the video so they will stick around to hear the rest of your message. You can do this in the following ways:

• Make a bold introductory statement
• Present a surprising statistic
• Ask an intriguing question

Tell a Simple Story

Like every good story, your video should have a beginning, middle, and end. Keep your message and visuals simple and clear. Connect with your audience on an emotional level, and tell them how your law services can fit into their lives.

Make Sure Your Video Makes Sense Without Sound

Many videos autoplay without sound while viewers scroll. For that reason, make sure that the video conveys the message even without audio. Subtitles, icons, and motion graphic text descriptions can all be helpful.

Include a Call to Action

Just as you have a purpose for the video, make sure to tell the viewer exactly what you want them to do at the end of the video. This call to action can be on-screen text to encourage your audience to take the next step, such as “Share this video,” “Subscribe to our YouTube channel,” or “Call our office.”

What Makes a Good Story?

For every Great Expectations or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, there are thousands of stories that are relegated to the dustbin of history. So, what makes a story stick with us? What elements need to be part of the story of your business?

Truth

Even fictional stories need to be grounded in truth. Consumers see so much clickbait online that it can be easy to detect a message that rings false or is merely trying to sell something.

Relevance

Tell a story that resonates with your audience. Once you have targeted the right audience for your practice, your story should have a point that matters to them. In addition, do not take forever to get to the point or you will quickly lose interest.

Simplicity

Even if you have the perfect story to tell your audience, you must keep it simple. Everyone’s attention span has a limit, so take another look at your story and edit out unnecessary details. Make sure to also avoid legal jargon so everyone can understand your message.

Emotion

The marketing process should not feel cold or mechanical, so you have to tap into people’s emotions. Show how your services can provide peace of mind or illustrate the negative consequences of not using your services. Either way, make sure to not cross the line between emotional resonance and emotional manipulation.

How to Tell the Story of Your Practice

The first story you can tell is why you began your law practice. Here, you can give the viewer your background and history and include how you saw a need in your target clients and created a service to meet that need. (Your motive should not be to make a lot of money, but to improve people’s lives.) 

If you lack a compelling story about starting your law practice, you could share your business’s mission, which could include helping a certain demographic, helping clients preserve their legacies, or helping families with special needs beneficiaries. When describing your mission, remember to consider your target clients and explain why your mission is relevant to them.

Alternatively, you could tell a story that provides the viewer with a vision of their future that could be made possible by working with you. Your story can follow a basic narrative of a hero overcoming an obstacle—in this case, a potential client facing a challenge, such as dealing with incapacity, avoiding probate, providing for a blended family after death, or even fitting estate planning into their busy schedule.

Overall, your video should highlight that creating and maintaining an estate plan is a triumph that can be accomplished with your professional services and expertise. Remember to conclude your video with a clear call to action, so viewers will engage with your website further or contact your office.

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