Short-form
videos
at
varying
lengths
have
been
popularized
across
a
variety
of
digital
surfaces
over
the
past
few
years.
The
shortest
of
these
videos,
hovering
in
the
15-second
range,
present
a
particularly
compelling
option
for
law
firm
marketing
funnels
because
they
have
the
potential
to
grab
potential
customers’
attention
quickly
and
convey
an
impression
of
value
founded
in
legal
acumen
within
a
comparably
short
period
of
time.
Video
content
posted
to
social
media
spaces
additionally
tends
to
have
a
cumulative
effect
(thanks
to
the
frustrating-yet-fascinating
properties
of
the
algorithms
that
drive
these
ecosystems)
in
which
discovering
any
one
video
tends
to
increase
that
chances
that
a
user
who
pauses
to
view
that
video
will
see
more
from
the
same
law
firm.
When
used
as
the
basis
for
a
marketing
funnel,
15-second
“micro-videos”
can
function
as
efficient
tools
for
prompting
potential
clients
to
reach
out
and
book
their
consultations.
How
Do
Marketing
Funnels
Work?
The
digital
marketing
industry
is
full
of
“jargon”
terms
that
serve
a
genuine
function
as
a
type
of
shorthand
for
those
working
in
marketing
and
adjacent
fields,
but
can
easily
seem
opaque
to
individuals
in
other
professions.
Even
if
you
already
know
you
want
to
work
with
a
digital
marketing
agency
to
develop
your
law
firm
content
strategy
and
prepare
most
or
all
of
the
materials
for
distribution,
knowing
what
these
industry
insiders
mean
by
terms
like
“marketing
funnel”
puts
you
in
position
to
ask
important
questions
and
take
an
active
role
in
determining
your
law
firm’s
voice
and
overall
marketing
vision.
What
Is
a
Marketing
Funnel,
Anyway?
A marketing
funnel is
a
thought
construct
marketers
use
to
conceptualize
the
“stages”
customers
go
through
on
their
way
to
making
a
purchase.
The
funnel
represents
an
idealized
version
of
this
process,
with
the
customer’s
level
of
interest
and
intentionality
increasing
as
they
are
guided
through
a
series
of
progressively
more
and
more
focused
steps,
created
by
the
marketing
team
(thus
mimicking
the
narrowing
of
a
funnel,
guiding
potential
customers
toward
a
transaction
in
a
way
that
is
intended
to
imitate
the
way
a
funnel
ensures
that
liquids
can
be
poured
through
the
mouth
of
a
container
without
spilling
out
over
the
edges).
Reality
is
of
course
much
messier
than
this
stylized
representation,
but
many
digital
marketing
professionals
find
the
funnel
construct
a
useful
touchpoint
as
they
are
designing
content
and
making
strategic
user
experience
(UX)
decisions
to
encourage
progression
through
the
stages.
The
goal
is
to
meet
potential
customers
“where
they
are”
at
varying
stages
of
their
decision-making
process,
in
order
to
more
effectively
engage
them
through
targeted
content.
While
they
can
be
labor-intensive
to
produce,
15-second
micro-video
clips
can
often
be
a
compelling
tool
for
attracting
interest
and
communicating
value
at
key
stages
in
this
process.
Marketing
Funnel
Structure
That
the
funnel
is
a
conceptual
tool
used
for
marketers’
convenience,
more
than
a
realistic
description
of
any
individual’s
actual
experience
of
gathering
information
and
deciding
to
conduct
a
“transaction,”
is
demonstrated
by
the
wide
variability
in
the
number
of
stages
digital
marketing
professionals
specify
for
their
funnels.
If
you
spend
any
significant
time
browsing
content
related
to
marketing
funnels,
you
will
see
that
leaders
in
the
industry
may
identify
as
few
as
three
stages,
or
as
many
as
seven.
Generally,
the
greater
the
number
of
stages
specified,
the
more
precise
the
granularity
of
the
conceptual
model.
How
much
precision
is
needed
may
depend
on
your
overall
marketing
goal
for
a
particular
project
or
campaign.
As
a
rule
of
thumb,
in
digital
marketing
funnel
stages
are
understood
to
run
in
tandem
with
customers’
“intent,”
often
inferred
from
their
search
queries.
The
collation
of
funnel
to
search
intent
is
imperfect
because
not
all
potential
customers
enter
the
funnel
through
search,
but
to
a
significant
extent
marketing
professionals
prefer
more
detailed
funnel
stages
as
a
reference
when
it
is
strategically
important
to
understand
the
stage
of
the
funnel
suggested
by
a
particular
degree
of
intent,
or
to
understand
the
level
of
intent
that
can
be
expected
of
a
potential
customer
engaging
at
a
particular
stage
of
the
funnel.
In
other
words:
Starting
with
either
model
enables
you
to
make
some
projections
for
the
other.
Advantages
of
Micro-Video
Content
for
Conversions
One
reason
to
consider
integrating
micro-videos
into
a law
firm
marketing funnel
is
that
short-form
video
content
is
both
familiar
to
audiences
and
generally
appreciated
by
them.
These
factors,
taken
together,
position
15-second
video
clips
to
attract
attention
and
positive
engagement
across
multiple
stages
of
a
marketing
funnel,
so
in
many
cases
it
may
be
helpful
to
intersperse
these
clips
throughout
the
distinct
conceptual stages
of
the
customer
journey.
Keep
in
mind
that
potential
clients
are
more
apt
to
think
of
their
own
browsing
and
decision-making
more
as
wandering
exploration
than
as
steps
in
a
specific
journey;
it
is
the
job
of
the
marketing
team
to
entice
their
exploration
in
the
law
firm’s
direction
by
creating
a
trail
of
“bread
crumbs,”
in
the
form
of
engaging
content.
Micro-Video
Functions
in
a
Marketing
Funnel
Micro-videos
support
the
“funnel”
effect
by:
-
Creating
initial
brand
awareness -
Providing
valuable
information -
Building
trust -
Communicating
value
There
are,
obviously,
non-video
options
for
addressing
each
of
these
goals,
but
the
way
social
media
platforms
have
habituated
users
to
short-form
video
content
tends
to
work
in
a
marketing
funnel’s
favor,
as
15-second
clips
encourage
a
familiar
and
therefore
low-friction
progression
at
each
stage.
Thinking
Small:
Micro-Videos
Meet
Micro-Conversions
Many
content
marketing
strategists
use
the
concept
of
“micro-conversions”
to
track
the
minute
details
of
customers’
behavior
as
they
engage
with
content
at
each
stage
of
a
marketing
funnel.
Obviously
the
“big”
conversion
that
affects
your
law
firm’s
bottom
line
will
be
the
decision
to
book
a
consultation,
by
calling
your
office
phone
number
(ideally
in
the
same
page
they
are
browsing)
or
filling
in
a
scheduling
link
(also
preferentially
positioned
to
minimize
navigational
steps).
Realistically,
however,
many
people
are
not
going
to
skip
straight
from
an
initial
encounter
with
your
law
firm’s
content,
regardless
of
format,
to
booking
an
appointment
with
one
of
the
firm’s
associates.
Thinking
about
the
marketing
funnel
in
terms
of
micro-conversions
gives
marketers
a
way
to
account
for,
and
address,
the
myriad
smaller
decisions
an
individual
makes
at
each
stage
of
their
own
journeys.
Getting
on
the
Radar
Very
short
videos
(often
as
little
as
15
seconds)
can
be
an
ideal
tool
for
making
your
law
firm’s
initial
impression
on
a
potential
client’s
awareness.
YouTube
Shorts
and
TikTok
videos
both
show
occasional
“pull”
in
Google’s
search
engine
results
pages
(SERPs),
particularly
for
searches
that
are
looking
not
just
for
“informational”
content
but
more
specifically
for
process
demonstrations.
With
a
marketing
funnel,
however,
you
may
not
necessarily
want
to
rely
on
someone
actively
searching
for
what
you
have
to
offer.
Micro-Videos
on
Social
Media
One
important
advantage
of
micro-video
content
is
that
it
can
easily
be
integrated
into
your
content
strategy
across
a
variety
of
platforms,
and
on
all
of
the
major
social
media
platforms
it
is
typical
eligible
to
be
shown
to
users
you
might
not
even
have
known
to
target,
based
not
on
characteristics
you
selected
but
on
the
interests
demonstrated
by
those
users.
Social
media
integration
of
your
micro-video
funnel
content
means
that
your
law
firm
does
not
have
to
rely
exclusively
on
potential
clients’
active
legal
queries.
Getting
Customers
on
the
“Hook”
The
versatility
of
micro-videos
for
driving
conversions
at
both
macro
and
micro
levels
through
multiple
stages
of
a
funnel
means
that
marketing
funnels
centered
on
video
content
will
often
emphasize
social
media
distribution
for
an
initial
“hook”
video
that
serves
as
an
enticement
to
explore
the
law
firm’s
content
further.
This
“hook”
can
come
in
several
forms,
but
some
of
the
most
common
include:
-
“How-to”
guides:
Identify
a
common
process
that
often
frustrates
lay
people,
and
give
a
rapid
breakdown
of
the
key
steps. -
Illuminating
updates:
Point
out
a
recent
change
in
law
or
court
decision
whose
effects
are
likely
to
have
implications
for
your
law
firm’s
ideal
clients;
give
an
“elevator
speech”
explanation. -
“Meet
the
attorney”
or
“behind
the
scenes”:
Address
some
aspect
of
the
practice
of
law
that
is
typically
invisible
to
people
outside
the
profession;
aim
to
make
the
reveal
informative,
yet
entertaining.
Each
of
these
videos
would
need
to
be
accompanied
by
a
CTA
inviting
viewers
to
click
through
to
additional
content/information,
thereby
nudging
them
through
a
micro-conversion
and
into
the
next
stage
of
the
marketing
funnel.
Often
these
CTAs
include
the
offer
of
a
free
resource,
such
as
a
downloadable
e-book
or
an
educational
video
series
on
the
same
topic
as
the
short
clip.
Building
Trust
In
a
few
lucky
cases,
you
may
actually
net
a
conversion
straight
to
your
scheduling
link
from
one
of
your
awareness-building
videos
aimed
at
the
wide
mouth
of
the
funnel.
Generally,
however,
one
of
the
main
functions
of
micro-video
content
at
those
early
stages
is
simply
to
get
the
potential
client
off
the
social
media
platform
(where
distractions
abound)
and
into
a
digital
environment
where
they
will
be
engaged
with
your
content
exclusively
(typically
your
law
firm
website
or
a
dedicated
marketing
funnel
landing
page).
Often
there
will
be
multiple
pathways
to
this
point,
both
as
“mouths”
for
the
funnel
and
to
capture
people
who
enter
the
funnel
already
well
along
their
customer
journeys.
Because
trust
is
often
one
of
the
crucial
factors
in
the
micro-conversions
that
move
prospective
clients
from
general
awareness
and
interest
toward
a
more
particular
curiosity
about
a
specific
law
firm
or
attorney’s
approach,
an
important
role
of
micro-video
content
at
the
middle
stages
of
a
marketing
funnel
is
to
emphasize
knowledge
and
authority.
The
content
needs
to
position
you
as
a
reliable
source
of
information
in
your
practice
area,
while
remaining
accessible
to
the
general
public.
You
only
have
a
few
seconds
to
capture
attention,
so
make
them
count.
Five-point
steps
for
preparing
your
finances
for
a
divorce,
identification
of
the
specific
statute
behind
a
recent
court
decision,
the
legal
definition
of
a
term
that
is
more
loosely
used
in
casual
conversation
than
in
law:
These
all
help
to
cement
the
initial
impression
of
expertise,
while
demonstrating
a
genuine
interest
in
connecting
with
clients
and
making
complex
legal
issues
easier
for
the
non-specialist
to
grasp.
The
“Big”
Conversion:
From
Curiosity
to
Consult
Depending
on
how
finely
the
stages
of
your
marketing
funnel
are
divided,
you
may
have
numerous
trust-building
videos,
each
designed
to
foster
increased
trust
in
your
legal
expertise
and
professional
commitment
to
serving
clients,
while
also
nudging
visitors
toward
additional
micro-conversions
and
progressively
tightening
the
association
between
your
law
firm
and
the
topic
that
initially
drew
their
interest.
If
the
micro-videos
have
been
effective
through
all
these
precursor
stages,
then
at
the
narrow
end
of
the
funnel
you
have
an
opportunity
to
present
them
with
a
compelling
opportunity
to
consult
with
you
personally.
The
twin
goals
of
content
this
end
of
the
funnel
are:
-
Eliminate
as
many
sources
of
friction
between
the
customer
and
the
consult
as
possible -
Underscore
the
urgency
of
taking
action
This
end
of
the
funnel
is
an
excellent
place
to
emphasize
the
law
firm’s
approachability,
reducing
the
disincentives
to
make
the
call.
At
the
same
time,
often
short-form
videos
at
this
stage
are
tailored
to
create
a
sense
of
urgency
centered
on
the
advantages
of
legal
advice
that
could
directly
address
customers’
personal
circumstances.
If
your
law
firm
offers
no-cost
consultations
or
specific
scheduling
accommodations,
often
CTAs
that
underscore
those
options
can
be
highly
effective
at
this
stage.
Maximize
your
conversions
by
using
the
tools
of
each
platform
where
your
content
is
delivered
to
integrate
“call
now”
buttons
or
scheduling
links.
Be
Ready
To
Take
Those
Potential
Client
Calls!
Because
online
videos
can
generate
leads
at
any
time,
day
or
night,
make
it
a
point
to
ensure
that
your
answering
system
is
set
up
to
handle
calls
that
come
through
after
normal
business
hours,
or
while
staff
are
already
occupied.
Take
steps
to
confirm
that
online
contact
forms
and
scheduling
links
are
automatically
transmitting
contact
information
to
your
law
firm’s
CRM
system
and
forwarding
information
about
each
query
to
the
appropriate
personnel.
Assign
a
staff
member
the
responsibility
of
checking
digital
accounts
daily
to
capture
any
messages
that
may
have
been
missed
(or
assign
each
potential
contact
method
to
a
specific,
separate
individual
on
your
team).
Micro-videos
can
create
momentum
driving
potential
clients
to
make
contact;
you
want
to
ensure
that
your
law
firm
lives
up
to
the
impression
your
clips
have
created.
Annette
Choti,
Esq.
is
the
founder
of Law
Quill,
a
legal
digital
marketing
agency
that
helps
growth-minded
law
firms
increase
their
online
visibility
and
convert
more
clients.
She
is
also
the
author
of
“Click
Magnet:
The
Ultimate
Digital
Marketing
Guide
for
Law
Firms”
and
Click
Magnet
Academy.
Annette
used
to
do
professional
comedy,
which
is
not
so
far
from
the
law
if
we
are
all
being
honest.