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Facebook Live video for law firms

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Facebook Live could play a big role in law firm video — sooner than later.

Law firms struggle big time with video. We know video is important, but what the heck are we supposed to do? What equipment do we need? What should we cover? Where should we run the video? How will the video get seen?

Out for only two months, Live has proven popular for media companies the likes of The New York Times, CNN, Huffington Post and Vox.

Check out this Live video from The New York Times’s Nicholas Kristof reporter one Friday following up on his story in Thursday’s paper. The quality, look and feel is awful nice.

Facebook Live answers a lot of questions.

  • What equipment do we need? A mobile phone with a good camera and mic. An iPhone 6 Plus works nicely.
  • How can people see our videos on mobile? Facebook is all about mobile with its mobile app. Live is no different, video is viewed wonderfully on a smartphone or tablet.
  • How are our videos going to get seen? Facebook’ Live videos, by their nature can be seen live, but in most cases viewers will watch an archived Live video on Facebook.
  • How will people in our target audience become aware of the videos? For those lawyers and law firms wise enough to be using Facebook to connect, share and engage, notice that you are on Live and that you have an archived video will sit at the top of people’s News Feeds. Facebook is pushing Live so videos done on Live are given preferential treatment by Facebook algorithms.

Why Facebook and not your website for video? The numbers and the way people consume video. Facebook has over 1.3 billion users, including about 80% of your target audience. The fact that your lawyers and law firm are not using Facebook is your fault and an issue that ought to be rectified.

Your audience is not watching video on law firm websites. You can put video on your website, but your audience is more apt to see and watch video where they are – 0n social media like Facebook.

There’s the social distribution of Facebook as well. As people like, share, and comment upon your video, Facebook’s algorithms see to it that your video will get to others’ News Feeds.

Liz Heron, executive producer of the Huffington Post told The New York Times “This feels like a transformative step.” They’ve recently restructured its video production to favor social media distribution after streaming video through its website since 2012.

Just how big is live video becoming on Facebook. The NFL was considering having Facebook livstream its Thursday night games. Negotiations broke off this week when Facebook didn’t like the NFL’s traditional method of running ads.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Doctor Popular

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