Law firms are in a perpetual war for talent. In order to recruit top-tier lawyers, they must compete not only with other law firms but with tech companies and big businesses, too.

Until recently, your firm may have relied on job fairs, activities in association with colleges and universities, and networking as its primary recruiting tools. While those tactics are still useful, it’s important to understand that your website plays an increasingly important role in recruiting — whether you use it to your advantage or not.

Today’s candidates visit your firm’s website as a way to get to know your firm and its approach and to identify a possible cultural fit. In many cases, they may do this as a first step before ever speaking to someone on your staff or submitting a job application. If your website fails to deliver the right information for recruits, they may look elsewhere.

One of the best ways to showcase your internal culture and give potential hires a sense of connection to your firm from the outset? A recruiting video.

If you aren’t in the practice of producing much content for your website, the idea of producing a live-action video may seem like a tall order. It’s true that the bar for creating video has historically been high. Today, though, video content is within reach for almost any law firm — yours included. It’s an accessible and affordable way to seriously amplify your recruiting efforts. One that has many benefits and very few risks.

Video Content as a Recruiting Tool for Law Firms: Why It Works 

Different law firms focus their recruiting efforts in different places. Some look to colleges and universities as they seek to hire emerging law school graduates. Others court more experienced lateral associates from other firms.

Regardless of your recruitment tactics, your firm’s website represents the first and most important destination for job-seekers and potential candidates to learn about your firm. Because of this, your website must be designed with recruits as well as prospective clients in mind.

For their part, the best recruits know they have options. Frequently, they are just as busy assessing potential employers as you may be assessing them. Of course, salary is a major consideration for any lawyer seeking a job. And some recruits (such as recent graduates with high student loan payments) may be forced to select a job based solely on that criteria. When it comes to salaries, larger firms have a clear advantage. But recruits who aren’t as tied to a particular salary requirement tend to care about a firm’s internal culture. In addition, they are concerned about their own potential for professional growth as well as their ability to pursue meaningful work.

In marketing to recruits, each law firm must find a way to show potential hires what distinguishes them from the pack of other law firms and potential employers. A major part of this effort involves showcasing your internal culture in a way that resonates with recruits. The best medium to bring your firm’s culture to life? Video.

Simply put, video allows you to show instead of tell. It is an essential piece of your recruiting-related digital content precisely because it so expressive. The reality is that video content does a much better job of quickly conveying your firm’s culture and personality than writing and still images alone could ever do.

Producing a recruiting video for your website is a great way to ease into video content because there are so many benefits and very few risks.

Getting Started with Video Content: How to Produce a Recruiting Video 

Ready to get going with a recruiting video? Following are the key considerations to get you going in the right direction.

1. Keep it short. Your recruiting video doesn’t need to be long. Just 15-30 seconds is plenty. If it drags on much longer than that, your audience isn’t likely to stick around for the full thing. In addition, planning for a very brief video allows you to focus on getting the hang of video production and editing with relatively little footage to worry about.
2. Do your homework. Just because you’re producing a very short video doesn’t mean you can wing it and still end up with an end-product you’ll be proud of. Even the shortest marketing videos require thought and planning around messaging, shooting, and editing.
3. Showcase your firm’s personality. Remember that the primary advantage of video is its ability to convey your firm’s culture quickly and vividly. Allow your firm’s personality to shine through. Your recruits, most of whom are sure to be digital natives, will expect and appreciate personality and cleverness in this format.
4. Make sure to include associates. Steer clear of producing a dry video in which a single partner discusses your firm’s history and culture in one long, unbroken shot. The best way to showcase your culture is to include multiple associates and allow them to speak about your firm in their own voices.
5. Don’t let the perfect the enemy of the good. It’s only natural that you’ll want your recruiting video to be as professional and effective as possible. And you may feel overwhelmed by a lack of technical knowledge around video production. But don’t let your fear of making something that’s less than perfect keep you from diving in and producing something that is solidly good.
6. Publish your video to your website and other marketing channels. Once you’ve produced your video, make sure to share it on your website and other marketing channels.

A recruiting video goes a long way toward helping recruits understand your firm’s personality. For some, this important piece of content may spell the difference between sending in a job application or passing in favor of another firm.