Video and podcasts for professional firms: explainer videos, team video and audio with reasonable effort

Why video and audio for professional firms

Anyone looking for a lawyer, a tax adviser or a mediator is looking for a person they can trust. Texts and photos show competence; a video also shows how someone speaks, explains and comes across. Someone who has seen a video arrives at the first meeting with a first impression. That lowers the threshold to call, especially for topics associated with uncertainty or embarrassment: separation, debt, an audit by the tax office.

Then there is findability. Many people look for answers directly on YouTube, and Google also shows videos in regular search. A well-titled video on “Was passiert bei einer Betriebsprüfung” (what happens in a tax audit) can bring visitors for years. But keep expectations realistic: video is one building block of visibility alongside your website, Google profile and expert articles, not a replacement for them.

Formats that work for professional firms

The best way to start is five to ten explainer videos on the questions you hear most often on the phone. Collect these questions at reception for a week. Each answer becomes a video and gets a place on the matching page of your website, for example on the relevant field of activity. The introduction video belongs on the team page or the home page.

Using YouTube as a search engine

YouTube is both storage and shop window for your videos. For videos to be found there and in Google Search, each one needs a clear title, a description and a thumbnail. Google also recommends creating a dedicated page on your website for important videos, where the video is the main focus, with its own title and description.

• Title as a question or search term: “Kündigung erhalten: was Sie jetzt tun sollten” (received notice: what to do now) rather than “Episode 7”.
• Description: two or three sentences on the content, a note that the video does not replace individual advice, and a link to the matching page of your website.
• State the date: For tax and legal topics, put “As of: month year” in the description and in the video, and update or hide outdated videos.
• Chapters and playlists: Structure longer videos with chapter markers, and group explainer videos on one topic in a playlist.
• Channel info: Name, professional title and a link to the legal notice in the channel profile; see the mandatory information for your profession, for example for tax advisers in Germany.

Embedding videos without tracking

A normally embedded YouTube video loads content from Google servers as soon as the page is opened. Data is transmitted before anyone clicks play. On a firm website that promises trust and discretion, that is a poor start. There are three levels for avoiding it:

Subtitles and transcripts

Many videos are watched without sound: on the train, in the office, in the waiting room. Subtitles are therefore not an extra but a precondition for the message to get through. For deaf and hard-of-hearing people they are essential: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) require captions for prerecorded videos and a text alternative for audio-only content such as podcasts. More on this in the guide on accessibility.

• Check automatic subtitles: YouTube creates them itself, but points out that they may contain errors. Technical terms such as “Verlassenschaft” (deceased's estate), “Vorsteuerabzug” (input tax deduction) or section numbers are often misrecognised.
• Transcript on the page: An edited transcript below the video or podcast episode helps everyone who prefers reading and gives search engines text they can understand.
• Summarise briefly: For long episodes, a summary with chapter markers and the full transcript in an expandable section are enough.

Equipment: what you really need

You do not need a studio for explainer videos. A current smartphone films in sufficient quality. What separates amateur from professional is sound and light, not the camera.

Limits set by professional law and confidentiality

Videos and podcasts are advertising within the meaning of professional law and, like your website, must inform objectively. For lawyers, tax advisers and auditors, confidentiality applies in front of the camera too; for mediators, the confidentiality of the process. You will find the rules of your profession in the guides on advertising law, for example for lawyers in Austria or for mediators in Germany.

Consent of the people shown

Anyone who can be seen in the video or heard in the podcast must agree. In Germany, under § 22 KUG, images of people may in principle only be distributed with consent; in Austria, § 78 UrhG protects against publications that violate legitimate interests. In both countries the GDPR applies as well. In practice this means:

• Employees: written consent before filming, voluntary and stating what the video will be used for. Also clarify what happens to the video if the person leaves.
• Podcast guests: consent to publication, ideally with approval of the finished episode.
• Clients: only with express, informed consent that also covers release from confidentiality for this purpose. If in doubt, don't.
• People present by chance: Film outside opening hours, so that nobody in the waiting area or in the background is visible.

Weighing effort against benefit

An introduction video and five explainer videos can be done in one day of filming and a few hours of editing, and they work for years. A podcast, on the other hand, needs regularity: an audience only builds up after many episodes, and each episode costs preparation, recording, editing and a transcript. So start small, measure which videos are watched and whether clients mention them in the first meeting, and expand what works. The guide measuring success shows how to evaluate this.