I have a friend who took her 4-year-old on a cruise and referred to the experience as being on "a floating prison."

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Having taken my son on two cruises, I can't say it was THAT bad. But I think of that quote every time we get on the water.

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EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

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This past weekend we made an 8-mile canoe trip in the Ozarks (VERY different from Eminem's 8-mile), and my son ROCKED it.

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In fact, we did a good job; we got in an hour earlier than planned (and didn't even need to bust out Paw Patrol on the iPhones).

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That's where we hit a slight snag, though - the company picking us up took us at our word on time, no one was there, and we didn't have cell reception.

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So rather than wait it out, I walked back into town to get reception to call them and pick us up. And I got to listen to the best part of Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. 

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SPOILER ALERT - HISTORY INCOMING

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I was a history major. I am a nerd. I will make this quick and hopefully entertaining.

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Basically, one-on-one contact is how we marketed EVERYTHING until the industrial revolution. Before, we couldn't create stuff at scale (or travel far enough for services) to need massive companies.

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Coming out of WWI, our country cements itself as a Superpower, our economy is rocking and rolling, and we can buy ALL the fancy shit in the 1920s. Causation in some manner - we went from 1 radio station to 500 over the decade, and that's the first mass media. Companies can now sell the same stuff on both coasts, market it on the radio, produces it and ship it, etc., etc., etc

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Then like a baseball to the codpiece - Stock Market Crash, Great Depression, etc.

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So heading into WW2, you were old enough to die but young enough not to have enjoyed the 20s. And now you're going off to fight, and your parents are worried about you, buying war bonds, planting victory gardens, etc. (about 25% of the country goes to war, so it's REALLY hard not to be involved or know someone very close to you who was).

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Spoiler alert - we win! Troops come home. We value hard work, stability, working for 30 years, and getting the Gold Watch for retirement. And we make babies like rabbits (still not sure why they didn't pick a better name than the baby boomers...so many better options, but oh well).

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These kids grow up to want to rebel - drugs, hippies, etc

To their credit, it's the first time since the 1920s (and the second time overall) that we finally have TOO much. We aren't subsisting anymore; we can have a surplus (of crap...but a surplus nonetheless). This becomes the ME generation.

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1980s, Ronald Regan banned all air traffic controllers from being in the FAA and replaced them. Simon argues this is the first MAJOR time where the government puts profit (keeping the airlines running) over people (keeping the military veterans who were air traffic controllers employed). Gordon Gecko takes note. Lots of cocaine is had by all. Money, money, money!!!! We also start mass producing disposal shit - contacts, razors, etc.

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And then, in the 2000s, we have the tech explosion bubble right into the housing crisis. So your 45-60 boomers got to experience hating their parents, a ton of money, crazy stock markets, a house crisis yadda yadda yadda. And now they're angry and hate communists but vote to expand their social security (I digress).

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In essence, the ME generation is the one that started businesses down the path of profits over people and undercut our care in things (because they were plentiful). And here's where the book trails off (because it was written at that time). So I am going to pick it up from there.

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Jordan's Take

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For kids of the 80s/90s - we were probably too young to be caught up in the tech bubble, didn't have a huge impact on the craze of Y2K, and then were probably still too young to have a house to get screwed in the house crisis (or at least you were hopefully young enough to get through it without too much strain). So now we are trying to push the pendulum back on caring about people as our fragile snowflake millennials persona (okay, boomer).

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For us, we straddle the internet age in a way where we aren't just tourists but also remember a time without it. We remember Facebook being JUST for college kids and ALSO remember going to the local park to play with the neighborhood kids.

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And what about the generation after us? If you were born in 2000, you missed the craze of Y2K, don't remember 9/11, and probably were shielded from the housing crisis by your parents and don't know a world without social media.

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But, here's my concern - just like we started undervaluing THINGS in the 80s and on...is social media making us undervalue PEOPLE?

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TikTok is Life

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Love it or hate it - Tiktok is WINNING social media. Since August 2020, it has had the HIGHEST watch times of ANYTHING video on the internet. Youtube owned this space for YEARS...now it's playing catch up.

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Facebook has started using more reels for video.

Youtube (Google) launched youtube shorts - which are basically TikTok

Instagram - still has no idea what it's doing...but is trying to stay relevant.

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And for the purpose of your law firm - today's TikTok kids either are or are going to become your potential clients.

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So what are the three biggest lessons they've learned from their lives?

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There's always another video

Be entertaining

Get to the point

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Always Another Video

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These kids have no patience. They don't remember waiting for a movie to be available at Blockbuster. They don't remember mailing away for CDs. They don't even remember having to make sure no one answered the phone to get on the internet.

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So what do you do when they don't like the current video? They just swipe to the next one.

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And honestly, it's not just them. Remember when a book we ordered didn't show up in 2 hours with Amazon drones? Or we had to go drive to get our own food? We have become a society of almost instant gratification.

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For your law firm, this means that people have no allegiance to you. You can't just be the only lawyer in town and get work. There are 400,000 other firms. You need to take steps to earn their business and help confirm for them you're the best fit. I would call the efforts to overcome that branding. But you need to do something or you're on a slow descent to mediocrity and losing clients.

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And to be clear, I don't care if you're marketing on TikTok or not - but as time moves forward, more and more people will feel this way EVERYWHERE. This is the future, fight it or embrace it.

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Be Entertaining

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Somewhere between 2 and 3 years old, my child explained how garbage trucks use hydraulics to lift the trash into the hopper. Of course, my child is half me, so he is not a savant, but he does watch Blippi - a guy on youtube who is a cross between Pee Wee Herman, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs, and a dash of Bill Nye, the science guy.

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And you know what? The dude is entertaining and informational.

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Gary Vee talks about this a TON - people who took pretty photos and dominated Instagram who can't find a foothold on TikTok because now they need a personality.

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We want to be entertained AND informed on our topics (probably entertained first).

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Get to the Point

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I know, I know 1500 words in, and I have the audacity to tell someone else to get to the point. But seriously. Get to the point.

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You're not David Copperfield wasting 5 minutes of rambling storytelling and cheap theatrics to wow people with a 5-second trick.

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Honestly, if you look at many of the big social media accounts, they've even stopped having intro reels. That first 2-3 second is CRUCIAL to grab a watcher and keep them hooked.

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You need to get to the point. Share your expertise, be funny, and explain how you can help - in 60 seconds or less (30 if you can).

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Same thing with words. This is why I've started becoming more active on Twitter. Twitter is tiktok with words. How can you share a 1500-word newsletter in 140 characters?

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No, seriously, how can I?

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Next week I am going to dive deeper into video in general, why it's important, how we can use it, and how it impacts people, but until then, have a wonderful weekend! And may you not need to fight for your life to win some magic amulet in black and white on Disney +.

Until Next Friday

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The Impact of Video: Just Focus on Your Ideal Client

Jordan,

One of the best gifts my wife ever got me was a straw.

Seriously.

One of those big plastic straws that go into a cup wasn't even a crazy shape. I think it costs $1 for a four-pack.

But it had a TON of meaning to me.  

The hospital where my son was born is famous for these cups. (seriously, ask any woman who gave birth at Winnie Palmer in Orlando) Literally, getting another cup was a pro on my "should I have a second kid" list.

And after a year or two of having this cup from the birth of my son, my cup's straw got destroyed, and it's not the kind of cup that's easy to use without the straw.

So the gift didn't matter because it was expensive. It mattered because it was exactly what I needed, had emotional value to me, showed my wife's level of care, etc.

(and gift-giving isn't even my love language)

But seriously, life is about people and relationships. 

Last week I got to do a fun family brunch with Chelsea Williams and our kids, and the next day I got to have an adult brunch with some of our Chicago clients (I forgot to take photos...)

But what happens when you can't be with people as much as you'd like? A call is nice, and a letter is wonderful, but sometimes you need to connect by video.

Killing the Radio Star

If a picture is worth 1,000 words...then a video tells 24,000 words...per SECOND.

Nothing will top face-to-face contact. Nothing. And if any other marketer disagrees, I would LOVE to chat with them.

BUT - it takes extra time, we have to be in the same place, there's driving involved, etc.

It's been super cool to meet many of our LegalEase clients on the trip, but being countrywide...a stop-and-chat is only sometimes an option.

So the following best is video. This helps people see us better than just audio. It helps people get to know us. It helps people decide if they want to get to know us more.

I haven't used Tinder in a VERY long time. But I would bet, if they swapped the photos on profile to a 30 second video, it would lead to better connections.

I go back to Gary Vee's comments about people who did well with images on Instagram not being able to cut it on TikTok now that they needed a personality. And it's true, so what can you do about it?

The Impact of Video

There's a CRAZY study that comes up in Robert Caldini's Pre-Suasion that has to do with coerced confessions.

When they showed people recordings of the audio from confessions, there were mixed feelings on if the confessions were real or coerced (spoiler alert, they only used coerced confessions).

If the video was over the cop's shoulder at the suspect - it was CLEAR to most people that it was a true confession.

If the SAME interview was shown over the suspect's shoulder and focused on the cop - the results would be totally FLIPPED.

What was said, how it was said, what happened, etc. - all the same - but a totally different thought based JUST upon who was focused on the video.

A funny example is an Apple commercial where a guy is out of focus and jokes that he's the killer to get in focus.

But it's true.

Studies found that we attribute more belief/focus/impact on what is focused on. So make yourself the main focus of your video (even though you want to make the CONTENT of your video focused on your IDEAL client).

Other Video Tips

Fair warning - bad AUDIO will drive people away faster than fuzzy video (so the best videos have great sound quality).

Think about the length of the video. Last week, we talked about how shorter is better (at least when in doubt), so make sure you're driving value.

• If you're running ads, think about the placement of your ads. For example, if you're a PI firm trying to get in front of car accident victims, you don't want your video playing on children's youtube clips. But pro tip, DO think about where your ads show up.  
• Another study from the same book explained that "stand out from the crowd" type video ads did better if shown during romance movies than horror movies BUT "join the crowd" type ads had the reverse. And it makes sense - when we are scared, we want the safety of a group. Likewise, when we are aroused, we don't want to be in front of a group (well...at least most of us...)
• Listen to the RIGHT feedback - if you show up at scale in videos, you will probably get some trolls...ignore them. If you let them bother you, then they win. And honestly, ignore the people who just tell you you're awesome (even though you ARE awesome). BUT, if you get good actionable feedback, take it to heart and keep working on making your presentation and videos better and better.

• Think about who it's REALLY for - if you're nervous about the ability to go viral or have everyone see it or whatever the concern is...think about who the video is REALLY for. Create a picture of your ideal client in your head and speak to that person. Don't worry about everyone else. Just focus on that ONE person this video is meant for. Then, see what happens with that mindset shift.

Next week we will talk about mastery and the different ways to become a master.

Until then, may you succeed in your anti-Galactic Empire spycraft and help keep the galaxy a safer and more free place.

Until Next Friday,

Jordan Ostroff

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