Part of your financial advisor digital marketing should include videos. While it might seem like everyone is making videos these days, it can take some work and preparation to make a high-quality financial advisor video that resonates with investors. And while you don’t need a professional camera and editing equipment or a fancy studio, you do need some tools and a bit of experience to get your videos just right.
You can very quickly be on your way to making high-quality financial advisor videos that are engaging and expand your digital presence to more than you ever imagined. Here are 5 steps you should be following to produce great financial advisor videos that stand-out in a crowded marketplace.
1) Great Content is Critical
While sometimes a great idea might come seemingly out of nowhere, most of the subjects for your financial advisor videos should be well thought out and planned in advance before you start the production process. Of course, the flip side of that is that you should be able to quickly produce a video if there’s big financial news in the markets or globally.
Breaking news aside, your video content ideas can come from your own experiences as a financial advisor as well as what you see others making videos about. There’s no shame in scoping out the competition! You can also get content ideas from the types of questions you receive frequently from clients and prospective clients.
For example, if you are repeatedly asked the same question about a specific product or process, you can do a broad overview in a video and link it to an onboarding or prospecting email. Think of your content as much in advance as you can – such as seasonally. As a financial advisor, you no doubt have noticed emerging patterns in your clients’ behavior when it comes to their investing. Take advantage of that to add even more value that leads investors to select you as their financial advisor.
2) Make a Production Plan
Once you have a good idea for your content, you can get started on the plan for how you’re going to script, shoot, edit, and add visual aids and music. Again, this might seem intimidating, but with a few key pieces of additional equipment and some software, you can get away with shooting your financial advisor videos on most smartphones.
As part of your production plan, consider the following visual aspects of shooting your video: lighting, perspective, and the overall space. If you plan on shooting in your office – make sure it appears tidy and not cluttered. Remove anything with a logo that is not your own – this can be confusing to viewers. Be sure all confidential information is put away and your computer screen (if in view) is on a static image such as a screensaver of your logo.
When it comes to sound, you want to make sure you’ve eliminated background noise and don’t have any interruptions from a phone or other device. By shooting some test videos, it may become apparent that you need some extra lighting and/or a microphone. For post-production, determine how you’re planning on editing the video and adding any visuals or soundtrack. This step may require professional help but can be learned with enough practice and the right software.
3) Make it Entertaining
While your video may not become the next viral sensation, it should still be entertaining and by no means boring. While you have to comply with regulations and compliance considerations, you can still make your videos entertaining.
Part of this is using visuals to bring an extra level of engagement. These visuals can be charts and graphs you present during the video with an easel, or graphics that can be added in post-production. Music is another great way to engage your viewers. However, before sharing any music, check for copyright information and make sure you have permission to use it in your video.
A video is a fantastic way to show your personality. This is especially true for prospective clients who want to learn more about the person who could potentially be advising them on investing their assets in the near future. Find a positive balance of showing your personality but also remaining professional and on-topic.
4) Get the Timing Right
While there’s no magic formula for how long a video should be, it’s typically a best practice to keep your videos under a few minutes. That’s because the attention span of most people viewing your video will be relatively short even under the best of circumstances. The internet can be a very distracting place and getting someone to sit through a 10-minute video would be a lot to ask.
That said, there are most certainly video-worthy topics that are owed more detail than a 2-3-minute video would allow. For that, a video series is a great way to break up the content over different videos. That way people can watch in separate sessions or all at once if they’re really captivated!
Just remember to include in the title and description that this is part X of X so that it’s easily watched in the correct order. Another benefit of a video series is that you’re making a handful of videos that will improve your SEO for search rankings!
5) Promote
Besides the actual production of the video, promotion is the most important aspect of financial advisor videos. If promoted effectively, a video can pay dividends long beyond its original promotion. For example, if you utilize your video across platforms such as your website, social media, emails, blog posts, etc. you will be maximizing your exposure to other audiences.
In order for your video to make it to new audiences, however, you need to make your video easily shareable across multiple platforms and devices. If it takes several steps to share your content, they are unlikely to go through more than one of those steps and then give up. By having a mobile-optimized video with an appropriate title and description, you’re helping it get shared even easier.
If you feel like video is something you want to include as part of your digital marketing efforts and you still have questions, reach out to a professional digital marketing firm for help!
