Video marketing is often overlooked by financial advisors as a potentially effective means of connecting with those in need of financial services. There is a common misconception that content marketing through blogs, social media and other text-based online content in combination with traditional outbound marketing methods will suffice.
However, video marketing is worth a closer look, especially if you are a financial advisor. Let's take a quick look at the best practices of video marketing for financial advisors:
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Many Platforms and Avenues for Video Marketing
Contrary to popular opinion, video marketing takes place outside of YouTube. Though it certainly makes sense to upload your marketing videos to this platform, this is just one avenue available to connect with those in need of your services.
Take the extra step of uploading your videos to your social media platforms, your firm’s website, blog and other components of your online footprint. This way, your videos will be seen by your target audience regardless of whether they follow your blog, visit your website, check out your firm’s YouTube page, Facebook page, Twitter, etc.
Do not lose sight of the fact that only a small percentage of your prospective customers will visit your firm’s YouTube channel. Even if plenty of people do visit your firm’s YouTube page, there is no guarantee they will actually click on your financial advisor video. Invest the little bit of time and effort necessary to embed the videos you have worked so hard to create to your social media, blog and beyond to maximize exposure beyond the realm of YouTube.
Create Videos With Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Mind
The more time people spend on your website and other aspects of your firm’s online footprint, the better your site will perform in the context of the all-important search engine rankings. Do not fall into the trap of assuming the proper use of keywords and key phrases is all that matters for search engine optimization (SEO).
The truth is the subtleties of SEO from the use of local geographic identifiers to the amount of time visitors spend on your web page matter a great deal. One such way to enhance the amount of time people spend on your website is to embed captivating videos.
People really will spend that much more time on your web pages if they are provided with informative or otherwise-helpful video content. This additional time spent on your website bolsters your site's SEO as Google notices your site is providing something of value that garners attention and a considerable amount of visitor interest.
As a result, Google will begin prioritizing your financial firm's website, helping you make it onto the first couple pages of search engine results pages or SERPs for short. This elevated search engine ranking stemming from creating the best financial advisor videos really will direct that many more people to your website, spike your sales and maximize your bottom line.
Keep Your Financial Advisor Marketing Videos Short and Sweet
The downside to the rapid rise of our on-demand culture is the shrinking of attention spans. The average person is willing to click a video to learn more about you and your financial advisory firm, but they probably will not sit through a 10-minute video.
In fact, most people are unwilling to sit through a marketing video that lasts five minutes. The best financial advisor videos should only be a couple of minutes in length at most. A video longer than a few minutes will cause your audience to become bored and distracted by the endless web digressions that are merely a click away.
Keep your videos concise and to-the-point and your message will make the intended impact as it will be heard/viewed rather than skipped over due to an unnecessarily long video.
The Video Headline is Especially Important
The little bit of text used to tout videos is more important than many assume. Be careful when selecting the words for video titles as your word choice has the potential to determine if people will actually click the video or bypass it.
The video headline must be compelling and worthy of a click. Otherwise, you will not be able to grab viewer attention. The bottom line is a boring or otherwise-uninspiring video title will end up spurring people to scroll right on past it, down the page or to a completely different website.
If necessary, rewrite the first draft of your headline several times until you get it just right. It will help to include a promise in the headline to intrigue the online visitor. The promise should be related to the value offering of your firm's services to pique prospect curiosity. Tout the video's insightful tips, educational aspects or other value in terms of customer pain points and it really will generate that many more clicks.
Include Captions With Every Single Video
Videos posted to the web are often viewed yet unheard. Sadly, this means many of the best financial advisor videos are not fully understood as intended. The little-known truth is the majority of people watch online videos without the sound on. Some people watch videos without audio as they are working, commuting on the train, in class, at the library or in another setting where it is inappropriate to generate noise.
In other words, if your marketing videos do not have captions, a considerable portion of your audience won't understand the primary message. Alternatively, if you include captions with your videos, those who do not want to listen or cannot listen due to their environment will partially shift their attention to the words scrolling along the bottom of the video, understand what you are trying to communicate and prove that much more likely to schedule an appointment with your firm.
Encourage a Call-To-Action at the end of Your Videos
Every single video posted to your website, Facebook page and other components of your online footprint should include a call-to-action toward the end. Though it seems sensible for those interested in your financial services to proactively pick up the phone to schedule an appointment, many will not take this step unless encouraged to do so.
The call-to-action in your financial advisor marketing videos does not have to be overt. Oftentimes, merely suggesting asking the experts for assistance is enough to put the mental wheels in motion to spur a phone call to your office. Be sure to check out our video services for financial advisors to learn more about the nuances of successful video marketing.
