Video should be a key part of any adviser marketing strategy
When television news began, it consisted largely of a journalist sitting at a desk, reading from the newspaper. But, from the 1960s on, the slow realisation of the power of moving pictures gradually made TV the most powerful medium on earth.
The Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam war, the first moon landing — those stories became so indelible for an entire generation growing up at that time because they were told through film, and later, videotape. The pictures told the story better than any words could.
These days, successful business give primacy to visual storytelling. There’s a significant body of scientific work showing that people assimilate and retain information more effectively via visual media. They are also more likely to engage with what they encounter.
We learn better if we are shown how to do something rather than just being told. But we are also more likely to engage with the content, to reflect on it and, if it is compelling enough, to share it with others. That’s why video should play a essential element in an advisory firm’s marketing plan.
Before you rush out there with your smartphone and a microphone to direct your magnum opus though, there are a few steps you need to take. Indeed, it’s this preparatory work that often makes the difference between success and failure.
Be clear in your head about what you're trying to achieve
What are you trying to accomplish with your video? Are you simply trying to build awareness of your brand? Are you trying to explain the intricacies of your firm’s investment philosophy? Are you trying to attract new clients or nurture current ones?
How do you want people to act on the information? How will you measure your success?
Too many business videos look as if they were thrown together as an after-thought, with little clarity about the goal. Just having the principal starting down the barrel of the camera and telling the world how wonderful the company is won’t cut it. There needs to be a plan.
Think about how you will convey your message
Once you’ve decided on your goal and how you’ll measure its success, you need to think about how to most effectively communicate your message. This is the creative part that requires you to ask yourself: what can I do visually that I can’t do in print? In short, you need to show rather than tell.
There are many types of videos that can fulfil different aims and say different things about your business. If you want to communicate the value of your advisory expertise to prospects, for example, a testimonial video or a video case study about a particularly satisfied client would be ideal. Or perhaps your firm has a unique approach to investment, which you might want to explain to prospective clients with an illustrative animated video.
What kind of video fits best with what you're trying to achieve?
Have a story to tell
To keep a viewer engaged with what you’re trying to say, it’s necessary to construct your pitch around a well-structured beginning, middle, and an end. What video can do better than print is convey emotion, or at least a sense of the value that your firm can provide.
So, an advisory firm could produce a video demonstrating their process of working with clients: getting to know them, discussing their financial and personal goals, working to develop a plan around said goals, and adjusting that plan according to however the clients’ circumstances may change.
Don't rely on sound
There’s an oft-quoted statistic that 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. This means that, to be effective, your video can’t rely on audio to get the message across. For this reason, it’s often recommended to add subtitles to social media videos so that viewers can easily follow along without sound.
Additionally; bolstering key points and statistics with eye-catching illustrations and text graphics is a great way of maintaining an audience’s interest and engagement, while also communicating clearly to them.
And finally...
Finally, don’t try to tell people everything about your firm in just one video. Break your message up into a series of smaller ones. Give people choices about which ones they watch, and maybe keep them interested by adding fresh videos on a regular basis.
Overall, the most important takeaway is simply to take video seriously as a communication tool: be strategic and thoughtful in how you use it, and in how you measure the impact of your videos.
Regis Media offers an array of video services to advisory firms. Whether you want to help your clients to learn more about the fundamentals of investing, or you'd like to produce a custom video that tells your story and communicates what is unique about your company: here's where to find out more.