Video is an essential component of today’s marketing. These days, if you fail to have a strong video presence on your website and in social media, you run the risk of being branded as dated and irrelevant.

Although many advisors do utilize video to some degree, many have been restricted to using generic, firm-sponsored videos exclusively. This is beginning to change – albeit slowly. Even the larger wire houses are starting to recognize the power of a more personalized approach to video marketing.

If you’re like most financial advisors, you can’t pass up a good statistic – so let me begin by sharing a few 2022 video statistics that may surprise you:

  • 82% of all global internet traffic will come from video consumption.
  • 73% of people said they’d prefer to learn about a product or service in a short video, compared to 11% who’d prefer a text-based article or post, and 3% who’d rather download an e-book or participate in a webinar.
  • People are twice as likely to share video content with their friends and associates – more than any other type of content – including social media posts, blog posts and articles.
  • 86% of businesses say video has helped them generate leads.
  • 93% of businesses say video has helped them increase brand awareness.
  • 81% of businesses reported that video has helped them directly increase sales.

(https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/)

To be impactful and inspire action, video must tell a story.

Video marketing is not only effective but it’s here to stay. So what makes video so compelling? Video gives us the ability to show much more in less time, and there’s real power in showing a client or prospect something over merely telling them about it.

Many business videos today miss the mark on the one element that all successful videos have – they fail to touch their viewers on an emotional level. This is what companies like Nike do so well and why their marketing is so successful. Most buying decisions have a strong emotional component to them and to inspire action, you must have the ability to tap into it.

How do you do touch emotions when you’re in a business of facts and figures? You do it by telling a story. The human mind is wired for story. If you’ve ever given a presentation, you know that people don’t remember statistics (unless you’re a financial advisor), nor do they remember all of the compelling reasons you laid out so succinctly for them as to why they should or should not do something. However, tell them a story and they’ll not only remember it but in many cases, they’ll share it with their friends and family. To be impactful and inspire action, video must tell a story.

Some types of business videos lend themselves to story better than others. In brand awareness and introduction videos, the element of story is easily incorporated. An explainer video may present a bit more of a challenge but elements of story can still be integrated to make your video more powerful and your call-to-action more compelling.

A Video Marketing Strategy For Financial Advisors

There are many different types of business videos and all are designed with specific objectives in mind. The first step in any marketing strategy including video is to determine what it is you specifically wish to accomplish. Eventually, you’ll want videos that are representative of each stage in your marketing funnel – awareness, contemplation, decision-making.

Awareness

 Awareness is always step one in any marketing strategy. Videos in this stage of your funnel are designed to do just that – bring awareness to who you are and what you do.

Business introduction videos are a natural place to start in the Awareness Phase. These videos are designed to introduce you and your firm. They tell your story and why you do what you do. They may also introduce specific problems that your clients and prospects experience and you are uniquely equipped to solve based on your knowledge and expertise.

Introduction videos are a great way to humanize you and your firm. They offer you an opportunity to show who you are as a person and what’s it’s like to work with you. In introduction videos, you’re often able to establish common ground and a connection with your viewers. When done right, you leave your viewers wanting more.

Brand awareness videos can be thought of as an About Us page on steroids. About Us pages are notoriously boring but with a video – you and your team become real people to your viewers.  You may want to include a tour of your branch and a short clip of each team member introducing themselves. They can discuss their specific role within the team, tell their own story and outline how they can help.

Awareness videos are powerful storytelling vehicles and highly effective in evoking emotions. Ideally, after watching your Awareness videos, your viewers come away with a feeling that they know who you are, they can relate to you on a personal level and they want to know more about the skillset and experience you bring to the table.

Contemplation

In this stage of your marketing funnel, your prospects are doing their research. You hooked them in the Awareness Phase and they’re considering doing business with you but they want to know more about your process and how you may be able to solve their unique problems.

Explainer videos are an important type of video in the Contemplation Phase. Utilize these videos to explain and outline your overall process. You may want to highlight a common problem or concern such as running out of money in retirement or how to prepare for market volatility and address it within the context of your overall process.

Utilizing the power of story is sometimes a bit more challenging with explainer videos. However, the right videographer can leverage story elements and combine it with a strong call to action making your video highly effective.

Personalized sales videos are a powerful way to make your drip process highly personal. Instead of sending a prospect a generic sales piece that may or may not get a quick glance before hitting the trash, use this type of video to focus your drip directly to a specific prospect.

In this video, you will address the prospect by name. In addition to highlighting how you can help, you can add specific information that will help to overcome potential objections they may have expressed or hinted at in previous conversations. These videos should be low-key and non-threatening, yet continue to move them closer to becoming a client.

Personalized sales videos are often perceived as an exercise in high quality service. If you took the time to record a video specifically for them, it shows the prospect the kind of time and attention you put into your clients.

When creating this type of video, you’ll want to avoid a high production value video with lots of music and glitzy graphics. This should be more of a “from-the-heart” message from you to them. Most prospects are surprised and impressed when they receive a personalized sales video and it is highly effective in moving prospects through to the next phase of your marketing funnel.

Decision

In the Decision Phase of your funnel, your priority is to remain top of mind in your prospect’s mind. This is when you’ll want to relay stories of how you’ve helped clients in the past. You’ll also want to use video to differentiate yourself from the competition by reiterating your process, your client service and anything else that may set you apart in the mind of your prospect.

Interview Videos can be effective in this stage. You may want to interview a good client about their personal experience with you. Some firms may not allow this type of video, so an alternative might be to interview other related professionals around a certain topic that might be of interest to your potential client.

More advanced Explainer Videos can also help in the Decision Phase of your marketing funnel. You may be able to address a specific subject by taking a slightly deeper dive or approaching it from a different angle which can be highly effective in this phase. Remember to always keep the story element at the forefront of every video you create.

Goodwill Videos can also be used in this phase to reinforce a connection you have to the prospect. Also, the Decision Phase may be the perfect time to interject a softer touch video that is strong on humanizing you and your firm. People want to do business with people they like and are like them. Always look for ways to establish common ground both with and without video.

How To Get Quality Video on a Budget

 The three biggest objections to video marketing that I hear most often are: advisors don’t know where to start, they don’t have time for video and it’s too expensive. These days, video production for business runs the full gamut – everything from simple smartphone productions to costly studio undertakings. With the quality of smartphone cameras now rivaling large, expensive video cameras, quality is no longer a function of cost.

The skill, experience and talent of the videographer involved in your project is a far better indicator of quality than technology or budget. If you lack the budget necessary for a studio production which most of us do, and you don’t have the time or skillset necessary to produce a quality video for your business on your own, there is another very viable alternative.

Remote recording can give you access to the skill and expertise of videographers outside of your local area and at an affordable price. You connect with them via Wi-Fi, and they are able to walk you through the entire process. With remote recording, they have the ability to control all of the essential elements of your video production remotely – your camera and your audio settings, as well as direct you through the recording process. The recording is then automatically uploaded to them where they bring it to life through video editing by adding music, graphics and your branding.

In remote recording, the videographer handles all technical and creative considerations. They often provide you with a script and direct you through the entire production. All you have to do is present your topic and everything else is handled for you. There’s no equipment to buy or travel costs to pay. 

A remote recording environment gives you access to high quality video production and in some cases, even superior quality in less time and at a fraction of the cost. Studio productions usually start at $10,000 + for a single video. In a remote recording relationship, your average cost can be as low as $1000 per video or less. The traction you can get on a single video by posting it on your website and across social media makes video marketing quite affordable.

It’s now possible to produce high-quality videos with experienced videographers from virtually anywhere in the country and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. The beauty of video is that it is easily repurposed. A single video can be sliced and diced to highlight specific concepts in short video snippets. These too, are highly effective because let’s face it – everyone online has a touch of ADD.

The most important thing a video does is tell a story – your story – in a way that can touch hearts and inspire action. No other content form can do that as effectively as video can. Make it your marketing superpower in 2022 and beyond.