(Brookstone) As the world becomes more and more digital, financial advisors are turning to video marketing to reach their target audience. By creating engaging and informative videos as part of their marketing strategy, financial advisors can connect with potential and existing clients, build trust and credibility, and grow their brand.

Video content is an effective way to connect with your target audience and deliver your message in a way that is both personal and engaging. Financial advisors who use video marketing can create videos that educate their target audience on financial planning and investing, while also building trust and credibility.‍

How to create an engaging marketing video

When it comes to creating videos, financial advisors should keep the following tips in mind:

1. Keep it short and sweet

People have short attention spans, so it’s important to keep your videos short and to the point. Aim for two minutes or less.‍

2. Be authentic

Viewers can tell when you’re being genuine, so it’s important to be authentic in your videos. Share your personal story and why you became a financial advisor.‍

3. Use engaging visuals

Videos with engaging visuals are more likely to capture attention and hold interest. Use high-quality images and graphics, as well as helpful charts and graphs.‍

4. Include a call to action

Every video should have a call to action, such as subscribing to your YouTube channel or following you on social media.‍

What kind of videos should advisors create?

You should make videos that are interesting to prospects but are also relevant to your financial advisory practice and the services that you offer. Here are some ideas that will help you tell your story while establishing yourself as an expert:

1. Introduction Video

Share your story and explain why you became a financial advisor. If you work with a team, you can also introduce your team members - especially those that clients are likely to interact with during their relationship with you.‍

2. Educational Videos

Create videos that educate your target audience on various financial planning, investing, stock market topics, and other retirement-related topics. This type of video will offer the largest number of potential topics to discuss while doing the most to build you up as a financial planning expert.‍

3. Client Testimonial Videos

Share testimonials from happy clients to build trust and credibility. These powerful tools were only recently available to advisors thanks to a 2021 change to SEC regulations, but there are specific rules to follow. Make sure that any testimonial videos you create conform to SEC guidelines as well as any state-level regulations. ‍

4. Frequently Asked Questions Videos

Address common questions and concerns that potential clients may have. For example, video topics could include: when the best time to take Social Security, how to create a diversified portfolio, and videos explaining RMDs). These will be similar to educational videos, but you'll have the opportunity to make them more personal by adding a client story -- a setup could be something like "I was speaking with one of my long-time clients last week and she asked a question about IRAs that I hadn't heard in a while."‍

5. Promotional Videos

Discuss the specific financial planning services you offer, your approach to financial planning, or how you interact with your clients. These should make you look professional and make prospective clients want to work with your firm.‍

6. Webinar Recordings

If you ever host webinars you can repurpose the content and use the recording. Some advisors offer virtual retirement classes. These recordings can be turned into educational videos that you can use on your website and social media channels to extend the life of the webinar. Prospects can watch the video recording to learn the topic discussed in the webinar.

Where to publish marketing videos

Once you've got a video created, it's time to promote it on your marketing channels. You will need a compliance review and Brookstone offers full compliance review and approval prior to posting, you can find out more here. Here are some ideas for how a financial advisor can leverage video marketing:

1. Your Website

Your website should be the central hub for all your video content. You can embed videos directly on your website or create a dedicated video page where visitors can watch all your videos in one place. A best practice is to include a transcript of the video and embed the video from your YouTube channel. The goal is to have both search engines and prospects discover these videos (and your website) through Search Engine Optimization. 

2. Social Media

Share your videos on social media to reach a wider audience. If you have a business page on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, or another platform, make sure to post your videos there as well. If you don't currently have a Youtube channel read this article from Hubspot on YouTube marketing and how to create a YouTube channel for your practice.‍

3. Email Marketing

Include your video content in your email marketing campaigns to capture attention and encourage prospects to watch. You can also use video emails to stay in touch with current clients. Note that most email clients do not allow you to embed videos, so you'll have to include links to the video on your website or YouTube channel.‍

4. Video Advertising

In addition to organic posting, you can promote your videos on Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms with paid advertising. With the right audience targeting, this can be an effective way to reach new prospects and get your videos in front of a larger audience without requiring a large budget.‍

5. Third-Party Websites

It can take some time to build the relationships necessary to succeed, but if you're able to get your videos published on relevant third-party websites or social media pages, such as those of local media outlets or trade groups, you can dramatically increase the reach of your video content. Getting published will help you reach a new audience and build backlinks to your website, which can improve your search engine ranking.

Make sure your practice is ready for success

Because a successful video marketing strategy can significantly increase the number of prospective clients that reach out, make sure your financial advisory practice is ready to handle the influx. If you don't have the right systems in place to manage a high volume of incoming prospects and create a large of financial plans, or processes for servicing many clients, you may struggle to scale and fully capitalize on your marketing efforts.

With Brookstone and our turnkey asset management solutions, you don't have to worry about scaling problems. We handle non-client-facing tasks for our advisors, freeing your time to grow your business and better serve existing clients. Our turnkey asset management platform combines client management, account administration, a robust investment platform, marketing resources, and more in an intuitive, fully integrated suite. Contact us today to find out how we can help independent financial advisors scale their advisory practice by providing the right tools and resources every step of the way.

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