How does video marketing fit into your business plan? Does it at all?
If it doesn’t, it might help to know that almost 77 percent of small business owners get results when they incorporate video marketing.
Video is a big deal, especially for small businesses. Having a website is only part of the battle, now. With almost half of internet users looking at video before visiting a store for the first time, not having some kind of video for your financial planning firm could actually be hurting you.
To Have or Not to Have Video Marketing
Compounded with our almost-impossible-to-combat instant gratification impulse, it makes complete sense that video advertising has become the easiest and fastest ways for a business to convey a message.
Hours, days and even months can go into researching and crafting the perfect medium. Thousands of marketing research dollars, testing groups, advanced analytics tools to measure things like attention span, engagement, drop off times—you name it—it’s there. It all matters.
And of course, there’s always a risk it won’t work, and we’re left wondering if we’ll get the best possible ROI or if it will flop.
When it comes to video advertising, if it moves, is pretty and speaks to our souls then guess what, we’re probably interested. We may even sign up for your newsletter.
Sounds simple—but since you’re a business owner, you know it isn’t.
Science is showing that we have even less time to capture our audience’s attention, and it’s only about 20 seconds. Yes, 20 seconds.
But does it matter to try video marketing for your practice in 2020? Yes. A huge, loud, resounding yes!
Though by no means exhaustive, here’s a quick start guide to help you to start thinking about video content for your financial planning practice’s marketing efforts.
Starting from Scratch
You’re going to want to build a plan to develop your video strategy, which will include scripting, production and editing time and, of course, sending it off to compliance. While the following list may change depending on your practice, the general idea will look something like this:
- Target demo: Your existing clients OR prospects (you may have to develop slightly different “buyer personas” for each).
- End objective: Do you want to increase your visibility? Build trust? Upsell?
- Metrics of success: Sign ups, conversion rates, referral numbers, page visits, etc, social shares, etc.
- Distribution: where is it going? Social media? Pay-per-click ads? Your website? YouTube? Sit down with your team and brainstorm a plan of attack.
What Kinds of Video Content Marketing to Use
There are so. Many. Options.
The best part of video marketing in 2020 is that you really don’t need the fanciest equipment to deliver value to your prospects.
Heck, you could be recording a value message while driving in your car with your phone recording your dashboard and you could, technically, throw it up on your social media (though, always make sure to run everything through your compliance department first).
As a financial planner, you can create:
- Video interviews (with existing, obviously-consenting clients to give testimonials)
- Video case-studies
- Video ads, 30 seconds or less
- Quick animated videos explaining a difficult financial topic
- Tutorial videos (webinars) that pertain to tax returns, estate planning, investments, etc.
- Snippets of or full video presentations you’ve given (events you’ve spoken at, etc).
- Social livestreams and snippets of the best pieces of those livestreams later
Depending on your short-term end goals (building an email list, getting a warm lead, etc.) some of these may be better than others. Do you want to increase your visibility to existing clients to be able to upsell on other products and services? Do you want to establish some trust with prospects?
Like with every piece of content you create, you want it to be part of a well-planned “sales funnel.”
Sometimes, a video is just the start of one. Other times, there’s a video at every step. And, other times still, a video could be a purchase at the end of one.
You decide how you want to use your content—just make sure it’s part of a well-conceived plan.
How Long Should Videos Be?
You’re busy, right? Well, so is your prospect. Remember this fact with not just every video you create, but every email. Generally, keep it short and succinct. The rule for us marketers is to keep a video under 2-3 minutes.
There’s tons of data that shows there’s little difference in engagement between a 90-second video and a 30-second one, depending on the desired end-result.
You might be thinking, “But Kristina, there’s no flipping way I can get my point across on an intense topic like estate planning to my prospects in 2 minutes.”
The good news is that, for more “educational” content, the second best length for a video is between 6 to 12 minutes. Yes, there will be drop off, but it’s not as significant as the plummet that occurs after the 2 to 3 minute mark.
If you want to create an educational webinar or show your prospects a conference you spoke at, then that’s fine. You can manage the video length by either creating a mini-series (each piece about 6 to 12 minutes in length), or pulling the “nuggets of wisdom” and turning them into little micro-clips for your advertising.
Where Should the Videos Go?
To start, know that mobile video marketing and social media video marketing are two different things.
If you already utilize paid ads through AdWords or Bing, a video ad works similarly to a text or image pay-per-click ad.
Social media video marketing is different. Just like with your text and image ads, you should be catering your ad length and messaging depending on the platform you use.
It also means that you pay the social platform to “boost” your video to an audience verses a search engine, or that you create specific videos intended for those social platforms
It depends on where your target demo is likely to be found. If you’re targeting Gen XY and/or millennials, Instagram and Twitter is lifeblood.
Don’t Be Left Behind
The bottom line? Over two-thirds of small businesses are now using video in their marketing arsenal, and it’s expected to keep growing by 14.6 percent per year.
So, turn on that phone and record some wisdom—and then let compliance take a look!
Kristina Rocci is the web content manager for The CWA Network (seen in MDRT, Advisor Today, FA Magazine, PlanPlus Global, etc.) a financial adviser coaching business in Rochester, N.Y. that recently released a completely free business plan training webinar for planners. She originally hails from the fintech world in Toronto with 9 years of digital marketing under her belt.
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