Video stars, “Advisor Style”

So, Jeanjean says, it makes sense to use tools such as short videos posted on a website to snag a potential client’s interest: a video can help project that interpersonal chemistry that is so important to adding and retaining clients. Videos also can help you reach out to existing clients who may be looking for guidance or who have questions about a new product. Video’s relative simplicity can help demystify a topic — financial planning and investing — that remains murky for many clients.

The experience of Douglas Griffioen, an advisor with Toronto-based DundeeWealth Inc. in Waterloo, Ont., is proof that videos can be used effectively to gain new clients. A few months ago, Griffioen received a call from a prospect who had been referred to him by another client. When they met, the client mentioned that she had checked out the video Griffioen had posted on his website before the meeting. “For her,” Griffioen says, “that was the decision-maker.”

Griffioen decided to make the video slightly more than two years ago, after his firm offered advisors the opportunity to work with a video-production company for a discount. The program was part of DundeeWealth’s marketing support program.

The process was well-organized, Griffioen says. He spent some time writing a script (based on suggested questions provided by the production company), had it approved by DundeeWealth’s compliance department, then memorized what he could. Once at the studio, Griffioen had some simple makeup applied to help deal with the unpleasant effects that production lights can have on skin colour and shine.

Help was at hand in other ways, too: there was a prompter working with the camera operator. “She would ask me the questions from the script and I’d respond. And she’d stand at different sides of the camera so that I was looking in different directions,” he says. The shoot took only about half an hour and, a week or so later, he received the 2:25-minute video and posted it on his website.

Although Griffioen still is feeling his way in this medium, he now is aiming for a biannual production schedule to keep his videos updated. “It’s kind of slick to have video on your website,” he says, adding that he thinks it provides an edge for his business. “It comes back to people seeing you and hearing you. It just gets you to a higher level of comfort [with clients].”

Dan Richards, president of Toronto-based ClientInsights, agrees: “Video can be very powerful in capturing people’s attention, telling your story and communicating the emotional component of who you are.”

Responding to advisors who noted that clients seldom seemed to read the economic reports they are emailed each month, Richards started encouraging advisors to create video versions of the written reports. That was three years ago. Today, his website features more than 1,000 videos for advisors to send to clients.

Adding video to your marketing mix is still very much discretionary for advi¬sors — but it won’t stay that way, Richards warns: “If you’re targeting young investors, you’re going to need video sooner rather than later.”
In fact, Richards says, research indicates that if younger investors visit a website and don’t see a video in the first 20-seconds, they’ll leave. “It’s generational,” he says.

Although it may not be urgent for advi¬sors who are targeting the 60-plus crowd to produce video, Richards adds, more professionals in other fields — such as law, real estate and accounting — also are now using video. That trend, he says, will contribute to raising client expectations when it comes to video content on websites.

While video is not necessarily the right marketing strategy for every advisor, it certainly can help build a brand, says Mike Reynolds, director of wealth management and branch manager with Richardson GMP Ltd. in Toronto: “It really fits into what we’re trying to do here, which is to embrace all sorts of social media.”

Since joining the firm a little more than a year ago, Reynolds has been helping advisors realize the potential of video. His first step was to add a staffer with a background in corporate video who also had all the equipment and know-how to push the initiative forward.

That move paid off quickly. “We were able to leverage her expertise into test-driving this,” Reynolds says, “and seeing if it makes sense from a corporate side.”

So far, about one-quarter of Toronto-area Richardson GMP advisors are including video in their marketing strategies, says Reynolds. One team, for instance, produces regular video blogs on topics of interest to clients. Examples include registered disability savings plans, philanthropy and hedge funds. Another team sends event invitations to clients through video email. Yet another team has created a series of interviews with portfolio managers for their accredited clients.

The firm’s belief in video marketing goes right to the top, Reynolds says: “We’ve had our CEO, Andrew Marsh, record welcome videos for new clients.”
There’s something else special about the video format, familiar to many who watch 24-hour news broadcasts: video creates instant experts. “You might not be the [top] expert,” Jeanjean says. “But it makes you look like you know your stuff.”

There are caveats. Video may be an integral part of client communications for some advisors, but it’s not a marketing cure-all, warns Reynolds. “It resonates with some clients,” he says, “but, just like email, it doesn’t resonate with all clients.”

And, as with all marketing tools, video is not going to shoulder all the work for you. “If somebody thought that they were going to shoot a video, [then] sit back and expect the phone to ring,” Reynolds says, “it’s not going to drive revenue that way.”

Besides, not everyone should be in front of a camera, warns Stephen Littlechild, vice president, strategic client service, with Jackson Marketing Corp., a marketing agency in Toronto that has worked with financial advisors.
“If I get the sense that you’re a bit too slick for your own good and I don’t really believe what you’re saying, then it’s not going to have the effect you wanted,” he says. “It’s like political ads more than anything. Do I like you?”
If you’re one of the majority of advisors who haven’t stepped into the video realm, here are some things to keep in mind:

> It’s going to cost you
It is possible to shoot video on the cheap — Jeanjean says that the latest versions of iPhones, combined with decent lighting and no noise interference, can even make for decent video.
But advisors should stick with a professional look, Richards warns: “The video has to be up to a decent standard, or you may be hurting yourself as much as helping yourself.”

This doesn’t mean you need to hire the top production firm in the country, however. Richards says that a video can be made for about $1,000 by working with smaller firms or even by approaching colleges and seeing if someone in the broadcast arts program can work with you.

George Hartman, president and CEO of Market Logics Inc. in Toronto, suggests that advisors consider getting professional help at least for the initial video setup — at a cost ranging from about $500 to $2,000, depending on extras — to ensure that the production values are up to par.
One way to keep costs low is to buy in bulk, says Littlechild. Being prepared to shoot several videos in one sitting — even an entire year’s worth over a weekend — is a great way to keep costs low, he says.

> Style matters
And be warned: just because a company says it can shoot video doesn’t mean it will do a good job, says Littlechild: “Do they have a camera and lights? Sure. Can they put together a couple of minutes of video of someone sitting behind their desk? Absolutely. But it’s a matter of how well it’s done. Like anything, you’re basically telling a story. You have to have narration; you have to have relevance.”

Be aware that not everyone is a potential copywriter, Littlechild warns. Using your nephew to help pound out a script might not be the best choice. An advisor needs to sound spontaneous, casual and conversational while still being compliant with company and securities regulations. It takes panache, he adds, and most non-professionals can’t do it by themselves.
Video also needs to be dynamic, to avoid the glazed-eyes syndrome. One long, static shot can be boring, Littlechild warns: “People will lose interest.”
Shooting from different angles can add visual interest, as can graphic elements such as charts, text overlays and tickers.

Audio is another important component in which there is some room for creativity — as long as the quality is kept high.
“The sound quality is paramount,” Richards says. “People will put up with video quality that’s not great, as long as it’s OK. They won’t put up with bad sound.”

> Don’t pull a James Cameron
It’s better to do a series of small hits than to try to say everything in one video. Most experts agree that two minutes is the maximum length you would want for your video segments.

“We have a short attention span,” Little¬child says. “And even at two minutes — we track these things — and, oftentimes, [viewers] won’t watch all of [it]. It’s just how we’re wired these days.”

Also, with shorter pieces, Little¬child says, you are better able to be strategic by integrating all of your online components — websites, video blogs and professional networking sites, for instance — in order to drive traffic and expand the scope of your individual footprint.

Jeanjean recommends that you also post your videos on YouTube. It’s free to do so and, as the most popular search engine for online video, YouTube increases the chance you will be discovered by a potential client.
“I’m not saying you’re going to get leads,” he says. “But it’s a numbers game, and that number goes in favour of YouTube.”

> Know what you don’t know
It’s OK to be daunted by the idea of being in front of a camera, Littlechild says, and it takes most people some time to get comfortable. Some very personable people who are superstars when they’re speaking to a group freeze in front of a camera and might even start stuttering.

Some don’t realize that their eyes are darting around or that they move their hands too much for the camera. That’s why it’s crucial to hire someone who can judge how things look on camera and who also can work around your individual peculiarities.

One test Richards passes along to advisors who are inexperienced with video: “Once you make the video, put it on and turn the sound off.” Viewers respond as much to how you say something as to what you say, he says, and facial expressions, hand gestures and the like can affect a video significantly. It’s a helpful, if somewhat embarrassing exercise for anyone, he adds, but especially rookies.

Of course, some advisors, for any number of reasons, are not fit for the little screen. Quirky habits that seem charming off-screen can be magnified into something unrecognizable by the unforgiving camera, according to Littlechild: “We do run up against it occasionally, where someone just isn’t any good on camera. If they are horrifically dry and monotone, that doesn’t bode well. Or they come across as being smarmy and car salesman-like ¬— and that doesn’t [work] either.”

Then there’s the problem of you sweating excessively, thanks to the strong lights. This can be particularly difficult to conceal. Reynolds has seen it more than once; it doesn’t inspire confidence.

“There are just some people who will never be comfortable in front of the camera,” he says, “and they shouldn’t embrace it.”  IE