The Financial Advisor's Guide to Filming, Producing, and Editing Video Content

When it comes to content, no matter the buzzwords, new tools, or "advice," there are still three ways to consume it – watch, read, listen. While things like blogging and podcasting have a critical role in the marketing flywheel, video is becoming the centerpiece of the modern financial advisor marketing strategy.

86% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. More importantly, 93% of marketers who use video say that it's an important part of their marketing strategy1. This is across all industries, but the personal nature of the advisory relationship lends makes video a key tool.

Video is usually a pillar series we recommend as a part of any Advisor I/O member's content strategy, and it's one we use in our own business daily. Whether it's snipping up our podcast or doing Loom trainings for members, more than 50% of the content we produce for our brand is video.

We work with advisors every day, and we know video can be one of the more daunting tasks. Getting on camera can be nerve-racking; putting it out to the world, forget about it.

If you don’t think you can get comfortable on video, or your clients don't prefer receiving video content, don't produce it. Marketing should never feel like a chore.

With that said, onto the checklist. We're going to run you through the exact checklist you need, included the equipment and steps you need to take to get a video out the door.

Get the Equipment & Core Assets in Order

• Determine your camera. If your computer is equipped with a high-definition camera it’s fine to use, however we usually recommend getting a Logitech 1080p
• Get your lighting right. Usually, a ring light will do the trick, but ensure you have good front lighting, pointing at you. Back lighting is less important. Inexpensive ring lights can be found on Amazon
• A good mic is one of the biggest differentiators in quality of video. You can get a podcast mic, or general mic, that should connect into your computer. There are several podcast mics available on Amazon. We usually recommend Yeti mics, which are cheap and studio-quality
• To edit, you’ll need an easy drag-and-drop software that allows you to swap assets easily in 20-30 minutes. We recommend Camtasia
• To record, you can directly record in Camtasia, Zoom, QuickTime (very good for Mac users for recording)
• Once you have the equipment purchased, make sure you test out your camera, mic, and lighting setup to ensure quality is there. Quality of video is a major differentiator in video production

Set the Video Content Direction

• Each episode will need an objective – so before filming, ask yourself what do I want to drive home in this episode? Set a high-level objective down on paper so you know what you’re trying to accomplish – the big takeaway
• Script out your introduction and story. Whether you read it or not, the opening is the hook, and people decided to stay or leave within the first six seconds of any video. Your intro should begin with one of three talk tracks:
  • Personal experience (i.e., “I was having quarterly check-ins with my clients and a question that kept popping up…”)
  • A trending data-point (i.e., “A recent study by XXX said that investors who retire early think about these six topics…”)
  • A headline (i.e., “If you haven’t been following, crypto has been in the news in a big way lately due to XXX…”)
• Determine any key talking points within the video. 1-3 key points that you’ll want to cover or make sure you draft up questions if you’re going to have a guest or partner on the video

Get to Filming 

• Get your shot setup. Ensure you have a nice backdrop. This could include books, plants, a window (balance the lighting). The key to the shot is that you want to fill any dead space within the video. For example, if you have a bookshelf, the bookshelf should be to the left or right of you, with you filling the space in front of the camera
• Do a test recording. Before filming the video, quickly do a test recording to ensure your sound is connected and firing appropriately, meaning the recording will save to the cloud or your computer
• Record your video – bring the energy! People connect with energy, so if you’re low energy, people will disconnect emotionally from the series. Remember, don’t read directly off the script, if you’re doing solo shoots, make eye contact with the camera

Edit and Launch Your Video

• Once you’ve filmed your video, it’s time to edit. A few things to remember on editing:
  • Have an intro animation: 4-6 seconds that allows you to introduce the name of the series
  • Include a title card for who you are and your title
  • Include a series name logo or practice logo in the bottom right or bottom left of the video
  • Once you’ve edited the video, you can export the MP4 and it’s ready for uploading. Depending on the length, this could be YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, Vimeo, or your website
• Once the video is uploaded, share away. Remember post once, promote twice, then twice again. Spread out your promotion of a single episode or video over a week or two, and craft different ways into the video to create interest and highlight the theme

The Bottom Line

Video doesn’t have to be overwhelming, nor does it have to be something that takes hours of your week – and it should be a part of your marketing strategy. The key is to build it into the marketing flywheel so that it creates momentum and inertia. Once you do that, shooting and editing get easier while engagement grows.

Get to filming.

1. Wyzowl's State of Video Marketing Survey