Social Media Video Best Practices for Financial Advisors in 2022
This article originally appeared on Advisorpedia on February 25th, 2022, and can be found here.
Social media has evolved, what used to be simple sites for connecting with friends and family has become more. Businesses have joined the fray. It’s not just your friends sharing posts but companies vying for your attention. They want your recognition, so they regularly post short writings matched with eye-catching images to pull you in, but that’s not all it takes anymore.
In 2022, social media users want more and the only way to satisfy them is by expanding your content. That would be using videos. People want to watch things happen and hear them as they do. Videos are taking social media marketing by storm and you don’t want to miss out on it.
Continue reading to learn the best practices and tips to increase engagement and post popular content that will turn people’s heads.
Why Are Videos So Effective on Social Media?
The main goal of a firm’s social media is to create interest and engagement with its audience. Connecting with them on a more personal level so they feel more inclined to either start or continue consuming your product/service. Videos are the current leader in connecting users with brands and on average, a visitor sees a video within the first 10 seconds of social media use. This is the case because videos perform well with most algorithms, based on watch time. Research from Mention shows that Instagram videos usually pull in 2x the engagement as compared to images.
The algorithm is the leading contributor to this, as keeping users on the site for as long as possible is crucial to social media. The more time spent browsing a website, the more income that is generated from ads. That’s why videos are favored by algorithms, they bring in watch time and boost time spent on the platform.
The more users who see your videos, the greater your engagement impact. If the video is interesting, people will discuss it in the comments. If it’s enjoyable, users will react with likes. But best of all, if it exceeds expectations, users will share it and it will continue to be spread to more and more people. That’s what you as a firm should be looking for as a social media content creator. Create engaging videos that can be reacted to, commented on, and shared.
What Types of Videos Are Used On Social Media?
Just like books and movies, videos have different genres and varieties. Some are created to inform, others to entertain, and some to experiment. Depending on the audience you are trying to reach, certain genres are more suited to your position. Here’s a short list of videos best suited for social media:
- Tutorials/How-to’s
- Product Demos
- User-Generated
- Announcements/Reveals
- Interview/Q&A
- Events
- BTS or Behind-the-Scenes
- Offers and Deals
- Relatable Stories
But What Type Should I use?
The types of videos you use will depend solely on your audience. Along with the platform you’re posting it on, knowing how video players work on certain sites is also important. For example, on Facebook and Twitter, you have a control panel that allows video scrubbing. But with Instagram, there’s no such thing, meaning longer videos tend to not be watched fully. Not only that, but you have to take into account aspect ratios and file size restrictions.
While there are numerous types of videos, don’t think you have to use them all. Some businesses aren’t suited for certain genres and there’s nothing wrong with that. For financial advisors, informational videos often work best. And luckily, these can be some of the quickest to create, as they often involve you speaking directly to the camera, like in the videos over on the Twenty Over Ten YouTube Channel:
What Makes Videos So Effective?
There are many reasons why videos tend to create such a great impact when posted on social media. As discussed above, the algorithm loves videos and does its best to promote them as it sees fit. Along with the algorithm, videos are effective because they:
- Easily grab the attention of users
- Allows firms to convey messages in unique ways
- Make the most of trending topics
- Share important news or updates
- Inject personality into your business, sets a voice
- Increase user-advisor engagement
How To Create a Video for Social Media
Talking about making a video is easy, but actually creating it is a different beast. There are lots of little details involved with putting together a video. Sometimes it almost makes you wonder if it’s worth the hassle, but trust us, it definitely is. Eclincher composed a checklist of video to-do’s, including but not limited to:
- Go in with a strategy
- Keep your videos a reasonable length
- Make the first few seconds pop
- Include subtitles if there’s talking
- If using music, make sure you’re allowed to
- End with a call-to-action
- Optimize it for different channels
Here’s an example of an Instagram video posted by Dove, it checks many of the items on the list. You can tell the video was optimized for Instagram because it was short and sweet and had subtitles for those who might scroll with audio.
Remember when putting together your video, don’t overthink it. Videos are made to be interesting, that’s why social media has become such a big supporter of them. People want to watch something that will make them care, whether it’s about a product, service, or cause.
In the end, there are no real rights or wrongs to video creation, but knowing what your audience expects or wants is important. Make videos you’re proud to share while also ensuring your followers are proud to watch and share them. Keep experimenting and you’ll eventually find video formats that fit your firm.
Where to Post Your Videos
Now that you’ve figured out what types of videos you want to create, the next step is to decide where to post them. The most commonly used social media for posting videos are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Each hosts their own audience base and video intricacies. Depending on your firm and video type, certain websites will be more appealing. If you’re thinking of posting longer, more informative clips, YouTube or LinkedIn might be your choice. For shorter and more entertaining videos, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook will be more your speed.
Here’s a quick rundown of each site and what they look for in terms of video content:
1. YouTube
YouTube is the largest video platform with over 122 million daily active users, making it a great place to share your video content. Often used for solving problems, many popular videos follow the search terms “How to”, “Best way to”, or “Product Review” and look for relevant thumbnails. Appealing to people who want to get things done or learn something new. YouTube would be the perfect platform for a firm to show off how its service works and the best ways to use it. Along with tutorials on topics relevant to your firm. The videos tend to be on the longer side and typically have a 16:9 aspect ratio.
2. Facebook
Facebook is the biggest social media site, having 2.8 billion active monthly users. Inspirational videos, emotionally evocative videos, event clips, employee spotlights, and commercials are the videos most companies post on Facebook. Facebook is different as your videos are typically only shared with friends and followers. They’re generally more entertaining and appeal to customer emotions. Around 85% of people watching Facebook videos do so with no sound, so be sure to include captions. Facebook uses a plethora of aspect ratios but the most common is 1280 x 720.
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-heavy social media and as such videos including funding rounds, hot takes on the industry, mentor praising, interviews, and live conference broadcasts are commonplace. Having 690 million annual users makes LinkedIn a great competitor to other social media but sets itself apart by focusing on the business side of sociability. Along with videos talking about upcoming company events and updates. Business trends are also a popular video topic on LinkedIn so be sure to keep up to date. Videos tend to be 1920×1080 and go up to 4096×2304, so HD is more than welcome.
4. Twitter
Some consider Twitter the debate forum of social media, things can go viral fast for better or worse. Twitter has 206 million active daily users, all of whom are ready to discuss different topics. So creating videos that make users think and talk is never a bad idea. Videos tend to vary in length and the common videos tend to feature breaking news, hot takes, interviews, and just anything that’s entertaining. The recommended aspect ratio is 1920×1080.
5. Instagram
Instagram is all about catching users’ attention so beautiful product design, behind-the-scenes stories, interviews, and Q&As are popular. People love beautiful things, which explains why Instagram has about 500 million daily active users. Show them something that is visually appealing and you’re sure to succeed. Videos tend to be shorter but rich in content. Instagram embodies the idea of quality over quantity. Since Instagram deals in squares, the best aspect ratio is 1080×1080.
