In our previous articles, we covered how advisers can master Twitter and LinkedIn to engage with prospects. In this article, we will explore how advisers can benefit from the popular online video platform YouTube.
With over 1.5 billion users worldwide, YouTube is used for learning as well as recreational activities like watching movies and songs. The rise in smartphone usage has also helped consumption of You Tube.
Encouragingly, many advisers in India are already using YouTube. For those who are mulling to adopt this medium, here are some tips.
How to prepare content?
Generally, people are not looking to know about your services and products on You Tube. They are seeking information about something they have heard of. So they might have already heard about mutual funds from other sources and would like to learn more about its pros and cons. Even before consulting a financial adviser, many of them would google to get a basic understanding. Those who don’t like reading might end up on You Tube to learn about mutual funds.
The topic has to be specific. One easy way to find a topic for your video is looking at the frequently asked questions by clients/prospects. (Many people would want to find out about the risks or tax saving through mutual funds). Alternatively, go on sites like Quora and other forums to get a sense of the most common types of queries people have about investments. Look for questions that will be asked again and again by prospects or investors.
If you are speaking at an investor awareness programme, you can record and upload it on You Tube. This will help you build trust and showcase your expertise and can be a great way for attracting prospects looking for a financial adviser.
Why give free information?
It is true that there are many DIY investors. They might use the information and invest on their own. You can’t stop them. But novice investors too are looking for information. Showcasing your expertise will attract prospects. If are not found, how will you get clients? Your conversion ratio increases through educational content. Consider it as an investment in brand building and marketing.
How many videos should I upload?
Uploading a few videos won’t give you that reach. Think of it like a campaign. List down the broad areas (Tax saving, risk-reward payoff in mutual funds, types of mutual funds and so on) you want to cover and narrow down on 5-6 videos that will address each of these topics. You need to create a repository. If people like your videos they will subscribe to your channel. Subscribing to your channel lets members get an automatic notification whenever you upload a new video.
How to record videos?
You don’t need expensive camcorder to shoot these videos. Any good smartphone can take good quality video. Place your smartphone on a tripod while shooting.
If you wish to show a PowerPoint presentation directly from your desktop, you can use a screen capture software or You Tube’s ‘Screenshare’ option to mirror your screen. Watch this video to learn this tool. Add your voice with earphone mic.
Another popular way to produce videos is by going Facebook Live. The video can be then downloaded from Facebook to upload on You Tube.
File Name
For your video to reach the right audience, the name of the file that you save on You Tube also matters. Using main keywords will help search engines find your video easily. So give an apt file name to your video.
Title
Just like a good headline prompts you to read a news article, a catchy title for your video will make people play your video. Also, make sure you put the keywords in title.
Description
Description conveys valuable information about what users are going to learn from your video. Give an overview of your video by putting the main keywords. Right title, description and tags help you boost views and watch time. Just key in a few words on You Tube search tab and it will automatically suggest terms people are searching for. You can use the same words in your title and description. You can also add your name, company name and website url in the description so that prospects can reach out to you.
Annotations
It means adding additional information in the form of text to your You Tube content. Think of it something similar to the highlights you make while reading a textbook which helps you remember important points of the subject. Login to your page and click on My Channel at the left-hand side navigation bar and click on Video Manager. Go to the video you want to edit and click on edit option – annotations. You will get five types of annotations: speech bubble, note, title, spotlight and label.
Video Length
Given that people have low attention span on internet, it is best to limit the length of your video to 10 minutes.
Tags
Use relevant tags to help your video reach the right audience looking for that information. This will improve your ranking. Six tags are ideal.
Thumbnail
They are screenshots of videos people see before they play the video. YouTube can auto generate the thumbnail but you can also customize it to suit you. It should be intriguing and make people click. You can also put some text on thumbnail. Watch this tutorial to learn to create thumbnails.
Share
You will see a share icon just below the video which will help you share the video through email, LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Twitter, reddit and Embed. Include the links of your videos in your newsletters. Some advisers also put their You Tube videos on the company homepage. Sharing your videos on other social media platforms will help you get more views.
Call to action: Before your video ends, it’s a good idea to prompt viewers what do next? For instance, for more updates on ELSS, subscribe to our newsletter on abc.com.
Things to avoid:
- Mentioning product or company names
- Never sell, educate
Hope this article helps you get started on YouTube.
