Over 82% of internet traffic comprises video streaming and downloads. As a financial adviser, how can you ensure that your website and marketing are prepared to meet users’ content expectations? One great idea is to use animated explainer videos.
Here at CreativeAdviser, we offer a range of ready-made videos for financial advisers and planners. They cover a wide range of topics such as pensions, investment planning and inheritance tax. They are easy to digest at 1-2 minutes long and offer a nice way to engage with current clients and new prospects. You can also brand them up with your logo and contact details.
How do animated explainer videos work for financial planners, exactly? What are their benefits and how many might you need? Below, we offer some answers to commonly-asked questions we receive about financial videos. We hope these are useful to you. If you want to discuss your own financial video needs with us, please get in touch to arrange a free, no-commitment chat with our team.
What is an animated explainer video for financial planners?
An “animated explainer” video is usually a short video based on graphic design content (rather than live footage of a “talking head”). The purpose is to communicate a core idea or topic – e.g. pension consolidation – in a clear, easily-understandable fashion.
A financial planner can use an animated explainer video to introduce their business to new potential clients – such as on their homepage. It could also be used on a blog post or “resources” page alongside articles, PDF guides and other useful content. Your financial video could also be used in various marketing activities such as during a talk or presentation at a local pension seminar.
How do you make an animated explainer video?
There is a multi-step process involved with making a strong animated explainer video. These include choosing the video style, writing the script, checking it for compliance, recording narration (if any), gathering image assets (e.g. infographics and videos), adding music, editing and publishing the presentation.
Each of these areas requires quite a specific skill set. A financial planner should think carefully, therefore, before trying to create an animated explainer video by themself (unless they have experience and skill in this area). Users can usually tell when a financial video has not been put together properly and will judge the business accordingly.
How long should an animated explainer video be?
We have found that an animated explainer video performs best when it is 1-2 minutes long. Shorter than this makes it difficult to convey the ideas you want to communicate. Longer than this tends to see a drop-off in user engagement.
People have limited attention spans. They usually watch animated explainer videos to quickly educate themselves about an important topic. Therefore, it is important to keep your communication clear and to get straight to the point. Ensure that you include a clear call to action (CTA) at the end of the presentation – such as an invitation to book a free pension consultation.
How much does an animated explainer video cost?
The aforementioned steps to creating a video – e.g. writing the script, gathering the assets, editing and publishing – all add up to a valuable skill set and time commitment. The graphic designers will also need dedicated software and subscriptions to access the resources they need to build your video. You should expect, therefore, to at least pay in the hundreds of pounds for a designer to create your own animated explainer video.
However, by offering ready-made videos for financial planners at CreativeAdviser, we can offer a competitive price for specialised financial videos (since they will hopefully be sold multiple times). They are also customisable with your logo and contact details, making them appear as your own when presented to clients and prospects.
Are animated videos cheaper than other video types for financial planners?
There are two main ways to create financial videos. One approach is to get a camera crew and film your advisers (and possibly clients) “on site” using expensive recording equipment. This might take the whole day and a lot of editing work will need to occur afterwards to sift through the footage and create multiple videos (to make best use of the time and recordings). The benefit of this approach is that you get a truly unique financial video which conveys high quality and creates a strong impression to viewers.
However, all of this adds up to costs which enter the thousands of pounds. The alternative approach is to use animated explainer videos. The work involved can all be done behind computers in a studio. This cuts out the need for travel, a camera crew and expensive equipment to record at your offices. Although your viewers do not get to see footage of your advisers, clients or offices in the animated video, the benefit is that you get access to financial videos far quicker and at a lower cost.
Where can I use an animated explainer video?
One great benefit of animated explainer videos is that a financial adviser can re-use them in multiple marketing activities and campaigns. You might use them on your website, for instance, or add a featured image and link to it in your client newsletter. Some advisers may even use a financial video to advertise on digital platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube.
Just make sure that you keep within any advertiser’s guidelines for using videos on their platforms. Also, adhere to the seller’s guidelines as there may be situations where an animated explainer video cannot be used.
