"We get good comments from people about the videos," says Slattery. "We use it as another means of communication."
There are a number of approaches. Jon Ten Haagen of Ten Haagen Financial Group in Huntington, N.Y., appears regularly on financial television news shows and then puts the videos on his Web site.
"I am working with the television station to make educational pieces they can use more than once and I can put on my Web site," Ten Haagen says. "I think it gives you an edge over the competition, but only if you can back up what you say in the video."
Because he's working with the television crew, the final product has professional polish. Ten Haagen wants to become known as a retirement income specialist, and the videos help him accomplish that.
The use of videos is becoming more widespread and is a necessity for any financial advisor, according to Matt Ackermann, the executive vice president at Jennifer Connelly Interactive Productions.
Video "is a must-have for effective communications and marketing," he says.
YouTube, which is where some of the financial advisors post their videos, is watched by 179 million Americans a month, according to Google, and about 21% of those who invest frequently visit the site.
But advisors should not expect immediate results, according to an LPL Financial study.
"Social media strategies fail when businesses view them as a side effort instead of incorporating them into their overall marketing efforts," the firm says. "The more you give, without regard for immediate payoff, the more you are likely to get."
Jeff Rose, founder of Alliance Wealth Management in Carbondale, Ill., agreed it is difficult to judge the return on investment for his videos, which appear on a variety of networking sites, including his Web site.