Screen Skills
Many client meetings have obviously moved online, but most people have very little experience interacting in this medium. Many advisors assume they are pretty good at it because they have never had someone complain or analyze their style and efforts.
Yet the way you dress, your pace of speech, your camera’s angle, the camera’s distance from your face, the lighting, the sound quality and how you use your hands are just a few of the essentials you need to consider.
I have recorded dozens of videos in the last year for conferences, industry training designations and online media platforms. During that time, I have had my video setup and skills run through the wringer by media professionals who want things to look and feel high-end. That process has prompted me to invest in a separate 1080p camera, to upgrade my mic (which I keep out of camera view), employ two ring lights to reduce shadows and update my wardrobe to solid-color dress shirts so lines don’t appear on lower quality cameras.
You will also have to consider your camera height. You will have to make sure to look into the camera rather than at the people on the screen. You’ll have to make sure the office HVAC system doesn’t kick in and disrupt your audio. These are just a few of the things people don’t give much thought to, even though ignoring them means you won’t seem as professional on camera.
Personal Marketing
I am not sure how much advisors pay for generic marketing material, but as we said before, since social proof is important, advisors need to develop ways to produce content that reflects their personal values and their firm’s mission.
It’s a given that people love stories, especially personal ones, but it seems this very human approach to the marketing has been forgotten and replaced by generic content by advisors trying to streamline things and make their websites into so-called destinations. But the fact is, people don’t go to our websites to see how the markets are doing, to check IRS tax rates, or to watch a video on what a 401(k) rollover is.
Take a second to ask yourself if any clients have come in and said, “Hey, I watched a couple of the videos on your website (or read a couple of articles) and want to talk about beneficiary designations and a Roth conversion.” It’s unlikely this has happened. So it’s better to replace the generic stuff with more personal marketing that tells a story about you, something that includes the lessons you have learned through experience or with other clients.
You can see a quick example of how I do this with the monthly column for Financial Advisor. Obviously, these articles are designed for financial professionals, but they can easily be tweaked to make a similar point to clients. In essence, think of personal marketing as opening a door into your life and using it to help people see and plan for a better life after retirement. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, it shows the human side of you that can never be replaced by a robo-advisor or some other form of fintech. Second, it builds what I call “KLT,” which stands for “know you, like you, trust you.” This is undoubtedly the new online foundation for not only attracting new business but also retaining existing clients.
Advisors who take these trust factors into consideration can adapt and thrive in a post-pandemic era of retirement planning. In part two of this series, we will be discussing three trends affecting clients and their transition into retirement.
Overall, when it comes to post-pandemic life for advisors helping people transition into the world of retirement, it’s essential to recognize that there’s a new set of trust factors we have to acknowledge and begin to use. That means making sure the way people previously viewed us in person is equally demonstrated online. It means improving our screen skills and making sure our online meetings or presentations not only look and sound professional but also reflect our personality and style.
Finally, the new era of retirement planning requires our content marketing to show our humanity. When people visit your website or social media pages, they want and need to get a glimpse of you, not the latest news or market insight.
Robert Laura is a best-selling author, nationally syndicated columnist and president of Wealth & Wellness Group. He is a seasoned conference speaker, corporate trainer, and pioneer in “The New Era Of Retirement,” which focuses on the non-financial aspects of life after work. He can be reached at [email protected].