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Written by: Amanda Romano
As the use of video becomes more and more popular as a marketing tactic, the need to optimize your video content becomes critical. Recent statistics show that video is no longer a “fad” and it’s here to stay. Did you know YouTube has a billion users? That’s almost one-third of all people on the Internet!
Great, so we know everyone is on YouTube. But what you’re probably wondering now is how does it benefit my marketing strategy as a financial advisor? Well, what if we told you that including video on a landing page has shown to increase conversion rates by 80%? Or how about 4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product then read about it? There’s no denying those facts!
So how do you stand out among your competition to ensure your videos are being watched? Good SEO is key. Take a look at these top 5 video optimization tips for financial advisors:
1. TITLE
Your video title is the first thing visitors see when searching for a video. Your title should not only be compelling but be concise and clear. Consider keeping your title short (40-60 characters) and including the major keyword(s) for which you want your video to rank are also key for SEO. For example, you may consider including keywords such as financial advisor, retirement planning, wealth management, etc. Google Trends is a great (and free!) tool to to identify relevant keywords to help drive more traffic to your video.
2. DESCRIPTION
YouTube only displays the first 100 characters in video descriptions before users have to click “show more.” Remember – your viewer came to watch a video, not read a story so keep your descriptions concise but informational. The description is also a good place for financial advisors to include a clear CTA, link back to your website or targeted landing page. Again, it’s not a bad idea to include relevant keywords in your description as well.
Following your first 100 characters in the description, you may also consider including a video transcript to make it easier to articulate the value of your video and make it easier for viewers who may be watching on mute.
This is a good example of a solid YouTube description from Bank of America
3. TAGS
YouTube’s tagging system was developed to understand the context of your video. As you’re uploading a video on YouTube, you have the option to upload it under a particular category relating to your video that it’s most likely to fall under. Tagging will help further identify your video from the various categories. For example, for a financial planning firm in Syracuse you can tag words like ‘financial planning’ or ‘Syracuse.’
4. CATEGORY
By navigating to the advanced settings in YouTube you can choose a category for your video. A category is another way to group your video with similar content on the platform. We recommend choosing the category where most people would expect to find your video. For example, as a financial advisor you may want to choose a category such as “how-to” or “education.”
5. THUMBNAIL
Your video’s thumbnail goes hand-in-hand with the title as it’s one of the first things a user sees when scrolling through a list of video results. While YouTube will auto-generate thumbnail options we highly recommend financial advisors upload a custom thumbnail. YouTube Creator Academy reports that “90% of the best performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails.” A good rule of thumb is to use a distinct thumbnail for each video and one that lets viewers know what to expect.