RIAs Use Short Social Videos to Humanize Firms

Financial advisors are posting short videos on LinkedIn and Instagram to put faces on their firms, reach likely clients and generate referrals. Advisors and consultants say brief, regular posts create an online footprint that prospects find before initial meetings and can reduce introductory conversation time.

Sathya Chey Patterson, managing partner and wealth advisor at Arise Private Wealth in Rolling Hills Estates, California, began experimenting with video during the pandemic and moved to a deliberate posting schedule last year. She posts short explainers on topics such as brokerage accounts, Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans, and uses brief invitation clips aimed at working mothers. Patterson said the videos let potential clients get to know her before a qualification call and save time in early meetings.

Kelly Klingaman, founder of Kelly Klingaman Financial Planning in Austin, Texas, has posted videos since starting her RIA four years ago. She publishes two to three items a week, sets aside Mondays and Fridays for content creation and schedules client meetings midweek. Klingaman films with a phone stand, a wireless microphone and edits with an app called Splice. She prefers off-the-cuff delivery and focuses on breadwinning women in finance, technology, engineering and medicine, often sharing aspects of being a working mother.

Mike Byrnes, president of Byrnes Consulting, points to the low technical barrier for advisors. He noted that short clips can gain views quickly and that advisors should target a specific client profile and use performance data to decide which posts to promote. Byrnes added that concise, targeted clips can lead to measurable client visits and a strong return on investment if even one conversion follows a handful of meetings.

Advisors describe modest production setups and occasional professional help. Patterson received lighting and filming assistance from her daughter and a three- to four-hour session with a marketing firm that yielded several weeks of posts. Many advisors keep a simple aesthetic, such as speaking on a walk while wearing casual attire, which they say viewers find authentic.

Most videos are kept short. Patterson aims for clips under a minute to avoid losing viewers. Klingaman views early, imperfect videos as a baseline for improvement over time. Advisors also use analytics to refine topics and formats; when a post performs well they sometimes pay to boost reach.

Advisors say licensed planners posting reliable information can offer a public-service benefit by countering misleading financial content online. Patterson describes her posting as partly altruistic and said she aims to put helpful information in the public sphere.

Referrals remain the primary source of new clients, but advisors report that online content has altered the referral process. Prospects who receive a recommendation now commonly Google a planner and watch videos before scheduling a meeting. Short social videos act as an initial introduction, shape first impressions and can reduce time spent on basic rapport-building during the first consultation.