Snappy Kraken Launches Video Tool for Advisors

Snappy Kraken launched a new tool designed to help financial advisors automate and scale their video marketing capabilities, the marketing technology firm said Tuesday.

The Personal Connection Video series is available at the company’s website and is being offered at no additional cost to current subscribers. The “turnkey” solution includes a prepared script, a ready-made branded landing page for advisors to host the video, and coordinated emails that Snappy Kraken said are designed to promote the bi-weekly video messages to clients and prospects. The recorded video can be easily uploaded to the hosting platform — be it YouTube, Vimeo or Wistia, Snappy Kraken said.

Complimentary social media posts will be added in the next version of the tool that the company said will be released in May.

“Until now, advisors had only had a couple of choices for using video,” according to Snappy Kraken CEO Robert Sofia. “Either they had to figure out on their own what to say, where to host it and how to distribute it — which is a lot of work,” he said in a statement. “Or they were left to use some canned videos that somebody else produced for them, maybe ones that are being sold to every other advisor.”

However, with his company’s new tool, advisors can “create their own impression, in their own personal style, in a simple, easy-to-use approach,” he said, adding it “radically simplifies the process, making it easy for advisors to stay connected with clients even during these difficult times.”

Although video marketing “has been used successfully by many advisors, in today’s environment it’s even more important,” Sofia said. After all, many advisors have yet to use video as a tool to help them or have only limited experience with it and may not feel confident using video for marketing purposes.

In response to industry demand for “more nimble marketing and virtual offerings,” FiComm Partners recently introduced Advisor Education Tools to provide financial advisors with the tools they need to “implement proactive marketing and video communications designed to nurture and enhance client and prospect relationships,” the public relations firm said.

Sofia recorded a seven-minute introductory video that explains the Snappy Kraken tool and how it works. He also provides tips for advisors who may not have any experience with video. The video presentation tips, however, are “good reminders even for those who’ve done video in the past,” Snappy Kraken said.

Sofia’s tips are:

1. “Be yourself. Don’t worry if you’re not a professional presenter because your clients and prospects already love you for who you are, so just be that person.”
2. “Don’t worry about the environment as long as it’s clean and professional.”
3. “Make sure there’s good lighting, maybe some good overhead lights coupled with some natural light (or light bulbs).”
4. “Make sure the audio quality is good. If a built-in computer mic isn’t adequate, there are reasonably priced mics that can be plugged into the computer for better sound.”