Merrill Launches Virtual Video Studio for Advisors
Advisors can use the new tool to create content and connect with clients and prospects at scale.
Merrill launched Merrill Video Pro, a new digital tool that it said Tuesday can be used by advisors as a virtual video studio to create content and connect with clients and prospects at scale.
“Capabilities like Merrill Video Pro are much needed and welcome,” Tommy Marshall, emeritus executive director of the Georgia Fintech Academy and co-founder and COO of fintech firm myFloc, told ThinkAdvisor by email on Wednesday. “Research has shown that more and more clients prefer to engage with video content and the more personalized that content becomes the better for the overall relationship,” he said.
However, “over the past 5 years it has been tough to appropriately empower advisors to create video content while keeping inside the bounds of compliance,” he pointed out.
“The fact that Merrill Lynch has created a solution to make this easy and compliant for advisors is a significant step and one that will likely have a positive business impact,” he added.
The new tool’s introduction follows the October launch of Merrill Advisor Match, a digital online tool that connects prospective clients seeking financial advice with a Merrill advisor who best fits their needs and preferences.
Before that, in 2021, Merrill launched Digital Wealth Overview, a tool that allows clients to watch a short video providing their investment and banking details.
Merrill Video Pro lets advisors create videos using an “ever-expanding library of customizable content” on topics including managing retirement goals, navigating markets during turbulent times and wealth transfer strategies, the firm said.
Customized videos can then easily be shared by advisors via email, LinkedIn and on an advisor’s website, as well as by incorporating the videos into events and seminars, Merrill said.
“Video is an engaging medium for advisors to connect in a modern, simple way,” Kirstin Hill, Merrill Wealth Management chief operating officer, said in a statement. “The new tool is the latest example of how Merrill is modernizing the way advisors communicate with clients and connect with prospects.”
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