Beyond just being an integral part of our daily lives, social media has become a game-changer for financial advisors to build their practice. In a saturated market where every advisor is competing for the same clients, standing out online and building authentic connections with one’s audience can make all the difference.

Candice Ong, a seven-year MDRT member from Singapore, has experienced this firsthand. By steadily showing up on social media, she has built a pipeline of prospects who already know and trust her before they even meet. Today, nearly half her business comes through social media, all within just one year of focusing on it. She notes, “Building your presence may not be an overnight affair. However, with enough consistency, it will be a very sustainable and lasting tool as you build and scale your business.”

What makes Ong's approach particularly effective is an understanding of how you engage with your audience. While various content formats have their place, video has emerged as the most powerful medium. Research confirms this trend: users retain significantly more information from video content compared to text, while short-form videos consistently generate the highest return on investment across social platforms.

This trend is especially evident in Singapore, where short-form video content dominates engagement on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Financial advisors who are active on these platforms would likely have experienced firsthand how short-form videos can keep you scrolling through your feed long after you intended to stop.

This combination of better retention and proven ROI explains why video has become essential for cutting through digital noise and creating content that truly resonates with your clients and prospects online.

MDRT members from Singapore share their insights on how you can start delivering videos that capture your viewer's attention.

Select your platform with your audience in mind

Choosing the right platform is the first step to meaningful engagement with your target audience. Each social media channel attracts a different demographic, so understanding where your audience spends their time is crucial. For example, in Singapore, platforms like Instagram and Facebook are most used by users aged 25 to 44, while TikTok is more popular among users aged 18 to 34.

As Ong puts it, “Relevance is key when it comes to social media. First, decide what your target audience looks like, then dive deeper to think of what they would want to see or read; think about your own stories and how you can make these experiences relevant for them.”

Develop your content strategy

A clear content strategy sets the stage for your videos and helps you stay top-of-mind with your audience. Consider building your approach around these two fundamental types of content:

Content that helps your audience get to know the real you, building trust and authenticity. This creates stronger emotional connection with them.

Content that delivers genuine value, addressing your audience’s needs and interests. This positions you as a knowledgeable resource and encourages viewers to return for more insights.

Nicholas Goh, a one-year MDRT member, shares, “Every post should answer one of three questions: What’s in it for my audience? How do I want them to feel? And what do I want them to do next? I rotate between personal reflections, financial education, and lifestyle storytelling to show the full picture of who I am beyond the job title.”

This ensures your content appeals to different aspects of your audience's interests while maintaining authenticity and professional credibility.

Craft your script prior to filming

Once you have decided on your content, scripting your video is the next step in the creation process. A well-written script helps you deliver your message clearly and confidently while reducing the need for retakes, in turn saving you valuable time and effort.

Start by determining what you want to achieve with each video, then organize your thoughts accordingly. For example, you might structure your content around presenting a relatable problem your audience faces, offering a practical solution, and ending with a clear call to action that tells viewers what to do next.

Goh shares his approach to writing a script, “I always start with a hook — something relatable, emotional, or thought-provoking that makes someone pause. With my background in film, I think in narratives: every post has a setup (a problem), a turning point (a new perspective), and a takeaway (a moment of clarity or action). I often draw inspiration from real conversations with clients or lessons from my own journey. My goal is to speak clearly to one person, because when it connects with one, it often resonates with many.”

Including captions for the video will help viewers quickly understand what it is about and will play a part in determining if they will continue to watch on. Your caption’s hook should offer a clear value proposition, spark curiosity, or evoke emotion, followed by the key information your audience needs.

Choose the right tool for the job

The good news about video editing is that you do not need expensive software or years of training to create professional-looking content. Several free, user-friendly tools can help you produce polished videos.

CapCut stands out as particularly beginner-friendly, while iMovie offers Apple users intuitive editing tools that integrate seamlessly across their devices. Both platforms allow you to create professional-quality content without the learning curve of more complex software.

Goh recommends CapCut for beginners: “It’s free, user-friendly, and offers more than enough features to create clean, professional-looking short-form videos. You can add subtitles, music, transitions, and even use trending templates with ease. Best of all, it keeps the creation process mobile-friendly, which is perfect for content on the go, especially for busy professionals. While more advanced tools like Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro are great for high-level projects, CapCut strikes the perfect balance between accessibility and quality. It’s still the app I reach for most often.”

Video content offers the ability to combine visual storytelling, emotion, and information in a format that is easy to consume and share. When viewers find your content valuable, they are likely to share it with their networks, extending your reach far beyond your immediate followers and creating opportunities for organic growth.

This shareability factor becomes especially powerful in the financial services industry, where trust and credibility are paramount. Video allows potential clients to see and hear you directly, building familiarity and confidence before they ever meet you in person.

As shared by Dickson Soh, a five-year MDRT member, “In the digital age when large amounts of information are widely available. People’s attention span is getting shorter, which is why the need to make an impression, is more important than ever, and the first place to start is definitely our social media accounts.”

By embracing video as a core component of your social media strategy, financial advisors can position themselves to thrive in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace where attention is the most valuable currency.

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How you can level up your social media marketing strategy with video content