Financial advisers and investor education firms use YouTube to spread financial awareness among youth.
Social media is the new buzz word. Financial advisors are increasingly adopting YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to connect with masses, especially youngsters.
At a recent Network FP conference in Mumbai, Brittney Castro, a US based financial planner explained how social media had helped her grow her business. She said that spreading financial literacy through social media helped her position herself as a ‘brand’ for financial planning. Castro spends 20 hours a week on social media. She advised financial advisers that content for social media should be tailor made for their target prospects.
Though the strategy takes time to pay off, it helps yours brand, engage with clients and create awareness among people.
In India too, few financial adviser and investor education firms have realized the potential of social media. They have come out with a series of educational videos on YouTube to connect with youngsters.
Gaurav Mashruwala, Founder of ‘A Cutting Edge’ has put up a series of educational videos on YouTube called ‘Money Makeover with Gaurav Mashruwala’ where he was talks to youngsters about financial matters. Gaurav takes up key issues related to youth like health insurance, importance of contingency fund, credit card usage, and so forth.
Sharing the rationale behind this initiative, Gaurav told Cafemutual that social media is the best way to connect with youngsters who typically spend more time online than reading newspapers or watching television. “The idea is to spread awareness among people about money management. I have been educating people for over a decade. YouTube is a popular and cost effective way to reach out to masses, especially young people.”
Similarly, Uma Shashikant, Managing Director, Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL) has launched a website called MoneyKraft to spread financial literacy among investors and advisors. Moneykarft.com demystifies myths and explains financial jargon related to investments like fiscal deficit, liquid funds, mutual fund and SIP through videos.
Uma said that the idea is to demystify myths related to investments and make people aware of concepts related to finance and investments. “To access information, many people prefer watching videos over reading. Also, we can simplify these concepts in an effective way through videos compared to other media. The content revolves around simplifying financial investments. We pick up topics like fiscal deficit, budget and liquid funds and try to explain in such a way that a layman can understand. The videos are meant for both advisors and investors. Advisors can use these videos to explain basic concepts of investments and importance of mutual funds.”
A Gurgaon based investor education firm Fundsmantra Advisors promoted by D Pradhan and Alok Chaturvedi has too launched a similar YouTube channel which covers basic concepts of investments to spread financial awareness among investors, students and BFSI professionals. However, the company charges a fee for intermediaries and advanced content.
In an email response to Cafemutual, the company said, “The content is broadly categorized into four market segments namely equity, debt, mutual funds, market economics. We also choose topics which are highlighted by media and press, which we feel can be presented in simple and easy manner for quick understanding and will help investors in taking informed decisions. For instance, QE in the Eurozone inspired us to create an explainer on Quantitative Easing. We strongly believe that a community of financially aware investors would create a strong and robust financial market structure for retail investors in India.”
Leveraging YouTube to spread financial literacy not only educates people but also helps advisers in reaching out to masses in a cost effective way. Advisers can shoot their own videos on interesting topics and upload them on YouTube to connect with prospects. However, advisors should present concepts in an engaging way to attract eyeballs.
In order to create a lasting impact, Maggie Crowley of Advisor Website, in her article suggested that financial advisors should answer FAQs, share tips, share success stories and interview people. Click here to read.
