Why Video Matters in Professional Services Marketing

The way professional services firms connect with clients, prospects and referrers is changing. The FT Adviser recently described the shift to video and social media as “an evolution in how advisers connect with their clients.” While word of mouth, SEO rankings, and networking remain important in the industry, social media – particularly video – is quickly becoming the new shop front when it comes to marketing for accountants, lawyers, financial advisers/planners, and surveyors/property professionals.

Out with the old?

Word of mouth, testimonials, networking, and even cold calling are the tried and tested methods of winning clients in the professional services industry. However, times have changed, and we now live in an increasingly digital world. Many people now turn to social media platforms, as well as online search, as a way of scoping out advice and services.

From explainer videos on YouTube to sharable reels on Instagram, businesses showing that they are willing and able to adapt to video across the platforms their prospects are using will gain the most visibility going forward. From LinkedIn to even TikTok, all social media platforms now favour video content for the highest engagement rates, making video core to a successful, client-winning marketing strategy.

Even Google recognises this shift, integrating social media profiles, videos, and posts into its SERP (Search Engine Results Page) and AIO (AI Overview) results as video largely complements their E-E-A-T framework.

What is the E-E-A-T framework?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It's Google's method for evaluating content quality, especially vital for "Your Money, Your Life" (YMYL) topics.

Professional services content – which can impact financial stability, health, or welfare – falls directly into this category, making the E-E-A-T framework crucial for SEO success. In her blog, Alison unpacks what exactly the E-E-A-T framework means for professional services businesses who have organically built up expertise and authenticity within their space.

How video boosts your E-E-A-T

Video can boost all four pillars of your E-E-A-T framework, allowing your business to show its experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness rather than just telling.

Experience

Video allows professional services businesses to demonstrate the work they carry out. This could be a lawyer explaining a complex area of law related to a case, highlighting their approach and the outcome. An accountancy firm could have a case study featuring the clients and businesses they have helped to save tax or prepare itself for a funding round. 

Expertise

Videos are an easy to follow way for  your business to demonstrate expertise. This can be done by explainer videos on complex topics that are relevant to clients, prospects and referrers. This could be tax updates by a chartered tax adviser or a run through of how the law was applied to a particularly complex case. Tutorials and how-to videos can be great for commonly asked questions that businesses may get from clients, creating value that will lead to engagement. 

Authority

Creating high-quality and professional videos reinforces a professional presence and establishes your brand as a trusted source of information. This can be through case studies or testimonials from satisfied existing clients. Professional services businesses could also capture their achievements within their field, whether that be an award or certification to reinforce their authority.

Trustworthiness

Video offers a unique opportunity to position your firm as a thought leader. In what was once reserved for blogging, newsletters and whitepapers, video has made educational content not only informative but also engaging.

Showing the faces behind your brand helps to establish a connection between the business and the target audience. This is particularly important in the professional services industry, where business is built upon establishing strong and trustworthy referral relationships.

Video helps to humanise your team, often breaking the first barrier to contact by making your brand more approachable. Professional services often get a bad rap, often perceived as ‘stuffy’ or ‘impersonal’. Allowing your target audience  to really get to know your team will add that much- needed personal touch. When clients get to see the face behind the advice, making the first meeting, email or phone call  feel less daunting. 

Equally, it’s a great way to establish strong employer-brand, showcasing your mission and values and demonstrating what they look like on a daily basis. Behind the scenes videos and a day in the life offers a unique insight into what it would be like to work for your company and is more likely to capture the attention of the best talent as part of a wider recruitment marketing strategy.

Video testimonials from clients work wonders for building trust and authority and can  often help with conversions, increasing your rate significantly. It highlights that trust is built on actions and strong relationships within the professional services sector.

Momentum, consistency, and connection

For professional services firms, using video on social media is about more than just keeping up appearances. It's about building momentum and staying front of mind through consistent, relevant content. 

Re-purposing content

Content creation for video doesn’t always have to be brand new. It’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel for video – instead, think about what blogs, whitepapers, social posts or case studies you do already have that might translate well into video. Whether it's a 60-second explainer video, a glowing client testimonial, case study or a quick Q&A, existing webinars, blogs, articles and other valuable content can easily be re-purposed into scripts. This allows businesses to reach a  wider audience and maximise the time, effort and value of existing content while maintaining consistency and momentum.

How videos can improve your SEO

Since more people are watching videos, it makes sense that posting more videos will improve your overall SEO strategy, whether that be to Instagram, your website or to YouTube - the largest streaming platform in the world.

YouTube

In Neilsen’s latest data and overview of the biggest streaming video services in the US, YouTube came out on top with a 12% share of the overall streaming watch time in March of this year, dwarfing other streaming giants like Netflix and Prime Video. So, what does this mean for SEO?

With Google’s increasing focus on video and their EEAT strategy and  how they evaluate online content for search rankings, posting videos can have a huge impact on SEO. It’s no secret that Google owns YouTube, so it would make sense that these types of videos can also boost rankings.

YouTube videos can increase visibility by:

• Appearing in video carousels

Google frequently displays videos directly in the search results, often in video carousels, video snippets, or within AI Overviews. This means your videos may be able to rank even if your website isn’t currently.  

• YouTube has unique ranking power

As YouTube is owned by Google, therefore videos hosted on this specific platform are often preferred in Google’s SERPs and AIOs. Simply posting on YouTube isn’t a guarantee, however. The best way to ensure your YouTube videos rank is to optimise them with keywords, titles, descriptions, tags and transcripts. 

• Videos increase dwell time

Since videos are more engaging than a block of text, a longer dwell time on your content, especially when clicked through a SERP will signal to Google that your content is relevant and valuable to traffic, improving SEO. 

• Reducing your bounce rate 

Embedding a YouTube video into your website will increase engagement and may keep traffic on your website longer, lowering your average bounce rate. 

Breaking down barriers and stereotypes

Video content can help to challenge outdated assumptions, for example that young people don’t need professional advice, or that financial advice is only for the wealthy or that legal services are always expensive and formal. Short form video content democratises access to professional services by demonstrating insights that speak specifically to a certain demographic such as a younger generation or a previously underserved audience.

Even though video can’t replicate a one-to-one meeting, it does increase your visibility. It puts your experts in front of clients far more frequently than the typical quarterly review or newsletter ever could. That frequency builds familiarity - and with it, trust.

Not sure how to get started? Cal Partners can help

If you're in professional services, the question isn’t whether to use video- it’s how to use it well. Start small, stay consistent, and focus on topics that matter to your audience. Done right, video marketing doesn’t just generate leads. It fosters connections, builds authority, and shows the human side of your business. 

Cal Partners is an award-winning professional services marketing agency. Our extensive professional services expertise and experience have helped many clients craft client-winning marketing strategies, including video, social media and thought leadership content. We can help you produce videos from character animation, multi-day shoots or even testimonial videos – preparing you with questions to get the most out of the session, scriptwriting, video shooting, editing and re-purposing videos with a content strategy plan and more.

Book your free consultation today to get started.