🐦️ Wrong Turn, Fella!

After 8 months of being detained by police, a suspected Chinese spy pigeon has been cleared of all charges and released into the wild by Indian authorities.

Turns out, it was just a regular ol’ pigeon who happened to take a wrong turn.

Well, that’s awkward! 😬 

– Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇️ 

• What NOT to do in Zoom meetings

• The power of the first 3 seconds in marketing

• Why 88% of would-be annuity buyers don’t follow through

🎦 Zoom Meetings: The Good, The Bad, & The ‘Please Don’t Do That’

For most advisors, Zoom meetings have become pretty standard since March 2020.

That’s great – but there’s one slight problem…

A lot of people still don’t understand Zoom etiquette.

Which creates some awkward situations and necessary friction.

According to a recent study on Zoom etiquette for virtual meetings, some of the most frowned upon behaviors include:

• 📺️ Having the TV on in the background

• 🚭️ Vaping or smoking

• 🍺 Drinking alcohol

• 🎵 Having music on in the background

• 🔨 Doing unrelated work

• 😎 Wearing sunglasses

• 🥓 Eating a meal

• 😴 Wearing your pajamas

• 🧒 Having your child on your lap

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Having other people in the room

• 👶 And having your child in the same room

Now, we’re going to go out on a limb and guess that you probably aren’t smoking while you’re in a virtual meeting with a client…

And you probably aren’t wearing sunglasses or playing loud music…

But there are a few on that list that we’ve seen more than we’d care to admit.

For example, having a TV on in the background (even on mute) – creates a huge visual distraction.

(The same goes for having a computer monitor with a distracting screensaver, by the way.)

And if you’re going to use a real background (as opposed to a green screen + virtual background), make sure you position the camera so that there aren’t people walking by in the background.

Anytime there’s unexpected movement in the background, it creates distraction and can remove the focus from you and what you’re saying.

First impressions are everything in our line of work – and if the first impression is happening on a Zoom call, you can’t afford to make any of these mistakes.

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Customers Paid Over $2.2B in Overdraft Fees in 2023 [CNBC]

• Black American Wealth Could Reach $103T By 2050 [BRNS]

• 32,000+ Tech Workers Have Lost Jobs in 2024 [Y!]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• US December CPI Revised to Lower Figure, Govt Says [REUT]

• Bitcoin Breaks Above $47k for First Time Since March ‘22 [CNBC]

• Super Bowl Indicator Says 49ers SB Win Would be Better for Markets [MW]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• Controversial Proposal Calls for Limiting Retirement Plan tax Perks [CNBC]

• Advanced ChatGPT Practices Setting Advisors Apart [CW]

• Study: Advisors Spend Average of $16K/Yr on Marketing [IN]

🤫 Best-Kept Secret for More Effective Video Marketing

Video content is king in 2024.

And whether it’s a YouTube video, LinkedIn video, or a Loom video for prospecting, there’s one thing you must do in order to have success.

You need to absolutely NAIL the first 3 seconds. ⏱️ 

If you can keep someone engaged for the first 3 seconds by “stopping the scroll,” there’s a 65% chance they’ll watch for at least 10 seconds.

And if someone watches a video for 10 seconds, 45% of those people will watch for 30 seconds.

Once someone commits to 30 seconds of a video, there’s a good chance they’ll watch the entire thing.

So the question is, how do you grab someone’s attention in the first 3 seconds of a video?

⏱️ Grabbing Attention in 3 Seconds or Less

• Ditch the long drawn-out intro and dive straight into the video. Consider teasing a short yet valuable clip that appears later on in the video.

• Use a creative opening shot that makes people think, “Well, this is different.”

• Use people and animals to create an emotional trigger. (Viewers are drawn to people and pets much more than words on a screen.)

• Incorporate lots of movement to engage the brain and make people actively engage with their eyes.

Homework Assignment: Follow BuzzFeed’s YouTube Shorts or Beauty Studio’s Facebook Page and study the first 3 seconds of their recently posted videos.

Then create a list of takeaways that you can apply to your own videos.

🗓️ Upcoming Industry Event Calendar

Feb 11-13: Exchange: An ETF Experience

Feb 14: The Virtual Advisor Power Hour

Feb 15: FPA DFW Conference

🧮 By the Numbers

12%

Despite a record year for annuities in 2023, experts say there is still a huge unmet market.

According to a recent study of people nearing retirement age with at least $100k in assets, just 12% of people who said they’d be willing to buy an annuity actually did.

So, why did 88% of these people not follow through? The study suggests a few reasons, including lack of annuity knowledge.

✌️Good Vibes

A reddit user by the name of Matt recently posted a screenshot of a letter penned by his late mother before her battle with cancer reached its final stages.

He found the latter a few weeks after her passing ❤️ 

Sharing looks good on you.

When you copy that link at the bottom and share it with a few financial planning colleagues, you look like the smartest advisor in the room by keeping them informed.

Plus, you earn rewards. Sweet.