From time to time, we all encounter surprises. For me, the most unexpected development since launching this blog in January has been the response to the video clips that are periodically added to the site.

We all absorb information differently - in my case the preferred vehicle to gather information has been by reading. That's why I was skeptical about the impact of the four minute video interviews on this site. And that's why the response I've received to them has been so surprising.

While the feedback to the written commentaries has been very positive, the feedback and queries generated by the videos have dwarfed that to my posts. The videos have been broadly redistributed and forwarded within banks, insurance companies and IDA and MFDA firms - to the point that I've had to rethink my stance on the value of communicating via video rather than in writing.

There are some obvious reasons that video works - the ability to communicate via sight and sound has an impact that transcends what can be conveyed with words on paper. And in today's time-pressed world, many people prefer to click on a four minute video rather than tackle a two page article - it somehow seems easier. (If you'd like to see the difference in impact, you can compare the written and video versions of the same topic on this site).

You don't have to go all the way to video to communicate more effectively. Today, you can dramatically increase the impact of telephone meetings by talking to clients while you take them through Power Point presentations you've sent beforehand or use free "co browsing" tools offered by firms like Globeadvisor and Stockhouse that allow you to converse while looking at the same information.

Or, rather than having your assistant desktop a boring email or hard copy newsletter that is unlikely to be read, you can outsource an online and written newsletter to someone like the award winning newsletter company Ariad - and tailor how you send it to client preferences. Better still, Jordan Rosenberg of Counsel Wealth recently directed me to software supplier Brainshark, which allows you to affordably create three minute PowerPoint presentations that clients and prospects can view while listening to you narrate each slide.

In any kind of communication, remember that the more opportunity for clients to interact, the more engaged they'll be.

In January, I wrote about the idea of recording an interview with a money manager, market strategist or someone from a fund company, offering clients the chance to call in and listen. One advisor who did this emailed to thank me for the idea - almost 30% of clients listened to the call and he received three leads where clients had invited a work colleague to listen in or passed the call in number on to friends. For one example of what a conference call might sound like, you can go to the call I conducted with RBC Asset Management in early February; click on the "Listen to" section at the top right of this site.

Another example of using technology to improve communication effectiveness comes from a recent entrant to the business at RBC Dominion Securities. Focusing on the business owner market, he organized a half hour conference call featuring an internal expert on individual pension plans. He was able to get 25 prospects to call in; the presenter walked listeners through a PowerPoint presentation which they had received beforehand and then took questions. The call led to a number of leads and several sales - the odds of being able to get 25 time pressed business owners out to a meeting would have been close to zero and and the chances of being able to deliver a compelling message through voice alone without the accompanying PowerPoint equally remote.

Not long ago, many advisors would have been concerned about the limited number of clients connected online - older clients especially were resistant to this. While there will always be an element who want to hear from you solely in a traditional fashion, online access has become universal even among seniors, as they email their grandchildren, download photos and do research on the net. Note that none of these techniques replace face to face meetings and phone calls - think of them instead as something to make existing communication more efficient and effective and as a very powerful supplement to the contact you already have in place.

Going back to my videos, I've been surprised by how quickly and cheaply these videos can be produced. Typically, I meet Gavin Adamson, a reporter from Investment Executive who has developed skills as a videographer at the TSX in downtown Toronto - we use the TSX for a visually interesting background. There are no elaborate sets, no lights, no makeup - I simply walk through my talk twice while Gavin records it from two different angles; each clip takes about fifteen minutes to record. Gavin takes the material and edits it on his PC in under two hours, adding some music and visual effects - and the video is posted on IE TV and my site the next morning. An interesting feature of this is that the software that he uses replaces studios with millions of dollars of editing equipment.

Nobody will mistake the result for a big budget production - but it gets the job done. Given the ability to produce a reasonably professional video quickly and relatively cheaply, I predict that within two years every fund company will be distributing money manager outlooks via video - which advisors will be able to forward to interested clients. And shortly afterwards, I forecast that financial advisors will begin to communicate with clients via video as well. There will always be advisors who and clients who prefer information in writing, but they will be a shrinking number. (One note of caution - when video is bad, it's REALLY bad). To get a sense of how video can work, go to tv.investmentexecutive.com.

The challenge for all of us in this incredibly dynamic world is to lead change rather than chase it. When it comes to communicating with clients, more interactive communication is sure to come - it's not a question of if, it's when. By being early to use these approaches, you can differentiative yourself and get your story across to clients and prospects in a way that paper communication alone will never achieve.