Should accountants make videos for social media? You don't have to, but one clip a week helps

The short answer

No, accountants do not need to make videos. A firm with a good profile, a clear bio and steady written posts can win clients without ever filming. But a short, simple clip of a partner talking does a few things text cannot, and it is cheaper and quicker than most firms assume.

If you want to try it, start with one clip a week, filmed on a phone, answering one question a client actually asked. Keep it under a minute or two, add captions, and keep client details off camera. That is the whole starting plan.

What you can do without video

Seeing rivals post reels can make a firm feel behind. You are not, as long as the basics are in place. The minimum that still works for an accountancy practice is a real profile photo, a bio that says who you help and where, and written posts that go out every week.

Our guide on whether accountants need social media sets out that minimum in full. Get it right first. Video added on top of an empty or out-of-date page does little; video added on top of a steady page makes it stronger.

What video does that text cannot

Video lets a prospect meet you before they call. Choosing an accountant is a personal decision, and many owner-managed businesses want to know who they will be dealing with. A one-minute clip shows your voice, your manner and whether you explain things clearly, which no written post can.

• It builds trust faster. Someone who has watched three of your clips feels they already know you when they ring.
• It shows you can explain. Clients pay accountants to make sense of things. A clear 60-second answer proves you can.
• It can be faster than writing. Some partners find that talking for a minute about a question they answer every week takes less time than drafting a careful post about it.
• It stands out among firms that only post text. In a local market where most practices post graphics, a real person talking is noticed.

Four videos that earn their keep

The videos that work for accountants are plain and useful. You do not need trends, music or jokes. These four formats cover most of what a small firm will ever need.

1. Meet the team

Thirty seconds per person: their name, what they look after and who clients will speak to. Put one on your website's team page too. It answers the question every prospect has, which is who they will actually deal with.

2. One client question a week

Pick a question a client asked this week, remove anything that identifies them, and answer it in about a minute. "Can I claim for my van?" or "Do I need to register for VAT yet?" are the kind of questions that make good clips. Our list of what accountants should post on LinkedIn has more topics that work equally well spoken.

3. One deadline or Budget point

When a deadline is close or a Budget announcement lands, film one short clip on the single point that matters most to your clients. Check every date and figure against GOV.UK or HMRC on the day you film, and say clearly who the point applies to.

4. Behind the scenes

A short clip of the office, a team lunch or a charity day shows the firm is real and friendly. Check every frame before posting: screens, desks and whiteboards are where client details hide.

That meet-the-team script is written by us to show the shape: who you are, what you do for clients, one next step, about 25 seconds spoken. Swap in your own names and roles.

The no-studio starter kit

You need a phone, a window and a quiet room. Everything else is optional.

• A phone on something steady. A pile of books works. A cheap tripod with a phone clamp is the first thing worth buying.
• Light from in front. Sit facing a window, not with it behind you, and your face will be clear without any lights.
• A quiet room. Sound matters more than picture. A meeting room with the door shut beats a busy open office. A small clip-on microphone is the second thing worth buying.
• The right shape. Hold the phone upright (portrait) for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. On LinkedIn, landscape and portrait both work, so many firms film portrait once and use it everywhere.
• Captions. LinkedIn lets you add automatic captions when you upload a video, and most phone editing apps can add them too. Always read them through before posting; a misheard tax term looks careless.
• A clean background. A plain wall or bookshelf. No client files, no screens and no whiteboards in shot.

How long each platform wants

Every platform allows far longer videos than a small firm should post. Aim for 30 to 90 seconds. That is long enough to answer one question properly and short enough that people watch to the end. The limits below come from each platform's own help pages, checked on 23 October 2026; they change, so check again before you rely on one.

• LinkedIn video: LinkedIn's help page on sharing videos gives a maximum of 15 minutes and a minimum of 3 seconds from desktop. Upload the file directly rather than posting a link to it.
• Instagram Reels: Instagram says you can record a reel of up to 20 minutes, but reels over 3 minutes will not be recommended to new audiences. Keep yours well under that.
• YouTube Shorts: YouTube's help page on three-minute Shorts says square or vertical videos up to three minutes long count as Shorts. Anything longer, or in landscape, is treated as a normal YouTube video.
• TikTok: optional for most firms. If you use it, post the same short portrait clip you made for Reels and Shorts.

How often to post video

One video a week is plenty for a small firm, alongside your usual written posts. One a fortnight is fine too. The clip should replace one of your weekly posts, not add to the workload on top of everything else.

Steady matters more than frequent. Four clips a month every month beats ten clips in January and silence until June. Our guide on how often accountants should post on social media covers the overall rhythm, and video simply takes one of those slots.

What stays off camera

Video carries the same professional rules as everything else the firm publishes. It also carries an extra risk: things in the background. Before filming, agree a short list of what never appears.

• Client names, details and stories that could identify them, unless the client has agreed in writing to that specific use.
• HMRC correspondence, even blurred or partly covered.
• Client-specific tax positions.Talk about the general rule, never "one of our clients just saved...".
• Screens, files and whiteboards in the background of any shot.
• Claims you cannot back up, such as "the best accountants in town", and comparisons with other firms.

Who checks a clip before it goes live belongs in the firm's wider rules. Our guide on whether accountants should have a social media policy covers who may post as the firm and who approves, and video should go through the same approval step as every written post.

Keeping it realistic: film once a month

The firms that keep going with video film in batches. Set aside one hour a month, film four clips back to back in the same room and the same shirt, and schedule them out over the following four weeks.

• Pick the four questions in advance. Keep a running list of questions clients ask; by the end of the month you will have more than enough.
• Use bullet points, not a script. Three bullet points on a card keep you on track and still sound natural.
• Do not chase trends. Dances, trending sounds and viral formats rarely suit an accountancy firm, and they date quickly. A clear answer to a real question does not.
• Keep editing minimal.Trim the start and end, add captions, done. The phone's own editor or the platform's is enough.

The written posts carry on underneath. Pillr, for example, drafts a month of LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram posts from your firm's website and schedules them once you approve them, so the weekly written posts are sorted in one sitting and your filming hour goes on the clips alone. A drafted post on a common client question can also double as the bullet points for that month's video.

What to measure

Views on their own mean little. A clip about VAT registration watched by 200 local business owners is worth more than one watched by 20,000 strangers. Look instead for signs that the right people noticed.

• Profile and page visits in the days after a clip goes out.
• Enquiries, and whether new clients mention a video when they call. Ask how they found you and note the answer.
• Comments and messages from local businesses, prospects or referrers.
• Mentions in person: clients or contacts saying "I saw your video".

Give it three months before you judge. Our guide on how accountants turn followers into clients covers what to do when a viewer gets in touch. To see a month of written posts drafted for your own firm, ready to sit alongside your first clips, paste your website address on the home page.

Questions accountants ask about video