Utilizing Video in Financial Services Marketing: A Guide to Achieving Your Objectives
In the dynamic world of financial services, video marketing has emerged as a powerful tool to engage audiences and communicate complex ideas in an accessible manner.
Recent statistics reveal that institutions have significantly boosted their investment in digital video content creation by 79% since 2016. This surge in investment underscores the growing recognition of video's potential to educate, inform, and build trust among clients.
Financial services account for 14% of all money spent on online advertising, a testament to the sector's commitment to harnessing the power of digital marketing. Video production and video animation, in particular, are being utilised to help businesses establish trust with their clients.
Effective video formats and corresponding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) vary at each stage of the marketing funnel. At the Awareness stage, short-form brand videos and video ads on platforms like YouTube and TikTok are employed to build brand awareness and trust. These videos are designed to be clear, credible, and engaging, simplifying complex finance topics and showcasing the human side of the business. Key metrics to track at this stage include impressions, views, click-through rate (CTR), and brand recall and engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments.
As prospects move through the funnel to the Consideration stage, explainer videos, tutorials, guides, webinars, workshops, customer case studies, and interviews become more prevalent. These formats nurture leads by explaining processes, demonstrating expertise, and using social proof to reduce hesitation. Metrics to focus on at this stage include watch time, engagement rate, lead form submissions, and webinar registrations and attendance.
At the Conversion stage, detailed product deep dives, in-depth explainer videos, client testimonials, and success stories are used to build confidence for final decisions by addressing detailed questions and concerns, emphasising credibility, and highlighting outcomes. Key KPIs to track at this stage include conversion rate, demo or consultation requests, sales qualified leads (SQLs), and ROI from video-driven campaigns.
Financial services videos place a heavy emphasis on trust and clarity due to regulatory scrutiny and complex products. Short-form videos, lasting 60-90 seconds, are effective early on to hook attention without overwhelming busy prospects. Long-form content, such as webinars or case studies, work better mid-funnel for deeper engagement and relationship-building. Videos should be integrated with other marketing channels and hosted on the company’s website to keep prospects moving through the funnel.
Video marketing content can help financial services businesses establish themselves as thought leaders in financial issues. For instance, LSI Credit uses an explainer video to emphasise their face-to-face approach, aiming to foster a closer relationship with customers. Similarly, Dr. Bill's animated video explains how they take medical billing off doctors' shoulders, allowing them to focus on patient care. Many companies use video educational content in the form of webinars, featuring experts and top management to educate customers.
In 2020, 79% of banks increased their digital-video budgets, highlighting the sector's continued investment in video marketing. Video production companies can create short, compelling videos to explain financial services offered by a business. These videos can show that a financial services business understands and can overcome challenges faced by the target market.
Video educational content can help customers retain information and make informed financial decisions. Moreover, video is proven to bridge the trust and knowledge gap between different age groups, lifting landing-page conversions by up to 80%.
In conclusion, video marketing offers a versatile and effective means for financial services businesses to build trust, simplify complex information, and drive conversions along a typically long buying journey. By tailoring video formats and KPIs to each stage of the marketing funnel, businesses can optimise their marketing strategies for maximum impact.
- The financial services sector has allocated 14% of its online advertising budget to video marketing, indicating a commitment to leveraging video's potential for education, information, and trust-building in business.
- As businesses strive to engage their clients and communicate complex finance ideas in an accessible manner, they are increasingly utilizing video production and video animation to help establish trust, particularly in a sector where clarity and credibility are crucial.
