By Jackie Fedeli
Many banks and credit unions struggle with video marketing believing that a professional videographer is out of their budget. But while some types of videos that are best left to the professionals, but you CAN create effective, engaging videos on your own.
Most of the videos on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other social media sites are shot with smartphone cameras. This is what most of us are accustomed to seeing. There is nothing wrong with using a smartphone to create your bank’s promotional videos. Camera phone videos have become the norm so much that lighting kits for phone cameras are available in more stores.
What kind of videos should your bank make?
When you are producing videos for your bank, the sky is the limit. But you should think about what your audience values. My suggestions for video marketing include how-to videos, financial education and videos featuring your bank and staff.
How-to videos. These can focus on use your bank’s digital tools and online banking features, for instance. Popular examples include how to sign up for online banking and how to do a mobile deposit. Your core provider may be able to assist with high-quality videos about how to use your digital banking tools. If these are available to you, you should absolutely take advantage of them. Though videos taken on your own smartphone or camera are acceptable, high-quality videos with minimum effort at no cost are always a win!
Financial education. Financial literacy is becoming increasingly important. So, if your financial institution wants to stay competitive, these types of videos should be part of your video marketing strategy. About 34 percent of Gen Z’ers are looking for financial advice on TikTok or Youtube. Content with the hashtag #PersonalFinance has billions of views.
Some financial education videos can fit under the how-to umbrella, with topics such as how to create a budget, or how to apply for student loans. Some may be more in-depth, such as explaining the difference between various types of mortgages, the difference between a Roth and Traditional IRA, or comparing other savings and lending options. When you think about it, anything that you could write about in your bank’s blog may be good content for a financial education video.
Videos featuring your bank and staff. If you are posting regularly to social media, you may notice that the posts about your bank’s staff get the most engagement. Your followers love to see that your bank is human and social media posts with videos get more engagement. Videos of your bank’s employees are a double win! Post videos of corporate events, such as ribbon-cutting for a new branch. If your bank or credit union is doing something fun in one of your offices, such as a pumpkin carving contest for Halloween, create some videos to share. If you are already taking photos of these events, go the extra mile and create a short video. Even if it’s 10 seconds for your Instagram stories.
Where to share your videos. Make videos part of your social media calendar. Incorporate them into your routine postings on whatever platforms you already use. If you don’t already have a YouTube account, you should absolutely create one. If you’re not already using Instagram, add it to the mix. To compete with TikTok, Instagram is pushing its Reels and has become very video-focused. If you’re feeling bold, or want to try something new, venture into TikTok. Your videos can really be shared on any social media outlet.
Adding videos to your own site. If you are planning on making how-to-videos, you should add them to your bank’s website. Depending on your content management system, it may be difficult to add the video file directly, so you will want to upload it to Youtube, Vimeo, or another site and add the code to your website. Even if you can upload the video directly to your website, I would still recommend going with YouTube, as adding the video natively can increase your website’s load time.
It’s very easy to share your Youtube videos to other social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Don’t just let your videos be one and done. Try to repurpose if you can. Take a snippet of a longer YouTube video and post it on TikTok or Instagram.
Email marketing. Videos are also great to include in your email marketing strategy. A how-to video on mobile deposit might be something to include in an onboarding series for a new checking account client. Videos about budgeting or explaining the loan process are great for financial literacy month (or really, any time of year).
Don’t try to attach the video to your email or embed it in the email. Include a screenshot from the video that hyperlinks to where the video is housed on your website.
Create video marketing ads. You can also create video advertisements for Youtube. Google Ads allows you to create and run video ad campaigns to be shown on Youtube and on other relevant sites in the Google Display network. This is much cheaper than running ads on network television. And you can target specific audiences.
Video marketing tools. If you’re making short videos for TikTok, Instagram or Facebook or rehearsed videos for YouTube and posting right from your phone, you may be able to get by without any type of editing software. If you want the ability to edit your videos to some degree, there are a number of options out there. Many of them offer free trial versions so you can test them out before you commit.
Adobe Premiere Pro is a leading video editing software tool. This tool will allow you to create professional-quality 4k videos. Add graphics, transitions, video effects and high-quality audio. Adobe Pro works seamlessly with other Adobe software, such as Photoshop.
Canva is a popular free graphic design tool that allows you to edit videos. The free version of Canva has limited functionalities, templates and design elements, so you may want to consider the Pro or Enterprise versions if you want to utilize more advanced features. But if you just want to do some basic editing, the free version may be enough.
Promo Video Maker is a user-friendly platform designed to help small businesses promote themselves on social media. Like Canva, you can select templates and design elements. Promo also comes with premade videos where you can just add your logo and messaging. This tool is great for editing videos and creating Youtube intros. There are multiple pricing options so you can choose one that works best for your needs.
Vimeo Video Maker lets you choose from templates, easily add graphics to videos, make gifs and add music to your videos. The Premium version allows live streaming and webinars.
Vegas Creative Software is popular among YouTube creators and influencers. Vegas Creative is a complete video and audio editing solution. Advanced features include AI-assisted editing, motion graphics, color correction, visual effects and “record and capture.”
If you are completely new to creating videos, I would suggest starting with a free trial, or low-cost option so you can familiarize yourself with the process and then going higher as your needs change.
Working with a professional. If you have a large budget, or the staff doesn’t have time to create their own videos, you can still go the route of working with a professional. Consider working with a digital marketing or media agency that will know how to create videos for marketing purposes.
Another option is to hire a local videographer. While videographers and video production professionals can be expensive, consider working with a local film or media student. He or she will have the video production and editing knowledge and access to the tools, but won’t cost quite as much as an experienced videographer.
Lights, camera, action. Ready to get started? While you’re planning out your social media or marketing calendar, start thinking about what type of content you can turn into videos. If have videos on your site already, start with those to build up a video presence.
Then come up with some financial education videos that align with your content calendar. Look at your upcoming events and make notes on what moments you can capture and reach out to appropriate staff members for help. There is no wrong place to start when it comes to video marketing. All you need is a camera and engaging content.
Jackie Fedeli is a digital marketing strategist at BankBound.
