21 Expert Insights on How to Use Video to Drive Financial Services Sales
Live from Reuters Studio in London, the latest installment of our Best Practices Webinar Series explored how financial services companies can use video to increase sales and improve the customer experience. Featuring Forrester analyst Benjamin Ensor, the discussion covered case studies and practical tips culled from an analysis of over 90 financial services websites.
After reading Benjamin’s white paper on the topic I was inspired to bring the content to life and create an interactive program where financial communicators could get their own questions answered during the Q&A session. If you missed the webinar, you can now watch it on demand. Here are tweet-sized highlights from the discussion:
On the benefits video offers financial services firms:
- Video engages more of the senses and can explain complex subjects more easily than text.
- Video can explain product benefits in a more conversational way—without the jargon—which gives customers more confidence.
- Video is being used to explain financial products and take some of the education burden off advisors and brokers.
- Video is decreasing the amount of time needed to inform customers which is leading to more educated leads.
On the influence of tablet adoption:
- Rising tablet adoption will encourage even more video consumption – 44% of European tablet owners watch video on their devices.
- 17% of tablet users (and rising) are using their devices to manage finances.
- Tablet adoption among financial services professionals rises toward 40% and more are being used for B2B applications.
On how financial services companies are using video today:
- The four most common types of financial video include brand videos, educational/how-to videos, product videos and interactive videos.
- Over 60% of surveyed financial services companies are using brand videos, while 30% are using video for education and product marketing.
- Financial companies are using video to teach customers how to use online tools (e.g., walkthroughs, FAQs).
- Companies are weaving video content into the context of financial product pages and placing calls to action alongside them.
- Jackson National Life Distributors is developing a library of videos from each money manager in its lineup to educate wholesalers and advisors.
- Denmark’s Jeske Bank is producing over 5 hours of video each day from their video studio and television channels are syndicating their content.
On video best practices:
- Your video should be easy to access, shareable, optimized for multiple devices (including mobile) and consistent with your brand attributes.
- Keep videos concise—3 minutes is a good target.
- Embed calls to action within and around your video to increase conversions.
- Offer social sharing to extend the reach of your video across multiple channels.
- Track, test and measure your video content to see what is resonating and improve results.
- Sharing television advertisements on the Web can significantly increase the reach of your message.
- Video doesn’t have to be expensive to produce. Simple devices can produce high-quality results.
- Lower production video can be effective to deliver a more personal, human message.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the webinar. Also, what other topics would you like to see us explore in our Best Practices Webinar Series?