Digital marketing and banking are two phrases that you finally hear paired together.  More and more banks and credit unions are working with us as they slowly shift dollars toward digital media. And, rightly so, as many of our financial clients are seeing great results not only with lending campaigns and deposit promotions but also with customers engaging with brand ads that reinforce loyalty. In such a competitive digital advertising landscape, you have to celebrate the small wins and gains as you get them. 

“With nearly 2 billion logged-in users visiting YouTube every month, this is one platform brands will not want to miss out on in 2019.” – Jackie Murtha, Digital Marketing Strategist, SilverTech

For our clients, YouTube has stood out as a top digital opportunity that your bank should be taking advantage of in 2019.  Here are 5 reasons why you should be on this major platform right now: 

1. REACH YOUR PEOPLE 

 As digital marketers, we still understand the benefits of traditional TV spots—you can quickly grow brand awareness by reaching a massive amount of people in one shot. We get it. We even encourage many of our banking clients to continue these efforts. However, the reoccurring limitation with TV is that success is hard to quantitatively measure and often overreaches your actual target audience, which means you are likely also overpaying. That’s where YouTube comes in: you can target viewers by keyword, topic, demographic, interest, geolocation, and even buying intent.  The targeting possibilities allow you to cast your net strategically and with precision.  

2. EXTEND YOUR BRAND 

Your bank’s YouTube channel is also a great place to house extended versions of your ads. Traditional TV commercials are typically only 30-60 seconds long, and digital video ads are even shorter, ranging from 15-30 max. This significantly limits the amount of storytelling your brand can do. With the help of YouTube, you can drive more qualified customers to your company channel by posting the full versions of the commercials for interested prospects to watch. In doing so, you have the opportunity to tell a much deeper, more meaningful story about your brand and start establishing real, long-term connections with prospects and customers. We recommend taking your existing television commercials and repurposing them as YouTube ads. Integrating YouTube into your current traditional video strategy can allow your bank to get in front of your ideal customers; the ones that are ready to convert.  

3. SHOWCASE YOUR SERVICES 

It’s the age of technology. Does your bank offer modern amenities for customers?  YouTube is a great place to show them off. Utilize your brand’s channel to post videos that easily describe and visually show how to take advantage of your services. Do you have an online banking portal or app? Offer convenient benefits, like mobile deposit or same-day checking? Post a tutorial showing how simple it is to use!  Use YouTube for educational video content to show subject matter expertise, industry thought leadership, and much more. The possibilities are endless and will help better sell to prospects.

4. EARN THEIR TRUST  

Your bank is the safe, secure, virtual vault of customers’ hard-earned dollars, and whenever money is concerned, people are typically (and understandably) hesitant to trust any entity with their livelihood. Strategic use of YouTube can help to build this trust between you and your customers. An example of doing this is by providing educational videos for tips on how to best keep their accounts safe. Transparency also plays a major role in forming that relationship. Make sure you are open with consumers about how you protect their money and data through various security measures. 

5. GET THEM ENGAGED 

Through YouTube, your bank can build a loyal community of people who are invested in your products and services. It’s easy to view a video on YouTube, but it’s something else entirely to subscribe to a channel. Viewers subscribe to channels that they feel are—and will continue to be—beneficial to them. Posting updates such as new product launches or features and customer or member success stories help keep your subscribers interested in your brand. Don’t forget – always make sure to respond to any comments in a timely manner, especially ones that ask for help. As a result, current customers will remain satisfied and prospective customers will be impressed with your bank’s responsiveness and level of support.  

READY TO TRY IT OUT? 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the number of digital marketing platforms available and just aren’t sure where to begin, contact us, we can help.  As your digital marketing partner, we can create and execute a marketing roadmap based on your company’s unique goals or help you launch your very first digital campaign.  Either way, with the digital landscape constantly evolving, you’ll want to make sure your bank evolves with it. Whether it’s through search, social, display, or video (or all the above), it’s time to take your marketing to the next level of success – and to have actual metrics to show for it.