The financial world is fascinating and complex. If money keeps the world turning, then the financial services industry keeps it flowing as smoothly as possible.
It’s vital and critical to– well, everything. Most of recent history can be largely defined by the creation and flow of wealth. It affects every aspect of our modern world and the interconnected lives therein.
That said, there are few things that affect so many people, regardless of class or income… yet remain so poorly understood by almost everyone. The finance industry touches almost everyone’s lives, yet most people are kind of clueless about how any of it really works. It might even come off as scary to some.
More than anything else, this could be the primary, most fundamental challenge faced by players of all sizes in the world of finance. After all, you can’t effectively sell something to someone if they don’t even understand it– or even want to understand it.
Video, especially animated video, is a fantastic solution to this– if done just right.
Let’s look at a few quick guidelines.
Sometimes, less is more. Breaking down information into smaller, simpler bites is a great way to make your message easier to understand and digest. You may be tempted to go all-out and try to cram as much information into your video as time allows, but this is surprisingly counterintuitive.
This can be tricky in a market where there is so much competition from so many players who are, ultimately, kind of all the same, offering very similar services with similar returns. Focus on what sets your brand apart. What experience can you offer that’s different from everyone else?
The business world has shifted online– and now more than ever in the era of pandemics. Less and less banking is done in meetings, in-person, at physical branch locations.
And with the rise of automation and AI, more and more heavy lifting is done by software with minimal human operation.
This leads to two broad challenges: connecting with your customers, and training your employees.
With customers, it’s maintaining that sense of personalized service with a human touch, while interacting with them almost completely online or via phone.
With staff, it’s training them on software and ever-changing procedures, keeping them up-to-date on their work skills efficiently and easily.
Both problems can be solved with the power of animation and storytelling. Storytelling portrays your brand’s human side, its personality and warmth. And animation is also a powerfully effective training tool.
Studies have repeatedly shown that you retain far more information (and for longer periods of time) by watching an instructional video, compared to images, audio or text. So training videos can help employees get started on new software or understand difficult concepts.
As we always say here at Broadcast2World, trust is absolutely key. Obviously, you cannot expect someone to buy your product or service when they do not trust you. Trust is that secret magic ingredient to winning your audience over and converting them into customers, and keeping them long-term.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem!
In storytelling they say “show, don’t tell.” So let’s look at some examples of animated videos that we’ve created for our various clients.
1. Finance Explainer Videos - FHC
The debt collection industry is an absolutely vital and necessary one, but suffers from a bit of an image problem.
FH Cann & Associates are an industry-leading collection agency who needed a video that would explain what sets them apart from their competitors. They wanted their audience to know, understand and trust them.
However, we went a step further. We worked closely with them and carefully crafted a story that brought out a more human, personable element of their success story.
While the video explains the wide scope of their innovation and history, it also subtly builds a sense of legitimacy and integrity in their culture.
This is the kind of power in animation and storytelling that doesn’t really work in any other format available today.
Look at how we helped FHC with financial explainer videos in detail!
2. Finance Brand Videos - HUB
They say that prevention is the best cure. And few know this better than the insurance industry.
Being insured is a lot like the airbags in your car-- it’s nice to know that they’re there, but you hope and pray that you never have to actually use them. And you can improve your chances by being a safer driver.
The insurance industry is more than just about helping clients recover from losses when unexpected misfortune strikes. It’s also about helping clients avoid those pitfalls in the first place, whenever possible.
However, explaining this can be a challenge. You have to strike a delicate balance between informing the public in a friendly, hands-off approach; and coming across as authoritative and demanding.
Add to this our ever-shrinking attention span in the face of endless content, marketing, advertising and entertainment, around the clock, and the challenge is formidable. As HUB International knows all too well.
That’s why financial services animation videos was the obvious solution to their problem. It’s visual, aural, can incorporate text and symbols, real as well as abstract visuals-- and best of all, it can tell a story.
A lot of information can be communicated in a short time through animation that would otherwise bore or overwhelm the viewer.
See Hub's success story in detail!
3. Finance Ads - OnDeck
The funny thing about “one size fits all” clothing is that it usually doesn’t.
And it’s the same story with financing and lending. Small businesses have specific and critical needs that larger businesses don’t have to worry about. OnDeck has made a name for itself by focusing on the needs of small businesses– and they’re great at it.
However, the world of finance can be baffling and overwhelming to those who don’t speak the language.
And small businesses are especially prone to this, because by definition they’re often still learning the ropes and starting out fresh. And finally, you can’t sell a product to someone who doesn’t understand it, let alone trust it.
So how did OnDeck cut through the confusion with fintech videos?
The answer, again, was animation. We crafted a simple, minimalistic video with text.
The video quickly outlines how well OnDeck serves small businesses, meeting them at their need, more like a good reliable friend and less like a big scary faceless corporation.
This is another example of how animated video can tell your story and build trust with your audience, in a way that few other formats can pull off.
Check out their case study here!
4. Finance Testimonial Videos - M&M
Just about nothing works as powerfully to sway minds like a testimonial. You’re far more willing to try a new product if a trusted friend says they tried it, had a great experience, and recommend it.
Personally, we feel that testimonials work so well simply because they’re also telling a story, and storytelling builds trust in the viewer’s mind.
This is why this video for M&M Financial Consulting works so well. You see three stories unfold of normal everyday people like yourself; who, despite their best efforts, ended up in a sticky situation with seemingly no way out; and how M&M Financial came through for them and saved them from certain financial doom.
Stories have a way of speaking for themselves, of connecting in a way that words and visuals on their own usually cannot. It’s an amazingly powerful and understated medium that people have just barely begun to notice!
See how we helped M&M with their finance video marketing!
So how do you get started? What’s the best way to harness the power of storytelling for you and your brand?
Here are some quick tips:
Knowing who you’re selling to is just as important as how to sell your brand. A good message is aimed and fine-tuned for its audience. You wouldn’t sell a Yugo the same way you’d sell an Audi, for example.
Get to know your potential customers. What are their pain points and challenges? In what unique ways can you connect their needs with the solutions they’re looking for?
Knowing this is just as vital as the messaging itself!
There’s an ancient Greek aphorism that goes simply “know thyself.” And this applies in today’s business world just the same.
The flip side of “know your customer” is to know what you’re trying to sell them. What is your brand really all about? What are your values, your culture?
It may sound trivial or facetious but if you think about it, you cannot humanize and personalize your brand if you have never really sat down and defined these ideas in the first place.
It’s important to remember that animation and storytelling are ultimately artforms, and experimentation is central to artistic creativity and expression. This means you may have to try several different options before you find one that works. It will be tempting to stick with something safe, or a tactic that worked before. But for best results, trust your animation team, be patient, and don’t throw in the towel if the first attempt isn’t an immediate smash hit.
This may sound contradictory to the previous point, but it isn’t. Your messaging and style can change, but your brand’s culture and image should not. The best and oldest brands across various industries maintain their core image and personality, so to speak, even while changing flexibly with the times and trends.
Your audience may not react to your messaging as you might have expected. This is no bad thing. Prepare yourself to really listen to what your audience has to say, even if it’s negative at first. This is how you can gauge how your messaging is performing, and how you can learn what your audience likes and really wants from you.
Aside from direct feedback, analytics are crucial, too. What are the viewing trends and habits of your audience? When does your messaging seem to hit its targets and connect, and when does it go unnoticed?
This is how you can figure out how to better tweak your viewership and connect with your audience even better with each iteration and campaign.
Check out 9 more tips to create effective financial services videos!
Morgan Stanley’s IQ is a groundbreaking tool to help and guide investors in their financial decision making process. This video is a great example of how animation can really break down complex ideas and concepts and make them easy to understand, using a clever script and delightful animation.
Finance Videos like these are what we mean when we talk about the power of storytelling, and really humanizing a brand.
The casual, personal feel of the narration and the reminiscing of the early years of BNY Mellon really emphasize the people that the company is made of, and therefore, the company’s culture and personality.
And all it really is, is this company’s story.
We love this delightful animated story that cleverly frames financial planning and insurance in the context of lovable characters in a fantastic adventure, worthy of a movie.
The financial world can seem abstract and nebulous to many. But the power of storytelling can really transform these concepts into something tangible and easy to understand.
Open finance is a fascinating and exciting game-changing concept– for people that already understand the financial world well and speak that language.
But for everyone else, it’s just as baffling as anything else related to banking, finance and investments and whatnot. So how do you break it down and explain it to the common man, without watering it down so much that you lose critical details?
This delightful animated financial services explainer video by Yapily uses clever, minimalistic and colorful graphics to explain some fairly complex topics.
It breaks them down in a way that makes it easy to understand– but not so far that the message becomes meaningless.
Can capitalism be a force for good? That’s a matter of no small debate. But Fifth Third’s Impact Investment is probably a step in the right direction.
And to help explain how, in a way that is easy to understand and approachable and friendly, Fifth Third had Epipheo create this amazing fintech video.
With just the right tone, not too serious and not too casual either, this light and breezy animation paired with a clever script broke down the concepts easily and clearly. What really makes this work is a sense of heart and emotion, subtly working beneath the surface.
That’s the power of animated storytelling for you!
Not enough examples? Check out 5 best fintech videos to watch and learn from!
Ready to get started? What better time than right now!
If you’re worried that you’re not a natural storyteller, this is no obstacle. Seek out a talented and attentive animation finance video production company to help you get your own story out, in a style and format that best suits your offering.
A good team will guide you step by step through the process and work to create a bespoke video that’s perfect just for you and your audience.
It’s time to discover what the power of animated storytelling can do for you and your brand today!
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