YouTube and video--capturing and keeping attention.

• Author: Hershberger, Tara
• Position: SOCIAL MEDIA - Editorial

AS YOUTUBE CELEBRATES ITS SEVEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, there has been more interest than ever from financial institutions about video and its place in financial institution marketing. YouTube is the second largest search engine (behind Google), so it's attracting a lot of attention. Uploads are growing exponentially due to the ease of Internet access and the growth of mobile devices. Seventy two hours of video are uploaded every minute and 4 billion videos are watched daily on YouTube.

Multitasking is the new norm and as a result, attention spans have reportedly decreased. It is hard to simply gain someone's attention and even more difficult to capture it for any length of time. Videos can go a long way to reverse that trend and provide added stickiness to your messages. Videos can be used for a variety of purposes including education, building awareness, fostering community and more. Step out of the stereotypical formal banker mold. Take a lighthearted approach, use humor to a degree and be real. Videos don't allow for much time to make an impact, so keep it short and simple. Present the video in an engaging way. Draw viewers in within the first 15 seconds, and keep in mind that most people will tune out after one minute.

Sample videos

"Don't Feed the Goat" is an effective video from First Entertainment Credit Union that compares a dollar-bill-eating goat to pointless bank fees--he's a fee eater. Affinity Bank produced a video parody of Jack Nicholson's famous Colonel Jessup in a "Few Good Men," again focusing on big hank fees. Scotiabank illustrates the cash back offered from their Scotiabank credit card as a man walks down the street with coins filling his pockets, jingling, and taking down things in his way as he walks. They are all humorous and make a strong statement.

Febelfin, the umbrella federation for the Belgian financial sector, used a mind reader and a behind-the-scenes Internet hacking team to illustrate how private information is readily available online and seeks to educate consumers about safe Internet banking. This...