Content marketing stats your financial institution needs to know

Each year HubSpot produces a State of Content Marketing Report. The report includes B2C and B2B statistics from across several industries all over the world, so we like to break it down to highlight what banks and credit unions need to know.

Content Marketing Stats Your Financial Institution Needs To Know:

• 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. Our clients with strong content marketing strategies utilizing inbound marketing methodologies do see several content touchpoints in the buyer’s journey, so we can verify content is utilized similarly for bank and credit union customers.
• 82% of marketers report actively using content marketing in 2021, up 70% from last year. This dramatic increase is likely due to the quarantine that resulted from the outbreak of the Coronavirus, prohibiting customers from getting their information face-to-face in branches. But that doesn’t mean you should assume that content creation is going to decrease now that the quarantine has been lifted. It’s likely going to be just the opposite as marketers have become more comfortable producing content and are refining their strategies. Don’t slow down on your valuable content creation!
• Video is now the most commonly used form of content marketing, overtaking blogs and infographics. If you’re still struggling with a video content strategy it’s time to put more resources into it! Not only is video now at the top, but Podcasting is projected to grow immensely, with the United States experiencing an increase in podcast listening of more than 60% in the last three years. This isn’t surprising given the number of people walking around with wireless earbuds and an increasing number of vehicles on the road with in-dash entertainment systems. Video and audio are easier to digest on the go and seem like less work to the consumer. Google is also rapidly working on algorithms to be able to better index these forms of content to make them more searchable in its search engine. These content channels are the ones you want to be developing for.
• Valuable content reigns over the quantity of content. You probably already know this, but we still see a struggle in this area by many banks and credit unions. On one end of the spectrum, we see content that becomes stale and outdated, despite the fact that it held value when it was originally written. This mainly happens because there was no strategy in place to keep it ranking on search. On the other end of the spectrum, we see content getting churned out simply for the sake of having new content and trying to stay current and relevant in the eyes of Google. You need to strike a balance between quality and quantity, and one of the best ways to do that is to repurpose and update older value-add content to make it new again.

These are just a few of the stats in the report but they’re the most relevant to what banks and credit unions need to be focused on going into 2022. Here are few recommendations to ensure your content strategy is on-point:

Create Multiple Pieces of Content at Once

Maximize your impact by being efficient with your time. Consider recording a video of yourself (or someone else) talking on a podcast. Then use an online tool to transcribe that audio file to a blog post.

In one session you can produce a video for YouTube, a podcast episode, and a blog post. Then whichever channel your customer or potential customer prefers, you’ll be there. You can also use clips of the video to make social media posts to drive traffic into any of those three channels.

Define What “Valuable Content” Means For Your Audience

This can be a significant challenge in the financial space. While providing sound financial advice is at the heart of your financial education plan or strategy, the likelihood of a consumer listening to, watching, or reading hours upon hours of content about financial advice is highly unlikely.

Most consumers will look for the answer to the problem or challenge in front of them and then move on to whatever else they’ve got going on in their lives. So how do you keep them engaged with your valuable content?

First, create a content library full of financial advice and keep it relevant and timely. Your audience should be able to come to you and find information on how to budget, how to get out of debt, learn about mortgage options, etc., etc. It’s what you do and you should be providing education around all the major topics.

Then, produce valuable, engaging content around your vision and mission. This should be incredibly engaging for your audience and if it’s not, it may be time to revisit your vision and mission (just sayin’!).

Let’s assume for a moment you’re a fictitious credit union whose vision is to empower solutions to clean our oceans. And your mission is to focus on the removal of plastics from our waterways and the reduction of plastics from daily usage. Now, this is a vision and mission your audience can get behind!

They’ll stay engaged watching videos of staff members helping to clean up waterways and interesting interviews of specialists in oceanic matters. They will happily listen to a podcast that gives money-saving shopping tips that reduce plastic usage and updates on how the sea turtle you sponsored in the Tour de Turtles is performing (yes, it’s a thing!).

Then, similar to how ads pop up in your favorite videos and podcasts you watch and listen to today, you can take breaks in your videos and podcasts to highlight an important and related financial tip or offer some quick money advice. It’s like having free ads on your own content network with a large viewer/listenership.

Your audience will be learning bite-sized amounts of financial information in an engaging format that they’ll watch, listen to, and read about more often than they would if it was just financial advice.

And they know that by banking with you they’re having a significant impact on the world around them. They’ll know they’re part of something larger than themselves and that you, their financial institution, are making that happen for them. They’ll have pride in banking with you.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try

Just because you produce content doesn’t mean you have to publish it. It might take several tries in front of the camera or on the mic before you get comfortable and have a finished product you can publish… and that is okay!

And with so much content produced by so many people now available, less than perfect is the norm. Your audience will feel like something scripted and too polished is fake and untrustworthy. People like people so just be you. And, when all else fails, remember that everyone loves a good blooper reel!

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