Branding: As marketers and CEO's, we all know how important it is. But do we know the best way to go about it online? The channels are always changing and there are new possibilities and realities every day. Take it from someone who's been around the block a couple of times.
Here are a few "Best Practices" we've put together for you when it comes to branding your credit union...
KNOW THYSELF
Conduct and review research with your employees, customers and prospects. Uncover what makes your organization unique and strong, and determine your voice and personality. For example: are you quick-witted and clever, professional and polished, or down-home and darling? Determining these attributes will help to reinforce internal culture and maintain cohesive interaction with the outside world.
Consult with a third party. As with many things in life, sometimes we need a little outside support to help us take an objective look at ourselves. Seek out a branding expert with experience leading organizations through such a process. Upon completion, you should have a compelling story and brand standards to help guide your social media team, as well as front-line staff and leadership. Win-win!
RECRUIT A DREAM TEAM
Choose people who know your company culture. Too often, social media and web presence responsibilities are delegated to the youngest employee, sometimes even an intern. Instead, find someone who is social, savvy and personable- regardless of age. Anyone can be trained to use the tools of the trade. Though- always hire a trustworthy professional for web development. Trust us.
Avoid ownership squabbles. People from different departments must partner together if the basic structures and processes are going to be beneficial for the brand. Figure out a system and stick with it.
Stay tuned for a couple more best practices and strategies for branding your credit union online...
5 Tips For Your Credit Union's Storyful Moment
You're Convinced. And you're ready to create your credit union's storyful moment and start making videos!
Now What?
5 TIPS FOR YOUR STORYFUL MOMENT
If the secret to a good video is finding a storyful moment, then how the heck do you find that moment? Here are some tips to make that process a little easier.
TARGET AN AUDIENCE
A video doesn’t have to go viral to be successful. Appeal to your audience specifically. If there is spillover appeal to the general public, that’s great, but it’s not a primary goal. Always ask yourself, “What would my audience find most interesting?”
CUT TO THE CHASE
“For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” That’s a six-word short story by Ernest Hemingway and proof that you don’t need to pontificate to tell a big story. Keep your video focused on one moment in a larger story. Provide just enough context for it to make sense. Struggling with debt? Planning a wedding? Find that trigger and craft a moment out of it.
"REAL" IS RELATIVE
Don’t sit around with a camera waiting for a candid moment to happen. It’s less important to be literally accurate than to tell a story that your audience can recognize as a part of their own life, too. That’s the difference between “realism” and “authenticity."
THE RIGHT KIND OF RANDOM
If you’re seeking laughs, you might be caught up in the recent “random” humor trend. It’s a sea captain nonchalantly fighting a giant octopus. A guy with a living beard interviewing for a job. Non sequitors still need to be relevant to your brand and story. The “man your man could smell like” appealed because he represented the brand’s masculinity, not just because the tickets are now diamonds.
THINK BEYOND TV
When you produce a video, you can chop it up into 30 second segments for TV ads. You can keep longer versions for your website, use still images for print campaigns and in-branch collateral, and use audio for radio ads and on-hold messages. With text, visuals, and audio all working together, you get three times the branding assets for your marketing budget. Regardless of the format, make sure your storyful moment stays intact.
Now What?
5 TIPS FOR YOUR STORYFUL MOMENT
If the secret to a good video is finding a storyful moment, then how the heck do you find that moment? Here are some tips to make that process a little easier.
TARGET AN AUDIENCE
A video doesn’t have to go viral to be successful. Appeal to your audience specifically. If there is spillover appeal to the general public, that’s great, but it’s not a primary goal. Always ask yourself, “What would my audience find most interesting?”
CUT TO THE CHASE
“For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” That’s a six-word short story by Ernest Hemingway and proof that you don’t need to pontificate to tell a big story. Keep your video focused on one moment in a larger story. Provide just enough context for it to make sense. Struggling with debt? Planning a wedding? Find that trigger and craft a moment out of it.
"REAL" IS RELATIVE
Don’t sit around with a camera waiting for a candid moment to happen. It’s less important to be literally accurate than to tell a story that your audience can recognize as a part of their own life, too. That’s the difference between “realism” and “authenticity."
If you’re seeking laughs, you might be caught up in the recent “random” humor trend. It’s a sea captain nonchalantly fighting a giant octopus. A guy with a living beard interviewing for a job. Non sequitors still need to be relevant to your brand and story. The “man your man could smell like” appealed because he represented the brand’s masculinity, not just because the tickets are now diamonds.
THINK BEYOND TV
When you produce a video, you can chop it up into 30 second segments for TV ads. You can keep longer versions for your website, use still images for print campaigns and in-branch collateral, and use audio for radio ads and on-hold messages. With text, visuals, and audio all working together, you get three times the branding assets for your marketing budget. Regardless of the format, make sure your storyful moment stays intact.
Upping the Ante With Facts
If everything we've told you so far hasn't convinced you that you need to up the ante with video for your credit union, maybe these facts will help...
Video Climbing Even Higher
A CROWDED SPACE
eMarketer estimates that online video advertisement spending grew 48% to $1.5 billion in 2010 and will hit $5.5 billion by 2014. About a third of online retailers offer video on their sites, according to Vovici Corp. Focus your message, your story, on your particular audience. Relevance cuts right through all that background noise.
SOCIAL VIEWING
Facebook has become the third most popular video viewing destination online. Nielsen reports online video viewing on social sites was up 98% in 2009. Videos viewed on Facebook was up 1800% in 2010. Add video to your social media routine, even if it’s just a regular face-to-face update for members.
PLAN AHEAD
Hey, people get camera-shy sometimes. Consult with your HR and marketing team. Figure out a video policy that works for your credit union so everyone is on the same page.
Did You See That Video?
DID YOU SEE THAT VIDEO?
...with the kid after visiting the dentist…
...where the soldier comes home to his dog…
...where the deaf girl hears for the first time…
YOU GOTTA SEE IT!
We’ve all had that experience, where we want to share what we just saw with our friends. What spurs that urge? It’s a touch of reality. A dash of authenticity. The storyful moment captured.
WATCHING ON THE CLOCK
65% of online video views were streamed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, making this video primetime due to the faster Internet connections available at work, reported Nielsen Online. If this is your audience, make sure your video is safe-for-work. (You don’t want to get your viewer in trouble with the boss.) Also keep your video very short so your viewer gets the gist quickly.
PLAINLY PASSIONATE
According to crowd-funding website Kickstarter, projects with video pitches are 90% more successful than those without. The reason? “Audiences respond to passion, sincerity, and an ability to execute. They want to see that in your video.” Whether it’s pitching a project or delivering a promise for your brand, audiences know when you’re true to yourself. You don’t need a high-gloss production if the storyful moment feels authentic and real. In fact, many big-budget campaigns try to look a little more plain, just to feel more homemade.
It's Happening Now
GO CAPTURE IT
These days it’s very easy to get started. With just a cameraphone and a keen eye, you can capture a storyful moment as it happens and share it just as quickly. Here are some juicy statistics and tips to keep in mind as you start snapping videos.
MORE THAN JUST CAT VIDEOS
In 2008 alone, 80 percent of U.S. Internet users watched five hours of video, an average duration of 3.2 minutes per video, according to comScore. But the secret to keeping a viewer’s attention is hooking them the first ten seconds. It helps to have a video shown in a relevant context, such as a like-minded blog. With viewers already in a receptive state of mind, your video has much more impact. When your video is part of a series, you start building anticipation for each installment.
The Emotional Impact of Video
Laugh or cry, shock or pride, nothing beats video for
emotional impact.
A good video captures a singular moment, a “storyful” moment, that begs to be shared. Video can be experimental, immersive and flavorful.
But is it really right for credit unions? Video is more accessible than ever. The average Joe can record more, do it more frequently, and get more use of existing videos all without breaking the budget. When you host videos on your website – or on a hosting site like YouTube and Vimeo – you effectively have your own video channel to tell your credit union’s story! It doesn’t end there either. When you have video assets, you can run them on a loop in your branches. When you combine that with a well-trained staff and useful collaterals, you have a complete campaign right there! You can even get super-localized with your videos, playing certain ones in certain branches based on your demographic research in that area. Heck, you can even play videos on ATMs.
Even with all these options, the question remains: Is video right for credit unions? Spoiler alert: Yup. You just have to find your storyful moment. It’s a story, scene or scenario that captures attention and embodies what it
means to be a part of your credit union.
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