Aug 6, 2008

Should You Really be on YouTube?

According to a feature in the latest ABA Bank Marketing Magazine you should be. The title of the article You Should be on YouTube raises huge concerns, as it implies that all readers should have a presence on the website. While I was a bit surprised to read such a definite statement, I was more alarmed by the statement that followed:

“If you are not, your competition might beat you to it.”

Who cares if your competition beats you to it? If a YouTube video doesn’t support your marketing efforts and overall strategy, you shouldn’t waste resources developing, posting and managing content – especially for the sake of having a video online before your competition does.

Overall, the article does make good points about blogs and podcasts, but sends the wrong message in being so definitive about being on YouTube. We can all think of institutions who have no business posting videos online; and there are plenty of wildly successful institutions who aren’t on YouTube and aren't worried that their competition is – for many institutions it just doesn’t make sense.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for injecting a dose of reality into the world of financial services marketing.

Matt, the Credit Union Warrior said...

I would argue that posting a video inconsistent with your FI's brand does world's more harm than good.

Brady Walen said...

Matt,

I completely agree with you.

Institutions are definitely at risk of doing more harm than good to their brands when they are simply reacting to what their competition is doing, or may be planning to do.

And if the media choice (YouTube videos and/or TV spots) make sense as part of an institutions marketing strategy, careful attention must be paid to both the content AND the quality of production.

At the end of the day, all of these elements contribute to someone's perceptions of your brand.