While major banks and insurance companies are major players in national TV advertising every year, affordable Web videos for other financial and insurance services companies are still a new option for many companies. Aside from creating awareness about services and about your company, Web videos can educate customers and potential customers about services of which they are not aware, foster brand loyalty, and explain complicated concepts in simpler ways than text alone. With the availability of high-end digital video cameras and fairly inexpensive editing software, companies commissioning video are paying for the skills and expertise of the production company and not the equipment used to create the videos. A more affordable entry point means more companies are choosing video as a marketing medium to distribute to YouTube channels, their own Websites, and even direct e-mails to customers.

Building brand loyalty has always been important to companies, but in an era where the competition is just a click away, and where customers can quickly compare quotes for insurance or financial services from their computer at home, brand loyalty is even more valuable in customer retention. According to Brightcove, high quality branded videos encouraged 36% of consumers to tell their friends and family about the brand while also engendering higher brand loyalty among 30% of the customers.

Meanwhile, Axonn Research found that seven out of ten people view brands in a more positive light after watching interesting video content from them. While affordable videos are desirable for any company, quality matters as the research indicates; low quality, amateur videos will not have the desired effect of impressing increasingly sophisticated viewers.

Video also works well in explaining potentially complicated concepts, especially with the use of motion graphics, various graphs or charts along with voiceover, and text to emphasize key points. The proper use of a variety of elements in a video helps reach every type of customer, especially because not everyone remembers information the same way. With proper planning and editing, video also provides a way to throw a lot of complicated information at the viewer, but then recap in simpler forms both at the start and end of the video. Maybe a company wants to emphasize a bunch of different services offered, but the primary take-away is offering more than the competition, so the video shows a quick overview of why the company’s offerings are superior, then delves into each point, but ends on repetition of the primary message. Text and graphs alone convey information effectively, but they also can feel daunting and seem like “homework” to the customer, whereas people are accustomed to watching videos for fun. Why not take advantage of these innate biases and create a video that’s both fun and informative, so it seems less like homework and more like entertainment?

Videos also work well to communicate to existing customers about services to which they already have access. Many companies are turning to video for explaining the benefits of their company to their existing customers in an effort to improve customer retention. Most of us have had times where we pay for something, but never use it, often because of being unaware it even exists. Many banks and credit cards offer free credit reports or inexpensive identify theft protection, but not every customer knows of their existence.

As a recent personal example, a rock hit my windshield and cracked it, so I was ready to pay for the repairs when Jiffy Lube told me most insurance companies just cover windshield damage like that for free. I never considered it because I assumed anything that happens to my car that is less expensive than the deductible is my responsibility, much like my healthcare insurance. I learned my insurance company would cover it, despite my higher deductible, because it’s just another service they offer. How many services does your company offer that may improve your customers’ view of your brand or business, but that they may not even know exist?

Video has become an affordable and effective way to market to customers in the financial and healthcare services industries for companies big and small as YouTube is now the second largest search engine by volume in the world. Video also accounts for the majority (55%) of Web traffic, with an expected increase to roughly 75% within 5 years according to Cisco. As companies continue to add video production to their marketing budgets, the key is going to become creating quality videos that connect with customers and potential customers in new ways and that complement a company’s existing marketing efforts. Quality video production for financial and healthcare companies need not cost a fortune, though. It can be affordable and effective for a reasonable budget.