Video is proven to boost engagement and conversions
So why do so many fintech websites avoid embedding them?
Take Stripe.com.
I’m sure you’ve heard of them. We’re often sent their site as a reference – a marker of the way others would like to do things.
And what always stands out?
Well, whilst there’s plenty of visual content on there, none of it is a video in the strict sense.
Instead, the product’s features are explained through the use of interactive graphics that the user can mouse over and click.
It can’t just be me who’s spent some time hovering over the different icons just to make things happen on the page . . .
It’s an engaging and enjoyable experience!
So why have they decided to go this route?
Why fintechs often avoid embedded video
Stripe are by no means alone here.
Wise. Plaid. Clearbank. Checkout.com. Form3.
Take a look at pretty much any top fintech’s site and you’ll see the same thing. Or rather, the absence of the same thing.
No one has a product video directly integrated onto the homepage.
Instead they all use interactive graphics, scroll-based animations, and UI demos.
There’s a few reasons for this.
1) Fintech is no longer a nascent industry.
There are 1000s of product offerings in the UK alone, and many of those brands have multiple products.
Which product do you choose to highlight if you’ve just got one 90s explainer on your homepage?
Tricky huh. The answer? Have lots of mini animations instead that can be more easily updated.
Dedicated product pages have become a much more suitable destination for a product explainer (see more below).
2) Modern design prioritises interactivity
It’s not a stretch to say that a website element is more likely to be engaged with if it has an interactive component.
Something to grab the eye, or to make the content more digestible.
Interactive animations have that advantage, delivering a seamless native web experience, rather than asking the viewer to click play on a video.
3) Speed is everything
The last thing you want to compromise on your website is its load times.
The smallest difference in wait times can frustrate a visitor enough for them to jump off.
If not optimised correctly, a video can slow a page down.
4) Your audience only has the patience to scan
You’ll know this instinctively.
Buyers frequently prefer to skim for key details rather than reading a full page of content, or watching a whole video.
In-line graphics allow the audience to self-select the information that they want to engage with, rather than having to navigate through a video to get there.
So where can fintech websites still utilise video?
The case for integrated webpage animations seems pretty obvious.
Certainly, for a website’s homepage there are many advantages.
But video is still a great tool for fintech websites, when used in the right context.
As a content format, it still holds power over a dense paragraph of copy, and is able to:
- Improve engagement
- Simplify complex products
- Boost conversions
- Enhance credibility
Whilst no longer valid on a homepage, these effects can still be used to maximum effect elsewhere on a fintech’s website.
Most notably on specific product pages.
Here a video can offer a warmer prospect a more indepth look at a product’s features and benefits.
They’ve navigated to find out more, and are rewarded with that information in an engaging and visual way.
They can also be great tools for conversion on those pages (we’ve written a whole guide about that here).
There’s also still plenty of use for video in customer story sections, research and insights content, and onboarding and support hubs.
Video should be a strategic choice
At the end of the day, as with all marketing, the best decisions have a strategy behind them.
Choosing the most efficient and effective way to communicate your product is the name of the game.
And matching that approach with the right visual content is the key to success.
Create the right tools, and then deploy them in the right way, and it’s hard to go wrong.
