The Importance of Video Compliance for the Finance Sector

By Charlotte Day, Contentworks

The Importance of Video Compliance for the Finance Sector

Videos are a great way to increase engagement and spread awareness. They can be played at leisure and contain a wealth of useful stats. But what happens if you work in a heavily regulated sector such as finance? Is video marketing still appropriate or possible?

The short answer is yes. But as always, compliance is a key concern. Regulations within the finance industry are constantly evolving with 2018 having been a complete whirlwind. MiFID II kicked off 2018 with a bang, closely followed by GDPR and social media bans for financial services on major platforms like Twitter and Facebook. That said; creativity has come into its own to combat the barriers in place with leading content marketing agencies such as Contentworks finding innovative ways to write scripts and film videos without breaking the rules. Let’s look at the importance of video compliance for the finance sector in 2019.

What should be considered during video production?

• Producing clear and fair content that’s not misleading

Misleading consumers is a big no-no in the finance industry. Regulators such as the FCA and CySEC more than frown on content which is not balanced. While showcasing the benefits of your brand, all associated risks must be addressed to avoid creating a false representation of a product or service. While stating ‘losses can be high when trading CFDs’ might be painful to write when you want people to try your trading platform, it is necessary information. In short, your audience must be equipped with the right information to make an informed decision.

And a lot of it comes down to the wording in your video production. Stay away from inferring that big bucks can be made if consumers do X, Y and Z. That’s the equivalent of offering trading advice with a positive outcome. Again this is definitely a no-no and should be avoided at all costs. That doesn’t mean that your content can be compliant whilst visually showing a trader cashing in. This is also misleading and could land you with a big fine.

Speak to the Contentworks Agency team about compliant video marketing.

• Record Keeping of Key Business Communications

Companies within the finance sector are required to keep a record of all key business communications and videos/podcasts certainly fall into this category. Not only will this protect your organisation in the event of a complaint or claim but it will also please the regulators.

This element of content production should not be taken for granted. Before you go down the video series route or start churning out podcasts, make sure you have a trustworthy content management system in place that can handle a high volume of content. While recording your marketing moves might seem cumbersome it can have great benefits down the line.

• A Clear Sign-Off Process

Content marketing agencies specialising in finance are fully clued up on all the latest finance rules and aim to only produce content that is compliant. That said, it’s the financial firm itself that is responsible for signoff. Each organisation within the finance sector needs to have a clear sign-off process in place getting all content approved by the compliance team. As a business it’s a good idea to have expectations and guidelines established before new materials are published to avoid backlash. The smallest error can be very costly, so it’s essential to have such actionable safety barriers in place.

Any amendments to videos should be checked and signed off including:

• Additional or edited text
• New animations
• Risk warnings and disclaimers
• Corresponding links and landing pages
• Promotional materials to accompany the video

• Updated Information

Things change fast in the realm of finance and therefore you must be on the ball when creating video material. Being out of date could land you in trouble as you may not be fulfilling the latest regulatory guidelines and that’s a problem. On the upside, producing videos on a regular basis will allow you to make any necessary updates quickly and professionally ensuring all your content is in line with requirements from governing bodies.

Producing high quality videos within the finance sector requires slick and speedy communication between your marketing department, decision makers and compliance and legal team. Contentworks has produced videos for the world’s leading forex, finance and tech brands and offers compliant video scripts and video production services.