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Keen to start on the content marketing path but not sure where to start? Here we suggest some of the different kinds of content that might suit different financial services audiences: superannuation funds, fund managers and life insurers. If you’re a wealth manager, stay tuned for a special guide that’s just for you.
With content marketing, in the words of Julie Andrews: if you start at the very beginning, it really is a very good place to start.
The very beginning – the business imperative
Whether you are a fund manager, wealth manager, life insurer or a super fund, the overarching imperative of a content marketing program remains the same. Engagement of your audience that can in turn assist with retention, drive sales and help with cross- or up-selling.
With more and more information thrust at them from more and more directions, it’s no surprise that customers tend to push away or ignore the bits that don’t pertain to, or interest them. This means that the advertising and sponsorship initiatives that marketers have relied on in the past don’t work like they used to: that is, they are working for a smaller and smaller part of the buying cycle.
The aim of a targeted content marketing program, on the other hand, is to solve your customers’ information needs, to build trust through real engagement, and through increased trust become a trusted adviser. As a trusted adviser, you are far more likely to attract and keep business.
So remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them. And the more you educate, entertain and inform your audience, the more commercial return you can expect to see from your investment.
Step 1 – Define your target audience
First, work out who you are trying to communicate with, in as much detail as possible.
In addition to the usual factors such as age, gender, occupation, education and so on, you will need to ask what your audience’s common pain points are, what challenges and opportunities they face, either personally or in their business, what information they are consuming now and who or what is influencing them.
It is also particularly important to think about where they currently get their information: for example, through mainstream, digital and /or social media channels. This will help you decide the most effective channel through which to distribute your content.
The form your content takes will also be influenced by the channel through which you distribute it. While your social media channels should be linked one to the other to allow for a seamless and coherent message, the kinds of posts you make on Facebook should in general differ from the posts on your website.
For example, many companies choose to use Facebook to connect with customers on topics that are less strictly ‘business’ than, say, their website content. Posts about the charities that a company supports, staff social events or the efforts that staff members have made for worthy causes outside of work.
Step 2 – What should my content look like?
As my colleague, Katharine Verville, wrote here “Six questions to answer before you start a content marketing plan”, when it comes to content there is often no need to reinvent the wheel. Likelihood is that your organisation already has plenty at hand – but has never considered using outside its defined context. This can include (but is certainly not limited to) quarterly market updates, monthly client newsletters and the like. You don’t need to write everything from scratch.
To give you some food for thought, we have given some examples of possible content, divided into four distinct financial services groups: superannuation funds, fund managers (both retail and institutional), wealth managers and life insurance.
Superannuation funds
Member engagement is a hot topic for super funds. If you look at the ASFA website for inspiration, there are a number of features on this subject, research and editorial pieces which could serve as potential content springboards.
These include finding new and different ways to help members understand the reality and relevance of their super such as tools to make calculating and forecasting easy; access to hard figures and statistics relating to lifestyle in retirement; helping members visualise their retirement and offering accessible tips on how to achieve tangible goals.
Updates on regulation are also always of interest, so long as these are explained in plain English with a focus on how they affect members: ‘what this means to you’.
Fund Managers – Institutional
Institutional investors are generally looking for more advanced market commentary than their retail counterparts, and tend also to be more interested in overarching asset allocation decisions, as well as specific commentary on financial markets.
Institutional investors are also looking for in-depth analyst-style commentary of the type that might typically be introduced at investment committee or trustee level, for example – but would clearly not be suitable for a consumer audience.
Fund Manager – Retail
Retail investors are also interested in market commentary as it pertains to their portfolio, but the commentary should be more accessible than for institutional investors. Asset allocation within a diversified portfolio is also of interest, but again, targeting the commentary to match the investment portfolio is a great idea. Hints about some of the basics: how to invest, tax implications of various structures and other targeted pieces of actionable information are also well received.
Regulatory reform affecting retail investors is another area of interest, again with a ‘what does it mean to me (the investor) focus.
Use of case studies or ‘examples’ with hard numbers to illustrate the point works very well for this audience.
Life Insurance
The need for more widespread education and understanding spring most readily to mind when it comes to insurance. Australians in general are underinsured, and seeking to address this by explaining the benefits of life and other kinds of illness and disability insurance – and the fact that it is now far easier to obtain than any time in the past – is a good place to start.
Hard figures supported by case studies of real people with stories to tell are very effective in demonstrating the point, as are step-by-step guides to getting cover and understanding how it works. Jargon and product speak here perhaps more than anywhere else is your enemy – so focus on avoiding that and putting yourself in your audience’s shoes.
In the end, the sky, or rather, your imagination is the limit when it comes to the content you decide to share. Just remember that your best chance of success is giving your audience information they value and that’s relevant to them. It’s not all about you.
