In the financial services industry, driving growth is synonymous with generating leads. But as marketing practices in the sector evolves, attracting a consistent number of high-quality leads has become increasingly challenging.
Just as the way we consume media is shifting, so too is the lead conversion process. However, before conversion, or even consideration from a customer, the business must climb the ever-present peak that is lead acquisition.
Now, you might glance at the banner above and think, "They're a PR firm; what do they know about lead generation?" If this were 30 years ago, your scepticism would be warranted. Yet, the wave of technological advancement and its integration into every aspect of business has not passed us over.
In our team’s decades of experience in PR we have created substantial growth amidst transformational technology. These are our tips on how you can leverage transformation to revolutionise your approach to generating leads.
Digital PR
Just like tech, PR continues to change and complexify. There are so many factors that mash together to form a successful campaign, we see how it might be hard to keep track. Even so, most recent changes in the industry can be attributed to the growing digital landscape and the rise of digital PR.
What is digital PR?
Before you learn how to leverage digital PR and what it could mean for your lead generation, let’s explore what it is and what it can do.
Digital PR is a strategy that enables the most robust integration between marketing and public relations to date.
By combining content marketing, search engine marketing, social media, online media relations, and reputation management, digital PR paves the way for more effective lead funnels.
Covering everything from traditional talk shows to platforms like TikTok, digital PR empowers your business to maximise both time and financial investments in lead generation.
Using digital PR for lead generation
Leads begin with awareness. Once an individual or potential lead is aware of a business’s existence, it becomes a lot more likely they’ll convert. Reaching the 80-90% of consumers who research actions online is central to successful lead generation.
There are a few ways you can increase awareness for your business using Digital PR.
Marketing and PR integration
Integrating digital marketing techniques can amplify the impact of digital PR campaigns. This could mean mean securing media backlinks from high-traffic publications or crafting targeted content. Digital marketing is essential to improving your visibility in the 5.8 billion search queries made on Google each day.
When considering the likes of search results and ranks, we reach out to our amazing marketing consultants. To get a bit more insight into how this integration can help businesses grab more leads, it’s important to get an understanding of SEO and SEM.
SEO and SEM
Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are powerful strategies for increasing online visibility across all sectors. They are essential for enhancing both paid and organic search results, ultimately securing a spot on the first page.
Consider these stats:
- 80% of people who use google only click on the organic search results rather than the paid adverts at the top or bottom of the page
- 67% of all clicks on page 1 are on the first 5 organic results
- Only 4% of people who search google make it to the second page
Targeted content, meta description and meta data optimise your efforts across the online landscape, allowing you to develop an effective funnel amongst all pillars of outreach.
Establishing trust through digital PR
Digital PR is an essential tool for building trust and credibility. It’s the digital age's answer to the age-old question of how to win customer confidence and influence market perception. By positioning your business as a thought leader through insightful articles, engaging social media content, and authoritative press releases, digital PR raises your profile and instils confidence in potential leads.
High-value content that educates and informs not only spotlights on your expertise but also helps mitigate the impact of negative press or reviews. This is critical in the finance sector, where trust is the cornerstone of customer relationships. If every piece of content is backed by the weight of your knowledge and experience, digital PR will help to build a fortress of credibility around your brand.
Digital analytics in financial services
If you’ve read above, you’ve learnt enough to get started, but when it comes to financial services, it’s important to refer to data to qualify your strategies and approach. A 2020 study on enterprise analytics found that while 94% of businesses viewed data and analytics as essential for their digital transformation and growth, only 30% had a clear data strategy.
Reporting
We all know finance professionals love numbers. Thus, applying a numerical and data-driven approach to marketing, PR, and lead generation campaign analytics can sharpen decision-making and provide competitive edge.
Seeking Professional Resources
When business decisions irrespective of the department can significantly impact a company’s reputation, visibility, lead generation, and revenue, partnering with experienced professionals is invaluable. It’s why many top players trust experienced agencies to achieve their goals.
Are you ready to explore how digital PR can transform your lead generation process? Get in touch with our award-winning team today!
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