Money makes the world go around, and if you’ve ever survived on limited funds — I’m looking at you, college years — you know how nice it is when your finances become more plentiful.
And that brings us to today’s question. If money is that important, then why is it so difficult to generate customer response to financial marketing? Consumers have so many questions regarding finances, commonly struggle to get consumers to read their content. They also struggle to reach the right audience with their content, which is the number one struggle as reported by 52 percent of financial marketers.
So how do you get people to pay attention to content for financial services and generate better awareness of your business all around?
Here are five solutions you can bank on:
1. Make finance relatable
When people hear finance, they think of Wall Street, hedge fund managers and the Dow … right before they tune it out. Why? Because it’s not relatable. Your average reader doesn’t work on Wall Street, isn’t a hedge fund manager and finds the Dow’s rapid ups and downs maddening.
To make it relatable, tie your financial message into an experience your readers know intimately. Start with a case of common financial stress — be it job loss, retirement or outstanding debt — and then illustrate how your product, process or improvement will help solve that problem. Turn your message into a real-world solution that your readers can act on and they will be more receptive. Using customer success stories to demonstrate these solutions will enhance the relatability and is a great way to show off your brand’s strengths.
2. Keep finance simple
The financial industry is flush with jargon, and the more of it you can remove from your marketing messages, the better. Remember that readers may not have a strong financial background and they don’t want to get one from your marketing materials. Employ language they can understand and explain complex concepts in simple terms for everyone’s benefit. Using visuals, such as an infographic, chart or timeline, to demonstrate these concepts is also helpful for readers, and visuals can also boost your SEO value.
3. Keep content simple
When it comes to something as important as finances, you want to explain everything thoroughly, but not too thoroughly. Display your information succinctly with simple language and you’ll have a better chance of keeping your readers engaged until the very end. Incorporating visual formatting, such as using headers, bold text, bullet points, lists, etc., will help break up your copy and make it easier for readers to identify the sections they are most interested in.
4. Make your content engaging
Money and financial-related content run the risk of becoming stuffy and dry if you’re not careful. Make your content engaging, have some fun with it and don’t be afraid to drum up excitement — all within the boundaries of compliance and brand, of course. After all, your financial solution can help people make more money or protect what they have. Incorporating multimedia such as video or an interactive experience will keep users on a page and last longer in their memory. For example, NerdWallet offers a personalized way to compare rewards cards based on a user’s preferences and credit score. It’s helpful and interactive at the same time.
5. Plan ahead
If your finance marketing materials have to go through legal or compliance review at any point, start the process as soon as possible. This enables you to hit your deadlines and take the necessary time to craft messaging that follows the above points and creates real value for your readers.
More sources for financial marketers:
- Research report: The State of Content Marketing for Financial Services
- eBook: Content Marketing Strategies for Financial Services
- 3 Ways Financial Marketers Create Value with Content
- SEO Tips for Financial Service Marketers
- Financial Service Brands Winning With Content Marketing
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2016 and has been updated for relevancy and clarity.
