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We live in a digital world, dominated by social media giants. From Facebook to TikTok, social media platforms have provided more ways to publish content than ever before – and businesses around the globe have taken advantage. Learn how to leverage these tips and best practices targeted toward tackling social media in financial services.
Consider the pandemic as a wake up call to every industry, especially for those smart marketers trying to figure out how to remotely manage social media in the financial services industry.
- Jenn Guidry, Dir of Marketing, eclincher
However, while it may be easy to see how digital marketing strategies have revolutionized industries like retail, hospitality and the arts, for other sectors of the economy, it’s not so clear.
In fact, the transition to social media for many areas has been much more of a slow burn and, until recently, the financial services industry was one such example.
However, the increased release of research highlighting the importance of social media marketing has led many businesses within this area to prick their ears and kickstart their digital networking journey.
But, how exactly can the financial services industry use social media most effectively?
Well, we’re here to discuss exactly that and have compiled a handy guide to help you on your way.
An Introduction To Social Media In The Financial Sector
Digital marketing for finance is now a rapidly expanding area of the industry. Not only are more companies than ever now on social media, but they are also spending more on placing ads there.
In a 2020 report by Emarketer, for example, projections estimated that digital ad spending in the US financial services sector would increase by 9.7% to a total of $19.62 billion.
Of that amount, 70.9% of spending would be directed to mobile advertising – a 13% increase to $13.9 billion – making financial services the second-largest spender on digital advertising.
With that figure set to rise even further, as more businesses use social networking opportunities, it’s become pretty clear that digital marketing is now an integral part of the financial services industry.
In addition to advertising material, many companies now feel that having user-focused media content available on social platforms can make a big difference to how trustworthy they come across to customers.
If, for example, you’re a lender wanting to target your loans towards customers with bad credit histories. Instead of utilising pushy advertising tactics in an industry that is extremely competitive and often referred to as “all smoke and mirrors”, providing tailored, user-centred content guides (like this ‘Bad Credit Loans Guide’ example) could reassure customers that you’re someone they can actually trust – a lender that’s different from the rest.
Historically, finance industry regulations have made companies reluctant to employ social tools. However, many are now realizing the benefits of using individual social media platforms.
Facebook and Instagram are the most popular platforms overall, with a combined user base of over 3.5 billion active accounts. And while Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn and TikTok may have smaller reach, on the whole, many financial corporations are finding that they can be just as effective for marketing their brand.
For instance, Mastercard has found pull with their Youtube channel, regularly publishing informative videos that feature professional golfers to showcase their services. This method has proved so successful, in fact, that they recently won the Social Media Silver Bowl Award.
Learning which platform is best for your specific visual, textual and audio content is, therefore, crucial to utilizing social media to its fullest potential, vastly increasing your likelihood of executing a successful branding or marketing strategy.
The Key Benefits of Social Media in Financial Services
Brand Awareness: It Matters
Brand awareness or brand visibility might be a marketing buzzword, but its importance can’t be denied. Brand visibility is one of the best ways to generate more custom, after all, as your target audience will subconsciously begin to view your brand as familiar and, by extension, trustworthy.
If, for example, you were to look at the logos of famous corporations, you would likely know their identities without being told whom the logo belonged to. This level of familiarity with a brand creates a subconscious feeling of trust, leading to more business.
Generate Business: Be Responsive
The opportunity for greater engagement with your customers is another way in which social media in financial services can generate more sales for your company. Almost all social media platforms now offer a ‘direct messaging’ feature, allowing for individualized communication and rapport building with customers.
If you want to go further and centralize your communication efforts, take a deeper dive into a social media management tool that will siphon all your interactions into one unified inbox. This is a growing trend in the customer service approach to make sure the financial industry is responsive, available, and on top of all the engagement in a remote environment especially.
A recent study found that 74% of financial advisors relied on direct marketing channels to liaise with both existing and prospective clients. A huge 94% of these advisers reported new assets were gained as a result of direct messaging strategies.
Target Audience Research
The majority of social media business accounts will allow you to see which demographics engage with your content the most; invaluable information to have at your disposal when shaping marketing campaigns around your products or services.
If, for example, your posts on mortgage promotions or offers are primarily liked/commented on by 30 – 40-year-olds, you could utilize this information to create tailored mortgage content targeted at this age range.
If you are using a social media marketing platform, make sure you can add your Google Analytics account so your research is centralized. Using this data to inform not just capture social media ROI, but future services and content could see a greater level of engagement and, therefore, business generation.
Customer Mood
Social media in financial services provides an opportunity to provide quick and accessible means for customers to give you valuable feedback and opinions in the form of reviews or comments. This is an excellent way to gauge your clients’ mood about your business practices, including your brand identity and products. Observing and analyzing overarching trends allows you to cater your services accordingly.
Another great option for businesses in the financial sector is to partner with a marketing automation platform that will give you sentiment analysis of all communication funneling in from engagement on social media posts.
It also allows for straightforward customer service; having a solid social media presence gives you more opportunities to demonstrate how you deal with customer complaints and enables you to put things to bed more effectively.
How To Utilize Social Media In Financial Services
Be Aware Of The Challenges
The finance industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the world and businesses getting on board with the digital revolution need to make sure their posts adhere to all current legalities.
One of the best things you can do to provide compliant content is to stay up to date on the latest news about updates to regulatory law. It might also be a good idea to provide additional training to staff members in charge of managing social content.
Integrate
As you really take a deeper dive into social media in financial services, integrating your different social streams is a relatively simple way to direct traffic from social media platforms to your website and vice versa. Allowing your customers to find you in several places with a single click will enable them to interact with your content more easily and make them more likely to share your posts.
One of the newest ways to establish links between your different web presences is to embed a social feed wall on your website’s home page. Websites can now pull in dynamic RSS feeds and this is a great approach to your email marketing strategy as well. This creates an engaging visual and collates all of your social media presences in one place, further simplifying the interaction process.
Provide Value
Over 75% of millennials now use social media to make decisions about purchases. For non-visual industries like financial services, the perceived value of your company and products is the most important thing involved in those decisions.
By providing valuable content and information to your followers, you can create a rapport with them, as clients don’t believe you are only trying to sell them something. This fosters respect and faith in your business, leading to a potentially larger number of sales.
Final Thoughts…
The use of social media in financial services sectors may be fairly new but, with more businesses taking advantage of the digital revolution and consumers basing their purchasing decisions on brand identities, it is fast becoming more important than ever.
By staying aware of the legalities, integrating social platforms and providing value to your clientele, your business will not only be able to create a more informed marketing strategy but it will also be able to utilize consumer behaviour data to potentially lead to an increased number of sales. Talk about a win-win.
For more more information on eclincher, they are not just another social media management tool. They are comprised of a team of experts who are here to serve 24/7 while you focus on what matters most, growing your financial services business. They offer a 14-day FREE trial and extend a private demo so you can conquer your digital social media marketing strategy.
