Forex brokers, fintechs, banks and payment solutions are trying to carve a niche for themselves in a highly competitive landscape. What makes one neo bank succeed and another fail is often their digital marketing. To attract clients, build trust and grow their business, financial firms need effective digital marketing strategies. In this article, we’re looking at the most impactful digital marketing for financial services.
Importance of Digital Marketing for Financial Services Firms
In a space defined by technical transformation, financial services firms must adapt to meet evolving consumer expectations and competitive pressures. Digital marketing is a critical tool for these firms, offering unique opportunities to build trust, engage clients, and drive business growth. As the financial sector continues to innovate, embracing digital marketing is no longer optional. Check out these stats:
- 14% of all spend on online advertising comes from the financial services sector.
- Almost 97% of millennials use mobile banking services. Banks using content marketing strategies have a distinct advantage with their digital footprint.
- Mobile searches on Google for ‘financial planning and management” and “best credit cards” have grown by 70% in the last two years.
- 50%+ of online investors are not brand loyal when starting their searches online. This is a great opportunity for financial firms targeting investors.
More food for thought
In a mobile-first landscape, many financial services searches are conducted on smartphones. According to Think with Google, 53% of finance app users abandoned their apps as they felt they no longer needed them. The takeaway here is that financial service marketers need to focus on regularly providing useful and relevant content to keep users engaged.
For busy marketing departments, a digital marketing agency specialising in financial services is the solution. Contentworks focuses on delivering content marketing and digital advertising solutions for financial firms. Here are some of the services we have developed deep experience in over the years.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for Financial Services
Financial services websites must have informative content relevant to their target audiences. While user experience is crucial, so is discoverability of the site. And that’s where SEO comes in. To attract organic traffic the website needs to appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). This increases visibility and establishes trust with potential clients.
A well optimised site for search needs to identify the keywords that are searched for by the target audiences. Terms like “financial advisor near me”, “best forex broker”, or “investing for retirement tips”. Once the keywords are ascertained, they need to be incorporated in a natural way into the website content. The aim is to create meaningful content related to the target keywords to establish brand authority in the financial sector. Here’s a quick checklist:
- Optimised title tags
- SEO-friendly URL slugs
- Well written meta descriptions
- Headings and subheadings related to the keywords
- A density of 1-2% of the keywords
- Images and videos help break up the text, are user-friendly and properly implemented alt tags help with SEO
- Improved navigation with internal linking
- Regularly updated content
Technical SEO audits should be conducted regularly to check the overall health of your site. Be that fixing broken links, or ensuring it’s loading quickly on mobile. Ask Contentworks about a comprehensive SEO audit of your site.
PPC For Financial Services
If you’re serious about digital marketing for your finance brand, you will need to include PPC. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing services help you attract more clients, increase conversions, and boost ROI. Expect to pay $4 per click (CPC) which is the average for finance brands. With nearly 90% of global search traffic at your fingertips, you’re doing more than just advertising. You’re boosting your brand, increasing user acquisitions, and, most importantly, driving revenues in their numbers. Here are some of the PPC services finance brands will need:
- Google Ads Management – Dominate search results and drive high-quality traffic with expert ad management.
- G2 verification – G2 is essential for finance brands to run ads on Google’s platform.
- Social Media Advertising – Boost your reach with hyper-targeted ads on Facebook.
- Remarketing Campaigns – Reconnect with visitors who didn’t convert the first time and convert them fast.
- Ad Copy & Creative Optimisation – Our expert team of writers will create compelling content.
We are the leading marketing agency for compliant content marketing. Talk to us about PPC for your finance brand.
Social Media Marketing
There are many social networks financials services brands can be on. The key is to select ones your target audience frequents and focus resources on these. People visit different channels for different reasons which is why one strategy, or one type of content, isn’t sufficient for all networks. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can help financial firms connect with audiences on a personal level, whereas LinkedIn is effective for reaching professionals. The type of posts and information shared will vary across these networks. What’s important is to post regularly, share informative and compliant content and updates that humanise your brand.
More than four out of five (81%) financial marketers say they’ve picked up new leads through social media marketing.
Social media gives you a huge opportunity to engage with your audience as well as helping you establish authority in your sector. Check out our latest article on how to improve your bank’s financial services social media.
Content Marketing
There is a 70% average engagement rate for financial services content so content marketing should be a core part of your digital marketing strategy. By creating high value content like blogs, whitepapers and eBooks, finance brands can address client questions and position themselves as a trusted information source.
Consistency is vital to content marketing. Create a regular publishing schedule to ensure your audiences remain engaged. Additionally, segmenting your content for different customer profiles increases impact.
The top three content marketing activities for financial marketers included social media marketing (77%), digital display advertising (62%), and video content (53%). Audiences spend an average of 1 minute and 51 seconds engaging with financial services content. Importantly, there is also a 52% average finish rate for content pertaining to the finance industry. This emphasises the need for well written, engaging content from start to finish.
Cost-Effective Email Marketing
The 3 biggest challenges cited when it comes to marketing financial products and services are
- Reaching the right audience (52%)
- Generating traffic to new customers (48%)
- Keeping up with the competition (44%)
Email marketing can help you to achieve all these objectives whilst also adhering to a budget. Easy to automate and personalise, email marketing is still one of the most effective tactics in your digital strategy. From nurturing leads, encouraging activity from active clients to reactivating dormants. Messaging can be tailored to the client funnel, behaviour and interests. Automation allows timely emails to be sent. From welcome messages to new clients, regular market updates, or reminders around key events, when done right, email marketing fosters strong client relationships and conversions.
Digital Marketing Strategy
A written digital marketing strategy that has buy-in from all departments in your financial services firm is key. The strategy needs to map out the customer journey, understand how they interact with the brand and provide actionable marketing activities. Need help creating an effective digital marketing strategy? Contentworks works with neobanks, forex brokers, payment providers and fintechs to create actionable strategies.
Building Trust and Being Compliant
Trust, credibility, security and reliability are four pillars the financial services industry rests on. Digital marketing for financial services firms must comply with strict regulatory requirements and prioritise data security at every step. The content you produce needs to demonstrate compliance, not only to avoid fines from regulators, but to balance marketing with responsibility. Our team of multi asset financial services content marketers follow regulatory news and updates from ASIC, CySEC, MFSA, FCA, FSA, FRB, SEC, MiFID II and more.
Communication Strategies
Digital marketing strategies should place a strong focus on communication. How is your brand speaking to clients and prospects? Are you utilising Live Chat, bots, social media messaging, WhatsApp, Telegram or email?
Chatbots have automated this process by allowing instant support 24/7, in multiple languages. They are useful in addressing FAQs, guiding clients through account setups or navigating the platform. Financial services firms can improve response times and customer satisfaction with well-trained, personalised chatbots. They can increase organisational efficiency and free up human agents from routine tasks to focus on more complex client questions and support. But, financial firms need to strike a balance between bots and humans for a well-balanced support system.
Outsourcing content development benefits your finance brand by utilising other’s expertise to improve your ROI. A well-crafted digital marketing strategy helps financial services firms succeed in a crowded sector. Book a free 15 minute zoom with the Contentworks Agency team to get started.