Summer is the perfect time to sit back, relax and take multiple trips to the beach – right? Well yes if you’re on vacation, but if you’re in any way involved with the finance sector, the warmer months call for even more action. As traders go on vacation, brokers and financial marketers need to work harder to generate buzz and excitement. Plus, there’s September to plan for. Here’s what financial marketers need to be including in their summer marketing activities:

Summer Bloggin’

Summer bloggin’ had me a blast, summer bloggin’… ok no we won’t but the need for original, creative and authentic content is huge right now. The finance sector has been put through its paces so far in 2018 and with stories of hacking and crypto scams circulating the web, it’s essential to come up with a summer marketing strategy that helps traders and investors to connect with your brand. These days, hard sales, banner ads and boastful rhetoric are being replaced with more of a storytelling/humanistic approach – so why not give it a go?

Summer blogging is a great way to keep clients engaged without being overly promotional. As blogs are great to share on social media, it’s a good idea to choose topics that don’t include banned keywords or controversial topics. If you offer crypto CFDs, for instance, and want to increase exposure across multiple platforms while staying compliant, how about offering a ‘Summer Trading Tips’ series? You could even write a ‘Summer Holiday To-Do List for Investors.’

By producing and promoting content that’s relevant and of genuine interest to your target audience, you will increase user engagement organically.

Social Media Splash

As well as sharing blogs on your social media accounts and website, you could also come up with a summer-specific social media campaign that you can run when the mercury rises?

• Competitions and giveaways

People are distracted in summer with beach trips, sandcastle building and tanning – so make a splash and get noticed. As a part of your summer marketing, run exciting summer competitions with attractive giveaways; promote freebies such as access to a ‘Live’ account with XXX funds to start people off on their summer trading journey – and make the most of modern technology by hosting real-time Twitter talks or question and answer sessions.

• Call-to-actions and incentives

Be sure to include carefully scripted call-to-actions and if you’re generating content on a regular basis and want to increase views – give people a reason to click on specific links. Everyone loves something for nothing, so entering those who click through to your content into some kind of a prize draw is a great idea. Be sure to track engagement, however, as this will allow you to tweak and perfect future campaigns.

• Challenges and shared adventures

You could even produce humorous summer social media videos of staff members doing crazy summer activities like the Ice Bucket Challenge (where freezing water is poured over the head of willing participants) and encourage your target audience to share their adventures. This might all sound a little ‘off-the-wall’ but it helps to generate a buzz without stepping on the toes of regulatory bodies. Plus, summer is a time when many people appreciate a little fun, especially on social platforms which are often much lighter in tone.

• Updates and engagement

What’s more, don’t forget that dedicated traders are likely to check their trading-related social media even when on holiday, so try to be as active as possible in your specific communities. You can do this by actively engaging with groups on Telegram or posting enticing questions on Twitter. Be sure to reply promptly and professionally to social media posts and keep all material fresh and innovative. Summer could also be a great time to set up an Instagram account as with its huge visual appeal you could encourage traders to share pictures of their luxurious trips.

Unleash your influencer potential

Summer marketing isn’t all about planning and preparation. If you’ve ideas in your head that are new and exciting, post them on LinkedIn and set yourself apart as a thought leader. Provide a link back to your brokerage and you’ve got another instant marketing avenue. Remember, however, that not everyone is a natural influencer. If you are browsing the likes of Bloomberg or Forbes and rehashing content in a parrot-like fashion – forget it. In order to get finance gurus excited you’ve got to be one step ahead – and if you are, brilliant. Think outside the box and provide innovative content on a regular basis.

Summer is also the ideal time to neaten and streamline all of the social media accounts used by your brokerage and to ensure all marketing messages are consistent. If you’re launching an ICO, investors want more information about the team behind the idea and therefore it’s essential that everyone involved has an updated LinkedIn profile that details their experience.

Create summer-specific landing pages

If you want to embrace the whole summer marketing theme, creating specific landing pages with a dedicated focus to summer promotions is ideal. Not only will it allow you to get creative without displacing other essential content on your site but it will also make the tracking process a whole lot easier. You will also be able to link back to specific landing pages via your social media efforts and PR material.

Now is the time to ramp up your summer marketing activity. If you need help creating or implementing a strategy, Contentworks has experience creating tailored content marketing solutions for the finance sector with a strong focus on social media engagement. Contact the team today for more information about the various Contentworks packages on offer.