Financial Services Marketing Trends To Build Your Strategy

Marketing trends may come and go but ignoring industry best practices can impact how well your financial provider does their business. Trust remains top when it comes to choosing a provider, and competition is getting tougher. Now, 31% trust fintech as their primary financial provider, with that number rising to ~50% for Gen Z and Millennial consumers. But how can financial providers stay connected to their clients and what financial services marketing trends should they be looking out for? Let’s take a look. Perhaps, it will help you find the best way to market financial products and services.

Top Financial Institutions Marketing Strategies

No.1 Automated marketing processes

On average, statistics show that 76% companies that implement automation into their marketing strategy gain a return on investment in the first year. Speed matters in marketing and that goes double for digital marketing in lending industry. While these results sound great, many top-level staff remain uncertain as to what automation looks like. Let’s unwrap.

Top 9+ Ideas for Marketing Automation in Lending To automate marketing of financial services, companies utilize data to organize and perform various marketing tasks. For example, it can include:

• Email marketing automation—by streamlining the client and potential client emailing process, financial providers can deliver tailored offers and products to the clients who want them. While we’re all reluctant to open yet another email, now’s not the time to give up on this profitable venture. ROI runs at around $42 for every $1 spent and 79% state it’s ‘very important’ to their overall marketing campaigns. Automating the process can allow marketers time to craft actionable emails, while saving time on technical tasks, leading to increased opens and potentially more leads. 
• Texts and push messages—mobile is continuing to thrive. That’s why any marketing campaign should take account of a text and push message strategy. By automating this process, you allow your team the opportunity to experiment with various factors to find a formula that works. For example, they may combine reminders, sales messages, informational content and more, and various times to ensure effective client communication.
• Social media automation—with so many platforms to choose from, keeping track of all of them can be a challenge. Right now, you may be wondering, do potential clients really want their financial provider on Facebook or other media? And the answer is yes. The key here is accessibility, and marketers agree. Between 2020 and 2021, digital ad spending was said to increase by around 9.7%, indicating that socials are a major platform for financial industry marketing professionals. 

No.2 Multichannel vs. Omnichannel

Automation and data gathering may be step one. But just where should you connect with your clients? This is where the age-old debate of multichannel versus omnichannel marketing comes into play. There is no clear-cut right or wrong answer as to which one is better. Both have unique benefits, and the choice will likely depend heavily on your brand. So when should you choose omni and when should your business go multi?

• Omnichannel—refers to the use of ‘all’ or almost all available channels. Omnichannel marketing allows for diversity and to connect to various groups of users. For example, email marketing targeted at older millennials, with TikTok campaigns for Gen Z, who are primarily video-media users. 
• Multichannel—generally refers to a number of marketing channels that may be used to connect to clients. This approach may be particularly helpful when you know your audience well and which platforms are best to connect with them on. As it means you’ll have to pick and choose which ones to use, previously gathered data will be essential here.

Multichannel Lending Software: How to Grow Loan Portfolio with Multi Lender Platform While there is no right answer as to which is right, it’s essential that before diving into a marketing plan, that you take the time to analyze which is the better fit for your business and its audience.

No.3 Content marketing

Content is King and no longer just a catchphrase, it’s a fact. Some marketers consider it the best way to market financial products. The global digital population is over 4.4 billion, meaning more than half the planet is online. But what are they doing there? 

In short, consuming content. Of course, this content has different forms, such as long-form articles like this one, short videos on platforms like TikTok, interactive courses to help users understand a product or service and much more. 

Before you consider which types of content to produce, it’s vital you create your content strategy first. This should involve:

• B2C and B2B content plans
• Timelines and editorial calendars
• Success metrics and clear goals
• Defined audience
• Knowledge of platforms
• Resources to run the campaign successfully

The Ultimate Marketing Ideas for Loan Companies to Generate Leads When it comes to specifics, content marketing trends change very quickly. This is why it’s vital to keep your ear to the ground for market changes and trends, using the latest platforms. That said, in the past year, there are 3 trends that are standing out. They are:

• Interactive content—this may be quizzes, infographics, maps, tabs, ratings and more. Content that involves user action gets them involved in the process and builds a deeper connection to the brand. For example, it could be a quiz about good financial habits to improve client knowledge or an infographic of top brand statistics. 
• Educational content—content should have a purpose. The one thing that’s really come to light in recent years is educational financial content. This helps clients learn more about the market, your brand, and builds trust as you inform them on the basics, they need to know about your niche area of finance. 
• Tailored viewer intent content—this recent trend focuses on user intent. It can help predict their needs and answer their burning questions before they even think to ask them. When personalizing your intent content, remember to include theme, journeys and personas, and type of content in your strategy.

Note: Many providers struggle to produce quality content and to do it consistently. In this case, it’s always worthwhile contacting a digital marketing agency that specializes in finance to help you get the best start. They will be able to advise you closely on which content works, while guiding on any niche areas, such as compliance. 

No.4 Influencer marketing

No longer just for Gen Zers. Influencer marketing is entering digital marketing in the finance industry world too. However, it’s going to look a lot different than we’ve seen in the past. With trust being a major factor in finance, potential clients are on the lookout for brands they can trust, and this is where influencers come in. 

Social media influencers can tackle complex financial topics and transform them into understandable content to bring trust to a brand. This strategy also builds familiarity as users get used to hearing more about your service provider and it becomes more like a household name. 

For more well-established providers, this strategy can also work by refreshing the company and making it more people-friendly, which could attract more users. 

No.5 Search engine pptimization

SEO or search engine optimization is evolving. While keyword best practices are still a main feature, it shouldn’t be all you base your marketing strategy on. Authoritativeness and authenticity are becoming ever more valuable meaning that your content needs more than just a few keywords, it needs to be packed with meaning. Other factors that impact SEO in the coming years will be mobile technology, inclusion of video, long-form vs. short form content, and optimising a site’s core vitals—load-time, etc.

No.6 Customer service

Customer Experience in Digital Lending: 5 Onboarding Best Practices Customer service, client support, or customer success team, no matter what you call them, this group of stars deserve a very important part of your marketing strategy. Surely, they fall under a different department, right? While for the most part customer service can be included in the financial institutions marketing strategies. As a front-line service, they are an integral part of your brand and the image they present is the one the client will be left with. 

Investing your marketing budget to help customer service learn more about the company and its positioning can strengthen its place on the market. A consistent message delivers a strong, reliable image that alludes trust and security—exactly what you want when you’re involved in digital marketing in the finance industry. That’s why it’s essential you loop in your customer service team as early as possible and keep your brand messaging aligned and strong. 

No.7 Housekeeping: Digital marketing best practices

Although digital marketing has evolved a lot in the past few years, and especially so in the finance industry where it has moved from informing clients to connecting with them, there is always time for a little digital marketing housekeeping. But what does this mean? 

Housekeeping is all about reviewing and analyze the state of current brand marketing and polishing it to perfection. For example, it might be about updating outdated pieces of content, fixing broken links, or updating a landing page to reflect new prices. Ensuring all this is in order makes sure your brand looks efficient and trustworthy, which is vital when it comes to the highly competitive financial arena. 

Next Steps to Digital Marketing of Financial Services

Both digital marketing and finance are fast-moving and that means to stay ahead of competition, you’ll need to stay on top of the latest trend and industry movements. However, aside from that, it’s also essential that the financial industry is based on trust and reputation, and these two things should always be your primary focus when designing a digital marketing campaign.