You want an engaging marketing campaign but you’re unsure how to create it—we don’t blame you. For every incredibly clever marketing campaign that boosts a company’s profile (Apple, GoPro), there are countless efforts that fizzle. But fear not—we’ve created a four-step plan to help you come up with the foundation for a clever campaign.
1. Start With Your Story
If you’re not sure where to begin, think about the reasons you started your company. Maybe it was your dream to help others financially. Maybe your mission was simply to make financial management more accessible for novices. Presenting your company’s story gives your audience something to relate to, and it gives you something to say.
2. Add Some Personality to Your Campaign
We know that financial advisors aren’t just people in suits staring at spreadsheets and market indicators—make sure your prospective clients know that by injecting your personality into your campaign. Do you like to play hockey? Consider creating a campaign based around the similarities between competitive sports and financial advising. Love surfing? Try a more laid-back campaign that highlights a relaxing way for customers to enjoy their hard-earned cash. Are you a bit tongue-in-cheek? Can you poke fun at yourself? Does your firm believe in corporate responsibility? You can also create a unique campaign by focusing on what your company offers that other businesses lack.
One inexpensive and creative way for you to make your company memorable is a contest hosted on social media. The First National Bank of Omaha issued the Pay Yourself First challenge where participants submitted YouTube videos detailing their progress in reaching their savings goal, and the winner won by a combination of goal completion and online votes. The contest spread awareness of the bank and demonstrated to current and potential customers how to use the bank’s online services.
3. Emphasize Emotion, Not Function
Eyes might glaze over if you talk too much about ROIs and 401(k)s. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an effective way to market otherwise typically dry subjects. Instead of focusing on what your financial products and services do, focus on how they make your clients feel. A retirement savings fund brings peace of mind and stability. Conversely, if you’re looking for upstart clients who want to take risks, talk about the rush a client can get from investing in a new venture. Focus on emotion instead of function.
4. Take Advantage of Current Social Media Trends
Social media is a great way to stay current. You can use your personality to establish a unique voice online, but you can also take advantage of current news and pop culture fads. Remember the great dress controversy of early 2015? Countless people debated whether the dress was black and blue or white and gold (some even saw brown and yellow). Tide—not known for an exciting product—found a fantastic way to use the debate as a marketing tool. The company showed personality and grabbed the collective interest at the same time.
Keep on top of current trends and consider whether any of them are relevant to your industry. This relevance is critical—your followers will know if you’re bandwagoning unnecessarily. But keeping yourself informed about current trends will help you make effective decisions about what, and what not, to cover. Check out our article on social media mistakes before you put your campaign into action. Connectivity can also help you monitor social media activity easily.
It’s not impossible for a financial company to create and deliver a fun and distinct marketing scheme. You just need to find the right way to spin your unique voice and strengths into a campaign that will impress customers.
Want more inspiration for clever campaigns? Check out Forbes’ “Best Marketing Campaigns of 2014.”
Image credit: ideyweb / Shutterstock
Alex Harris is Connectivity’s Eastern Region Sales Manager
