Summer is upon us and for many forex brokers, banks and fintechs that means a break is in order. But, if you’re trying to boost brand awareness and maintain engagement throughout the warmer months, chilling out is simply not an option. Don’t worry, with a good summer strategy, boosting business throughout the holiday season is totally possible. Here are some tips for everyone working in financial services marketing this summer.
#1 Embrace Summer Trends
Embracing summer trends and the laid-back sentiment of consumers can be great for business. Let’s look at summer travel, for instance. 89% of family travelers believe deals and good value offers to be an important part of their trip with 34% choosing their travel options based on price. Money saving initiatives can therefore be used to drive successful social media campaigns. Keep in mind that 74% of travelers use social media and therefore being attractive and engaging with your offerings is the way forward.
Summer for financial services marketing doesn’t need to be dull. Mastercard and MTA’s ‘Fare Back Friday’ campaign is a great example of rewarding people for travel. Essentially, passengers are being refunded for their trips every Friday in June and July. Mastercard is also the first to offer a tap and pay service on subway rides. One of the biggest benefits of the initiative is reduced wait times which improve the travel experience.
The campaign is currently making waves on Facebook and for good reason. With this campaign, Mastercard users are also eligible for ‘Priceless Surprises’ rewards which give access to some top culinary, sports, and entertainment events in NYC.
Top Takeaway 1: Tap into the money-saving ethos of summer months with campaigns that reward your consumer. According to a survey by HelloWorld, 76% of consumers like free products the most as part of loyalty schemes and 74% like discounts. So, to keep your audience interested and satisfied with your performance, giving back is essential.
Top Takeaway 2: 95% of consumers believe a good users experience makes complete sense with 60% feeling more positive about a brand after reading content from it. With this in mind, don’t be afraid to promote your campaigns across multiple social media channels in order to increase brand awareness and to build a relationship with your consumers.
#2 Be Authentic and On-Brand
86% of people say authenticity matters when deciding what brands they like and support. Indeed, a high Reputation Score correlates with a 3.9% boost in sales, so it’s essential to stay true to your values during the summer months and to create campaigns based around this. In other words, don’t just suddenly go off-track because its holiday season. Being accountable and upholding your brand promise is a great way to earn trust across your social accounts and beyond.
One of the best ways to be authentic is to lay off heavily promoting your products. Instead, why not lean on your advocates to tell your story? By leveraging the power of user generated content, you can spread your brand’s message in a more organic way while keeping your community actively engaged.
Revolut is one brand that has totally nailed authentic content this summer. By encouraging people to share unique pictures of their limited-edition rainbow card released for Pride they’ve not only encouraged social interaction but have also made the most of an important celebration. While jumping on any trending event is inadvisable, Revolut’s product launch show the brand to be forward thinking, inclusive and supportive of the LGBT community.
Top Takeaway 1: Break through the overly promotional summer rhetoric of other brands and stand out from the crowd. Incredibly, user generated posts shared to social channels see a 28% higher engagement rate than standard brand posts and therefore it’s worth incorporating such content into your overall strategy.
Top Takeaway 2: Get the ball rolling with incentives and giveaways. People love them and considering 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before even considering interacting with a brand it’s essential to be diverse in your approach.
Don’t forget: Use relevant and trending hashtags to gain traction.
#3 Stay Fresh and Unique
Running the same old campaigns and initiatives time and time again won’t do in a society where humans have a shorter attention span than a goldfish – less than 8 seconds on average. To really stand out from the crowd, your content should be unique, fresh and tap into markets that could potentially boost revenue.
Many finance brands, for example, target millennials. But the younger generations will also shape the financial industry in the future. This explains why disruptor bank Revolut is set to launch an app for children and the new mobile banking start-up Step is bringing mobile banking to teens. The younger demographic is a big target market.
Innovative incentives that are specifically tailored to the summer months can also keep people interested in what you have to offer. TD Bank’s Summer Reading Program is a great example. The campaign is designed for young depositors who are in Kindergarten through to fifth grade. This fun campaign not only promotes saving from a young age but it also nurtures a reading culture among kids. Each child who reads 10 books over summer receives $10 into their new or existing Young Saver account.
Top takeaway: By focusing on kids, the campaign indirectly targets the adults as well. Parents are normally highly involved in their children’s activities and so this promotion also exposes the adults to TD Bank. So, when it comes to summer marketing, don’t just focus on your target audience directly but think of smart ways to incorporate new clients while still ticking the boxes of existing or potential consumers that fit your typical demographic.
Acing Summer Success
There’s something familiar about all these Summer for Financial Services Marketing campaigns – they are all focused on the customer. It’s all about giving back. The campaigns are highly effective because they promote products and services indirectly. They also spark joy, enthusiasm and the feeling of freedom that summer brings. Still want to put your feet up this summer? Contact the Contentworks team today for help with your content marketing