Money, money, money... That's what we are talking about today. Or more specifically, the businesses that deal with the all that money. I know it's August and you are probably packing a bag to somewhere, but if you are a banker, insurer, accountant or any other financial professional, spare 5 minutes to read this post and learn how to enhance the content marketing of your business.
Unlike most industries, which focus on selling a product, visual content (except for charts and graphs) takes a backseat in the marketing strategy of a company, operating in the financial sector. Such organisation or a sole trader provides a service, which is intangible, therefore, they will have to focus on written content with an exceptional quality. Simply said, the words you use and the skill, with which you use them, are crucial to the success of your digital presence.
Sell a Dream
When you write content for the financial industry, you need to make your service sound like the best thing since sliced bread. It's hard to market a financial product and convince your target audience they need it. It is even harder to make them choose you among the fierce competition. Just think about all sorts of insurances, credit cards and loans. Does everyone need these? Not really, but brilliant content marketers have a whole generation (or even two) living on credit as the norm. This is why outsourcing copywriting and blogs to professional financial writers is a winning strategy for this industry. Ideally, you want to hire someone who has the relevant experience, knowledge and skills to do the job. They will know how to sell the dream without misleading your readers, which otherwise, could create a hot mess.
Use Reliable Sources
If, after all, you decide to write your own content to minimise cost or because you are capable of doing it, make sure you always use reliable sources . No matter how knowledgable and experienced you are, you will always have to update and refresh what you know. Doing research online is convenient and fast. There are plenty of websites where you can get extensive, relevant and true information. Nonetheless, be aware not everything that is on the Internet is in touch with reality. For example, collecting information from Wikipedia to write a blog post is not a good idea, because everyone can post on the platform and there's no guarantee what you read on Wiki is true. A much better alternative are websites like Forbes, Financial Times, government official sites and online academic journals.
Offer Solutions
Anyone that comes to a financial service website is likely looking for important information and answers. Businesses with good content offer solutions for their customers and, at the same time, leave enough room for specific questions. Don't be stingy with your knowledge. Yes, it costs money, but money will come back to you as no two situations are the same and different people will always seek advice on their own circumstances. Providing value with the content you put online, you build a strong relationship with your prospective customers and they become more inclined to trust you.
Use Smart SEO
What do I mean by smart SEO? Mainly, don't use too many keywords in attempt to increase your Google rankings and destroy the readability. Instead, incorporate high quality links to good and informative websites, as well as, to some of your older posts. This way you increase the traffic on your own site and Google bots give you bonus points, which means you are climbing higher on the Search results list. Also, don't forget to write good meta descriptions for your web pages and blog posts. Finally, keep writing and posting. Consistency is the core of smart SEO.
Plan Your Content
A little something to help with the consistency of your blog posts is having a calendar schedule. Have a month or two, dedicated to a specific topic. It gives a good structure to your blog and keeps the interest alive. Build the hype on social media, announcing the next topic a week in advance. Especially for you, I have created a sample annual financial content schedule month by month. You are free to use it as it is or tweak it to fit better your business and services.
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments or contact me directly. Have a great week and be back next Monday for more content marketing tips.
