If you’ve ever dismissed social media as not being relevant for your brand, you might want to think again. We have a natural tendency to assume that social works best for industries like travel, leisure or retail, especially with people logging in to the likes of Facebook after a busy day at work. However, if you work within the finance sector, you might not want to overlook it for much longer.
A Linkedin survey of more than 400 wealthy individuals has shown that 84% of mass affluent customers who control between £65,000 to £650,000 in investable assets, use social media for any industry. What’s more, almost two thirds of these use the financial information they find to make an investment decision as a result. Therefore, not only is this a marketing channel that helps to increase conversions, but one that focuses on the prime target audience.
Despite this, it may seem unlikely that those who visit financial brand profiles on social networks would spend their free time interacting with content posted. Wrong again. 1 in 3 mass affluent consumers engage with updates, photos and statuses found here.
If you’re still hesitant about social media marketing for your industry, a little prior research can point you in the right directions. There are three main areas to concentrate on, but your first priority should be which platforms to use.
- Choose your network(s). If social media is a completely new venture for your company, or you have limited staff or resources, it might be a good idea to start small. Rather than setting up profiles for as many networks as you can find (only to fail to update these regularly), concentrate on two or three that you can manage more easily. It is also important to select a network with a similar demographic to your audience. For example, if you own a small dress company, image- based sharing site Pinterest with its largely female base might be the best choice.
- Check out your competitors. Just as with any aspect of your digital marketing campaign, you can’t put together a successful strategy until you know precisely who your major competitors are and what needs to be done to overtake them. Research how often they post and when, as well as what type of content they use. Somewhat surprisingly, a recent report from Sticky Eyes revealed that price comparison sites are much more effective on social media than high street banks. Attributing social scores out of 100, based on criteria such as number of follwers, sentiment, retweets, the study revealed that while the likes of Tesco Bank relied on sheer volume, Compare the Market and Confused.com had healthier engagement ratios.
- Research your target audience. Whilst the above point will give you valuable insights into what your competitors are doing, it is worth looking further into how this is received by your target audience. The previously mentioned Sticky Eyes report revealed that techniques such as vouchers and loyalty schemes are largely responsible for Compare the Market’s success across social networks. Not only does this give you a head start, it also allows you to be more effective with your time.
Therefore it really doesn’t matter what you specialise in, it’s about tailoring your social media experience to your specific industry.
