In a world where everyone thinks they can be the next Steve Jobs, cracking fintech content marketing can feel like attempting to scale Mount Everest in a pair of Crocs. However, a few brands have weathered the storm.
When you look at these brands, there are some common trends. Each of these companies does things a little differently, but there is a level at which content marketing applies to everyone.
For example, Stripe—the payments unicorn that’s been on a tear in recent years, was able to pull in $36 billion in annual revenue, and it’s all thanks to the power of design excellence and content marketing.
This was why I spent the better half of a year trying to get my brain wrapped around how good content marketing has been one of the possible soft sell for fintechs this era.
It doesn’t mean everyone did content marketing well. However, there are lessons from both successes and failures.
So, let’s start with some of the things that some fintech companies aren’t doing so well when it comes to content marketing.
Why do companies fumble fintech content marketing?
1. Poor Content Marketing Strategy
There are so many different ways to create content that it can feel overwhelming. And because there are so many options, it can be difficult to know when and where to start as well as what to post at a particular instant.
I recently saw a couple of posts on Twitter from a brand that just launched a new blockchain project. They had a picture of themselves holding up a sign advertising the cryptocurrency. Then they included a link at the bottom of their post that took users directly to the website. That’s it!
I clicked on the link to find more information about the project, but didn’t see much.
A more effective approach would have been, probably before launch, to prioritize creating content that explains what the project is about. Write as many blog posts as possible or make video content that addresses any possible question the target audience might have. This way, when you launch and create posts with CTAs directing people to your website, you are sure that they will find all the answers they seek.
2. Creating Generic Content
While some brands have put out content and seen great results, and a few others okay results, there are still others who haven’t gotten much at all.
Even with a good strategy, you can’t just create any type of content and hope for the best. This is never going to work in the long term. You need to identify your own unique angle and execute on it.
Some of the fintechs that have had huge wins with content marketing were willing to take the risk and try something different. In many cases, they were willing to do things that were more risky than most people would have been willing to do.
For example, if you’re building an online banking platform that makes it easy for consumers to manage their accounts and make payments, what would be an interesting content marketing angle? While you could publish articles on some business practices and discuss how they have been able to reduce fraud and increase customer satisfaction, you could choose a comparative approach- comparing your offering with those of leading competitors in the industry. Chances are, when a customer searches for them, you’ll also be seen.
Or you could choose the story-telling approach (run a series), podcast interviews, animations, or even publish reviews, customer feedback, case studies, or infographics. This can help build trust in your brand, which is something that’s often lacking in the industry.
Find a unique way to reach your audience while keeping them informed and educated about your product. This might just be the cutting edge you need.
3. Less Focus on Brand-Customer Relationship
Some fintech companies use social media to promote themselves, but they don’t really create content that helps them interact with their customers.
While it is good to put out content that showcases your product offering, pricing and reach, you need to create relationships that make people feel like they have a friend and potential partner in the fintech industry.
It goes beyond running occasional giveaways. It’s an opportunity to show off your personality and make people feel like they’re talking to someone who cares about them personally rather than just another faceless corporate entity trying to sell them something.
One good way to do this is to create content asking them about their experiences with the new product you just launched or content that sympathizes with them in the event of a major disaster, or create a community where you can share ideas.
Related: Why you should outsource content marketing (and how)
Companies that have gotten fintech content marketing right
1. Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is an online Canadian investment management service based in Toronto. They offer four products and services, which include an investing service that manages users’ investments via a personalized portfolio, a peer-to-peer cash transfer platform, a crypto platform, and a tax preparation and filing platform.
This fintech incorporates storytelling into their content. Wealthsimple uses content pillars like insurance guides, articles in the form of storytelling, headlines, and graphics that are eye-catching.
Their content strategy has created four results for them:
- Pull in the right people.
- Convince their TA to do business.
- Reassure their customers that they are at the right place.
- And get their customers to spread the good word.
2. Monzo
Monzo is an online bank based in the United Kingdom. It originally started out as a prepaid card in 2015 under the name “mondo”. Rebranding didn’t seem to affect their success in any way.
Monzo has been able to grow and keep its customers, thanks to features like free ATM withdrawals abroad, connecting to Amazon Alexa and teaming up with TransferWise to offer international money transfers.
Until recently, Monzo’s marketing strategy used to be reliant on word of mouth. Now, they have a community forum where consumers and employees can both contribute. With this, customers can help generate ideas and give feedback about the brand.
Monzo has a more personal connection with their customers and this has helped create a long term business success.
3. SoFi
SoFi fintech is an American online personal finance company and online bank based in San Francisco. They offer financial products like student loans, auto loans, mortgages, personal loans, investments, credit cards, and banking through digital platforms.
When it comes to content marketing, SoFi knows how to do it right; their site has one of the most thorough resource centers, and it has a wide range of guides. The site has a “how to buy a home for the first time” guide and “student loan financing” guide.
It also has tools that can help site visitors make better decisions, like a student loan calculator, a mortgage calculator, a personal loan calculator, and an IRA calculator.
4. Chime
Chime is an online banking app that provides free mobile banking services. Users of the online bank are issued visa debit cards or credit cards and they have access to a banking system through the company website or mobile app.
Chime has grasped the process of content marketing so well, that it uses its content to get new account signups. The content pillar focuses more on the bank’s unique features like SpotMe overdraft fee protection and fast access to direct deposits. They also have a blog where they post financial content that are relevant to people’s needs, with article topics like “Smart money” “Wealth habits’ ‘ and “Make money”.
Chime actually started content marketing with content pillars centered around fee comparisons, automatic savings and healthy financial lifestyle. By improving more on their strategies and employing the use of a predictive personalization system, they were able to decipher which headlines and messages were most appealing to each audience segment. Finally, they introduced messaging into their strategy.
5. Betterment
This is yet another fintech that does a great job with customer-focused content marketing.
Betterment is an online financial advisor that helps to plan financial goals and make better investment decisions.
Their content pillars are centered around tips, investing information, published research, tools, and calculators. They also have a podcast where they invite industry experts to discuss trending topics and provide insights.
6. Moov
Moov is a payment processing platform for receiving, saving, and sending money.It is a platform created by developers with the goal of providing an excellent user experience.
They use storytelling as one of their content marketing strategies. One of the articles on their blog is titled “Why I Joined Moov”, and it was a great help for hiring. New employees always refer back to the articles when asked about their reason for joining Moov.
Apart from customer acquisition, Moov also uses their strategies for recruiting.
7. Spendesk
This is a spend management company that provides solutions for finance teams to make faster, smarter spending decisions. They keep a close eye on their competitors and stay in close communication with their customers.
A few years ago, they created a monitoring tool called Mention. This tool is used to track specific keywords related to fintech so they can stay up to date with trends, events, and products in the financial market. With this app, the marketing team tracks conversations around their brand and it allows them to find new ideas for creating content.
Spendesk also has a blog that has articles with great tool keywords and product keywords. These keywords are high intent, which means that people that search for them are always ready to convert and become customers.
It’s safe to say that Spendesk has already built a solid customer force.
What’s next for your fintech content marketing strategy?
While it has been amazing to see how some brands have excelled with fintech content marketing, one key takeaway here is that there’s no one right way to be successful—the emphasis really needs to be on establishing your own voice and engaging your target audience.
If you’re not sure where to start, that’s where we come in!
Hera is one of the leading content marketing services that combines the right content and engagement strategies to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Book a demo! We’ll be happy to go through what we can offer you.
We have worked with over 24 startups to drive conversions through increased community presence and relevant blog posts that we help distribute. To understand our process, book a 15 - 30 minutes meeting with us.
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