In order to stand out from the competition, you need to have a great marketing campaign. If only it were that simple though.
Yes, marketing is the primary way for your company to make itself known, but simply the act of marketing won’t do that. There are many problems and pitfalls that could actually make your firm look worse off than having no marketing campaign at all! Navigate these potential trip-ups and you’ll be well on your way to an effective campaign.
In this article, we highlight some of the most common marketing mishaps.
Social media snobbery
It’s less of a problem in tech-heavy companies like FinTech firms, but some still fall foul of neglecting social media. Some see it as wholly problematic, unruly, or difficult to control. But social media offers a massive potential audience — 84% of millennials, likely your main target audience, have smartphones, and 78% of them use the devices for more than two hours a day, says Securion Pay. It isn’t just mindless scrolling either, so pay attention to the content you’re putting out on your social media channels; what works for LinkedIn may not work for Instagram.
A failure to use social media effectively can be as problematic as not using it at all. Incisive Edge points out that 87% of people viewed many banks’ handling of social media as dull, irritating, or unhelpful. Certainly not the impression you want to make!
Use social media to announce snippets of information and build a rapport with your customers. While it’s not ideal, negative feedback can actually present a good opportunity to cast your company in a reliable light. Take ownership and resolve the problem at hand — ignoring the comment will have the opposite effect of looking uncaring. Jay Baers, a social media and customer services expert, notes that: “A lack of response is a response. It’s a response that says, ‘We don’t care about you very much’.”
Plus, ignoring the comment leaves the matter unresolved. The customer will likely get frustrated and vent that frustration on other channels, to a wider audience, where you may not be able to respond.
Saying everything the moment it happens
If you’ve got exciting news or a big announcement coming up, that’s brilliant. But try to resist the temptation to tell the world straight away. Timing is everything — do you have a trade show or public event soon? If so, Incisive Edge advices that FinTech companies should embargo their press releases in the run up to a trade show or similar event.
This allows the press sources, content writers, and journalists more time to craft a great piece regarding your announcement. They can also help to stir up a little hype and excitement about it by saying they have some news to share ‘soon’.
Getting stuck on online marketing only
Sure, the advancements made to online marketing allow for some innovative and interesting marketing tactics, but don’t let that fool you into thinking offline marketing methods are dead. Far from it, print marketing still proves highly effective in studies and research.
One example from Delineo shows some clever offline marketing campaigns by FinTech companies, such as the London underground campaign by Nutmeg. The robo-advisory service put up adverts along the underground network, the exits, and within the carriages. With no mobile signal to distract them, customers frequently pay more attention to printed adverts on their underground commute!
If you’re a fledgling company, chances are you don’t have the marketing budget to put together a print campaign of this scale just yet, but there’s still plenty of opportunity out there for you. Why not print some banners for your next trade show, or blend offline with online with some selfie frames for businesses at your stand? Visitors can snap a photo together with them and share them online for a little free coverage for you!
Unengaging language
You can no doubt put together a technically-sound explanation of your services, but there’s a big leap from that to writing an engaging, exciting copy for advertising your products and services to customers. That’s why people get degrees in the subjects of marketing and language! It’s a skill in its own right, and it’s one you need to nail if you want to achieve a successful marketing campaign.
You want your customers to do more than just read you advert, you want them to engage with it. It’s not enough to be “new”, you need to be “innovative”. Being “updated” is boring, but being “cutting-edge” is dynamic.
FinTech is a disruptive sector, so don’t be shy about shaking things up a bit!
A good marketing campaign will help you stand head and shoulders above your competition. Side-step the above situations and cast your firm in a positive light!