The finance sector has passionately embraced public relations because effective PR strategies in this business have repeatedly shown their usefulness as a platform for good news, a defence against bad news, a source of innovation and talent, and a brand’s signature.
We’ve written this article to address some of the most often asked issues about financial services communications in-depth because the advantages of financial PR are plentiful and complex. Why is it crucial? How should it be carried out? What are some instances of effective (or ineffective) financial PR?
This one is for you whether you work as a marketer for a brand-new FinTech company that has yet to launch its first PR campaign, an established asset management company with plenty of expertise, or something in between.
What is Financial Service PR?
The financial services sector encompasses various enterprises, such as insurance, money management, and online banking—public relations for financial service firms aid in improving their financial standing.
For instance, financial services PR might highlight investor relationships and promote your company’s performance. PR is crucial to establish credibility with your audience and enhancing a brand’s reputation. Public relations’ main objectives are to build a brand’s interaction with its audience and to generate a favourable brand image.
Importance of Financial Service PR
PR for financial services can serve your company in a variety of ways. The shareholders of financial institutions like banks, wealth management firms, insurance providers, and similar businesses respond favourably to educational materials, requests for participation, and indications of competence, authority, and mutual respect, no less than in other industries.
Aside from that, organisations in the financial services industry frequently use PR to set themselves apart from their rivals due to the abundance of financial services options available to B2B businesses. Any of these goals-focused campaigns can fall under the category of financial PR.
Financial service providers can use various PR tools to build credibility in the market. They can engage with the target audience and gain a competitive edge over competitors. To succeed in the financial market and promote your services, you need to plan robust PR strategies.
5 Financial Services PR Strategies
Here are five financial services PR strategies for you, although a professional financial PR agency will make PR tasks and campaigns successful:
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Update Your Website and Content
More than ever, maintaining your audience’s interest and engagement online requires generating a good first impression. It’s not simply the colours you decide to use for your website; it’s also the interface’s specifics and functionality. Here are some essential website elements for improving PR strategies:
- The ease of use and the most recent design
- The use of current industry jargon in the copy
- Information about your financial services and the markets you serve
- Educational content to help the target audience make informed decisions
Find new images and infographics that reflect the text. Ensure your web developers create a robust website for mobile browsers that enhances and closely resembles the layout and information on the main site.
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Improve Customer Experience
KPIs can rise by more than 80% with enhanced customer experience. In contrast, a strong user interface (UI) can boost up to 200% conversion rates.
The user interface (UI) of a website, app, or mobile device refers to the displays, buttons, icons, forms, etc. UX is the user’s experience with your brand or product from the initial interaction, whether online or off, until the final transaction. They will improve the user experience for financial services when taken together.
You should take extra care with the content you publish on your website, blog, advertisements, apps, and videos. Additionally, the structure and colour scheme of your website is crucial. Find locations where customers are having trouble by taking a snapshot of heat maps and scrolling behaviour using a tool like Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar.
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Make Your Website SEO-Friendly
If you are on page one, customers will only view your competitors’ advertisements and websites. How frequently do you go to page two? How can one rank first without paying? Search engine optimisation, or SEO. Users will locate your website with just one search if you choose pertinent keywords for your financial services websites. And if your SEO approach is practical, you will get the following advantages:
- Increased revenue
- More organic visitors
- Top ranking of Google search engine
- High conversion rate
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Automation and Big Data
Many financial companies gather data to understand their users’ changing behaviour. You can also use big data for your business PR campaign. But, using and applying data to generate insights and increase brand reputation takes work. Various customer experience automation tools can help you create a successful PR campaign.
With big data, you can identify your target audience’s needs and offer relevant services to the right people. Moreover, you can provide specific customers with additional customer service or digital financial education, which can help reduce the necessary customer service. Big data can also gather insights on customers who save for big purchases and will most likely need pre-approval for a loan.
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Connect with the Target Audience
Today, connecting with your target audience is not as tricky as a decade ago. Many digital tools and platforms are available to grab customer attention and identify the target audience and their changing behaviour. Teams behind top digital platforms offer tools to businesses for building brand recognition. Proper use of these tools helps businesses increase their financial business visibility. You can educate and connect with essential prospects.
Conclusion
Whether a customer contacts you via your website, app, phone number, or person, the greatest marketing plan for financial services adopts a customer-centric mindset. You must first comprehend the problems that concern consumers, how to solve them, and how to keep them satisfied.
Every company, especially those in the financial services sector, must develop essential messages describing its brand. The messages should convey a story and can be as brief as one or two phrases, capturing the spirit of your business. Use a content calendar to manage how you deliver your content efficiently.