Disruptive marketing in Fintech: the importance of good content

You’re busy disrupting finance, but is your Fintech content disruptive enough?

In our last article, we explored why content marketing should be at the core of every Fintech Marketing Strategy. We also discussed how crucial it was for Fintech teams to remain agile in their digital marketing efforts.

Here, we’re going to build on this foundation, and discover the importance of ‘disruptive marketing’ - the practice of powerfully changing the status quo of traditional marketing practices.

Geoffrey Colon, the communications designer at Microsoft and author of ‘Disruptive Marketing’, suggests that marketing teams focus not just on ‘selling’ a product, but on creating a consumer-led community around a service or brand.

Disruptive marketing is particularly relevant to Fintech companies, who are themselves huge causes of technological disruption.

As a result, Fintech marketing teams should take a dynamic approach to their inbound marketing activities in order to bring their customer outreach and brand messaging in line with their core values.

Let’s explore how Fintech industry innovators can transform their approach to content marketing, and disrupt their marketing strategies.

HOW CAN YOUR MARKETING BECOME DISRUPTIVE?

They say nothing is new under the sun, and that’s right to an extent. No matter how it’s executed, marketing is still carried out for similar purposes and with certain goals in mind. To use disruptive marketing effectively, you don’t have to throw out everything you’ve learned about marketing to date - you just have to approach it differently.

As a Fintech, you’re used to disruptive innovation. The inbound marketing techniques that are used widely today are becoming saturated, and it’s easy to see that companies who don’t follow the crowd are being rewarded tenfold for their efforts. 

Monzo

Take Monzo bank for example. With over 3 million customers and 55,000 sign-ups per week, Monzo has thrived at a time when traditional banks have seen a slow decline in new customers.

Why? Because Monzo recognised that attitudes to banking were changing among millennials, and they brought a fresh and disruptive approach to their marketing efforts. Instead of the jargon-heavy banking marketing of old, Monzo used the rise of the influencer and community content marketing to grow its market share, crafting a brand which was modern and innovative.

According to Bailey Kursar, former head of marketing for Monzo, this was a deliberate move. Monzo knew that by using influencers, their product would be in the hands of people who would spread the word for them - just as described in the ‘delight’ phase of HubSpot’s inbound marketing flywheel, and in keeping with Colon’s disruptive marketing philosophy.  

Similarly, Monzo cleverly encouraged its customers to take an active role in content creation through the launch of their user forum, originally designed for app feedback but growing into a dedicated community of its own, further pushing the community-driven inbound marketing initiative.

Molo

Other Fintechs have implemented disruptive marketing to great effect too. Online buy-to-let mortgage lender Molo shook-up the status quo of the traditional mortgage industry with a modern approach to home financing. 

To reflect this, its content strategy doesn’t just focus on its product - instead, it sets the scene for why its solution is needed, and why the Molo team are the ones to deliver it.

Molo also publishes deep-dive articles into hot topics in their industry, such as mortgage types and rates, or other crucial guides for landlords, which not only ensures prospects return and convert, but it also becomes a valuable resource for existing customers.

Ally

A similar disruptive content strategy has been used by Ally - a banking, investing, and loan Fintech. Ally has created a ‘learn’ portal for its users, where they cover different stages of a customer's financial life, such as starting out, marriage, buying a home, starting a family, and finally retirement.

Each section comes with its own tailored content, and cleverly guides users through the sales process towards an Ally product which best suits their needs. As a result, prospects are already pre-informed of Ally’s services before they convert, and Ally gets customers who are serious about using their services.

HOW CAN YOU ACCELERATE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY?

We can see that the same core principles of inbound marketing are being used by Monzo, Molo, and Ally, but to much greater effect through disruptive innovation. So how can you mirror this in your own marketing strategy?

Let’s discover some of the easiest ways to bring disruption to your marketing efforts:

• Be novel - If you see a new trend that you think would accelerate your marketing, and it fits in with your brand’s mission and values, try to incorporate it into your messaging.

• Do the unexpected - Look for marketing angles or partnerships that your competitors aren’t targeting yet.

• Stay relevant - Don’t be afraid to reach out to customers in a new way, you might open up a new segment of your target market or utilise new marketing channels.

• Be funny or charming - There’s plenty of bland content and messaging out there. Inject some personality into your marketing so your customers can relate to you, this will help form long-lasting relationships with your users.

To help disrupt your content marketing, you can experiment with a range of media and channels, including videos, whitepapers and executive reports, and infographics, depending on your target audience.

Video content and infographics are powerful tools for content sharing, as when they’re done correctly, they provide value to your customers without the need to engage with a lengthy blog post.

On the other hand, if your clients are mainly business users, industry reports on timely Fintech issues and trends can work well to position your company as a thought leader.

COMMON CONTENT MARKETING MISTAKES

Fintech teams are generally good at staying up to date with the latest trends and platforms, but there are a few common pitfalls that we recommend you avoid. Let’s explore them in detail below.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

It’s easy to focus on just one or two marketing channels when you first start out, either because you’re familiar with these, or they seem like the path of least resistance. However, building a presence across multiple channels, such as major social media platforms, is better done sooner rather than later.

Don’t neglect the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Medium, or even visual media channels like Instagram in your marketing efforts. These social media platforms are tailor-made to attract a community following, and putting in work early on can significantly grow your customer-created content channels as your reputation grows.

Even for B2B clients, creating share-worthy content on platforms like LinkedIn can position your company as a thought leader in your FinTech niche.

TIME YOUR CONTENT

We also recommend you time your content, easily done through a content calendar. As a startup, it’s tempting to publish as much as possible about your company as soon as you launch, but this can be counterproductive.

Your content style is likely to evolve and grow alongside your business and wider marketing trends, so time your early content to coincide with major internal events, or to comment on wider trends in your industry rather than simply publishing for the sake of it.

DON’T NEGLECT YOUR AD COPY!

Finally, if you decide to run paid adverts, remember that ad copy is also a form of content marketing. Messages you send on paid channels should match the style and tone of the rest of your branding, to create a consistent voice for your company.

At the same time, make sure that paid ads aren’t simply ‘selling’ a service or product - these types of adverts are easy to see through and don’t get as much engagement as those that create value.

Instead, try advertising a free resource, such as a report or eBook, that your customer can access - and capture lead information at the point of download for later retargeting. This way, customers already feel engaged with your company.

ARE YOU READY TO DISRUPT YOUR CONTENT MARKETING?

Remember, the way you position your brand and the route your marketing efforts take is a reflection of your wider position as a disruptor in the Fintech industry.

To stay relevant and at the forefront of change, make sure your inbound marketing strategy reflects and adapts to the latest trends, and keep a close eye on the content channels your competitors are using to engage their community.

If you need strategic guidance on how to take the next steps into disruptive marketing, reach out to us at Curious Cat Digital. We work with leading Fintech companies with a passion for disrupting the status quo, and it’s our belief that your marketing strategy should reflect that.