As the generally accepted status quo goes, pension plans, insurers, foundations, asset managers and official institutions are notoriously secretive about their investment and buying decisions.
However, providers are increasingly seeking to tackle the issue through content marketing plans, but determining where to start is a mystery for many.
In order to investigate the issue, we conducted a survey titled Developing Content for Institutional Financial Services, questioning asset owner and asset management professionals on their reasons for engaging with content and what they’re seeking to get out of it. The full results can be downloaded here at no cost.
Some insight into why content matters:
When produced well:
- It helps you stand out from competitors
- Creates an opportunity to show an association with an idea that’s got your client’s attention already
- Creates emotions (empathy, anger, aspiration) that can be turned into commercial opportunities
- When mass distributed, content can influence many with a single effort
- A good piece of content enables you to get ‘permission’ to have a more direct conversation about individual needs
When done badly:
- It creates confusion as to your focus and the value you can offer to clients among other market positioning factors
- Content creation comes with a cost – the time it takes to create and ‘opportunity cost’
- You can’t judge a content consumer’s reaction so you can’t correct misunderstandings
- You might isolate yourselves in the wilderness of irrelevance
The Developing Content for Institutional Financial Services survey results are eye opening but if there’s one thing I hope you take away, it is this: good content comes from a willingness for adventure, to challenge and to be fearless. There’s only so much time in the day, so make consumers of your content feel it was well spent.