This is article 2 of a 3 part series.
Getting noticed in a noisy industry can be hard and as we’ve seen time and time again, the companies that make the headlines are not always the most successful ones: more of a case of survival of the loudest rather than survival of the fittest. That’s why it’s crucial that before you launch a digital marketing campaign to promote your FinTech company, you have the right strategy in place to attract attention – and clients.
What makes you different?
You only have one chance to make a good impression – whether you are a startup, or an established player who is contacting a publication they haven’t worked with before.
Your unique selling points (USPs) and what it is you do should be made clear from the outset, and should be consistent across all channels and collateral to reinforce your brand ethos. This means making sure that you devise brand guidelines early on – and that your team all buy into it and understand the importance of it too.
Getting the word out
Whether it’s a product launch, a client win, or a response to an industry issue, if you want people to know about it then you’ll need to put more work in than just writing a press release, whacking it on a press release distribution network, and hoping someone will pick it up.
A much better bet is to begin making friends in high places. This might mean attending conferences and events to meet with influencers and editors – or you could contact them directly and ask to meet up for lunch or a coffee/pint.
As well as sending your press releases and thought leadership pitches to editorial teams and reporters at FinTech publications, it pays to pick up the phone to have a chat with them to see if what you have to say fits in with their upcoming features. By showing that you understand their audience and by being prepared to pitch in some topics that are relevant to the industry (while steering away from the hard sell), it demonstrates that you should be seen as an authority.
FinTech media is obviously very relevant if you want to be seen as part of the club, attract investment, or seek other FinTechs as clients. However, you should not limit yourself to contacting industry publications – think about how you reach your other audiences too. Do they read the insurance press, the weekend money supplements that are part and parcel of national newspapers or do they read computing and IT media? Don’t be lazy and get tempted to send out the same press release to all media either – make changes that are appropriate to each audience and you’ll reap the rewards.
Generating content or coverage online is a double whammy as not only does it promote your brand and help to generate awareness and new business, it is also a useful signal for search engines. Google et al place significant weighting towards companies that have contextually relevant content (ideally with a link), and overtime this contributes towards improving the site’s Domain Authority and rankings.
Building relationships will take time, and unfortunately it’s not all free. You should expect to pay to have your content featured in some publications but that doesn’t mean they’ll accept any poorly written or overly promotional copy.
There are however, some quick wins to get eyeballs on your brand in the short term.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
PPC ads provide a way of reaching your target audience via a pay-to-play model which will result in a text ad being shown above organic (non-paid) search results. Google AdWords is the most frequently used platform due to Google having more than 85% market share in the UK.
By bidding on keywords that are relevant to your brand, and that relate to terms your potential clients might use to find you, each time a user clicks your ad you’ll be charged for it. PPC is a great way of delivering traffic to your site while you are still building your online presence.
Social media
Focus on one or two channels where you know your audience will be, and start conversations. Follow your potential clients, industry peers, journalists and influencers – and engage with them. Offer them something to encourage engagement or spark interest, like a free trial or exclusive access to Beta testing of your product.
Standing out online isn’t beyond the realms of any FinTech but it needs time and planning – although there are quicker wins which can help make an impact in the shorter term.
Need someone to help attract the attention of your target audience? Get in touch with us to reach the people that matter to your business today.