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Last Updated on March 12, 2024 by admin
In the B2B world, financial services thought leadership is a critical tool for generating awareness, boosting credibility, and providing value to audiences.
In 2024, however, the recipe for good thought leadership has changed. Amidst generative AI and an already-crowded digital marketplace, financial services thought leadership is as much about cutting through the noise as it is creating great content.
That means the ingredients extend far beyond generic financial advice and predictions. You have to find ways to captivate your audience, provide uncommon insights, and offer real value.
Here’s how.
Make Your Voice Count
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all content. Even with financial services thought leadership, the expectation is that content be as interesting as it is informational. Creating interesting content means having a distinctive voice. Unfortunately, many financial services thought leadership pieces lack this. They instead come across as authoritative and dry — tones that financial topics have sadly become tethered to.
Instead, companies should focus on adding a dose of authenticity and personality to content. While company reports and white papers may be able to skate with a more authoritative tone meant to convey essential information, other content should take on a life of its own.
Cultivate a unique voice that communicates your company’s ethos and values. If your firm prides itself on being innovative, let your content reflect that forward-thinking approach. But always ensure clarity and consistency. Don’t merely inform—engage. And where possible, entertain.
Give Your Financial Services Thought Leadership a Personality
Why should insights on financial topics be delivered in a dry, monotonous tone? Infuse personality into your content! Create intriguing metaphors, share relatable anecdotes. Sprinkle in some humor (where appropriate). Make complex financial concepts accessible and entertaining, and your audience will always come back for more.
Understandably, many financial companies are hesitant to do this. In heavily regulated industries, there are plenty of regulatory rules and compliance requirements to navigate in marketing. No one wants to skirt those.
That said, you have to take informed steps toward defining your voice if you want to stand out in a sea of digital content. Work with an agency, freelancer, or internal comms teams to define and document the desired tone of voice. Not only can this ease regulatory concerns, but it can ensure that your marketing and communications teams have a unified vision and voice for content.
Financial Services Thought Leadership, Amplified
The best way to create thought leadership is to consult real thought leaders. Sure, this can be executives from your own company. But it should also include thought leaders from within the broader financial services and fintech spaces.
Conduct interviews or invite guest contributions from innovative minds in the industry. These can be used to create standalone thought leadership pieces or to enhance pieces you’re already creating. Not only does this offer fresh perspectives to your audience, but it also establishes your company as an influential player that’s well-connected in the industry.
Bring Data to Life
Numbers don’t lie, and in the financial world, they resonate. Bolster your thought leadership pieces with compelling data and statistics that augment your narratives. But remember that raw data without context can be overwhelming. Enliven data with infographics, charts, and anecdotes so they are interesting and easily digestible.
Experiment with Length
Most people think of long-form content when they hear “financial services thought leadership,” but really, it can come in any size. Think about how to mix, slice, and splice content into varying formats and lengths to reach a broader audience.
Not everyone has the time (or will) to read a 20-page white paper. Consider chunking up content into shorter summaries and social posts that are easily consumed across channels. Quotes and stand-out data make for great, shareable snippets.
Longer pieces require significant time and effort; don’t let that effort go to waste. Consider all the ways you might repurpose webinars, white papers, reports, and longer thought leadership articles into a variety of content pieces that meet your audience where they are at.
Feedback Loop: Engage, Iterate, and Evolve
No one gets it perfect all the time. Encourage feedback on your financial services thought leadership pieces from both internal teams and external audiences. Constructive criticism can provide invaluable insights that can refine and perfect your content strategy.
Upleveling your financial services thought leadership isn’t about churning out more content—it’s about creating content that matters. The financial services industry is constantly undergoing disruption, so make your content disruptive, too. Aim to educate, inspire, and entertain. And allow yourself to be different – that’s what true thought leadership is.
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