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Content marketing has saturated fintech—here’s why success demands authenticity

by | May 20, 2019 | Public Relations

There’s no shortage of content being generated by financial tech companies. Virtually all (96 percent)of the largest and most promising firms produce thought leadership regularly, with 66percentof those doing so on a monthly or weekly basis. What’s more, nearly half (46percent) of the companies analyzed in a new study work across three to four different mediums or content types. So how can competitive fintech firms rise above all that noise?

New research from financial services PR and integrated content marketing firm BackBay Communications assesses the adoption and quality of content marketing and social media strategies among the top 100 global fintech firms. BackBay’s new study examines numerous case studies to highlight effective content marketing strategies as well as efforts that fall flat.

“In the past, we’ve produced similar studies for asset managers and private equity firms to help them benchmark their efforts in this area,” said Ken MacFadyen, head of content development at BackBay Communications, in a news release. “The ubiquity of content marketing in fintech, however, shifts the focus to quality. The case studies demonstrate the impact of content when it’s done right, but also provide key learnings for those looking to initiate a content program or augment what they’re already doing.”

Content marketing has saturated fintech—here’s why success demands authenticity

Highlights from the study include:

  • Nearly all (99percent) of the fintechs analyzed have an active social media presence, with LinkedIn being the most widely adopted (98percent), followed by Twitter (90percent) and Instagram (64percent)
  • Fintech companies predominantly gravitate to either insights and commentary (88percent) and videos (86percent) as their preferred mediums, while nearly half (45percent) have produced podcasts or webinars over the past 12 months.
  • Three unique challenges for fintechs’ content marketing strategies are translating the tech jargon for their audiences, avoiding overtly promotional content, and leveraging the content across an integrated communications program.

Content marketing has saturated fintech—here’s why success demands authenticity

“The fintech landscape has never been more competitive, which has made differentiation a moving target,” said Tylor Tourville, director at BackBay Communications, in the release. “Quality content has therefore become a cornerstone of building an effective public relations program, and this is supported by the research. Whether it’s interviewing, researching and writing articles for our clients, holding a webinar or partnering with a university or association to create and disseminate original research, content has moved from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ for fintechs looking to build their brands and drive new business.”

Download the full report here.

Content marketing has saturated fintech—here’s why success demands authenticity

To conduct the study, BackBay Communications used KPMG’s dual rankings of the 50 largest and 50 most promising fintech companies globally. Through analyzing what is publicly available on the companies’ websites and through social media, the study quantified the proportion of companies producing thought leadership, the types of content being created across various channels, and the frequency at which firms are publishing new content. The analysis also tracked social media adoption to identify best practices across the broader fintech industry.

Richard Carufel
Richard Carufel is editor of Bulldog Reporter and the Daily ’Dog, one of the web’s leading sources of PR and marketing communications news and opinions. He has been reporting on the PR and communications industry for over 17 years, and has interviewed hundreds of journalists and PR industry leaders. Reach him at richard.carufel@bulldogreporter.com; @BulldogReporter

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