Do you want to blow the lid off your content marketing hits and bring more zest to your financial institution's content? There are three ways that you can build this kind of excitement around your content so that your message packs a punch. All it takes is a mixture of strategy, creativity, and a splash of technology.

Strategy - rise to the challenge

The ongoing challenge in the content marketing space is to find ways to rise above the chatter and have content that lives and breathes and becomes sharable on its own. With traditional marketing making it harder to obtain your regular three hits (typically newspaper, radio, and TV) and with the internet market fragmented into so many channels, it's difficult for content to thrive. In this topsy-turvy climate, how does one climb to the top of the pile of content being served up about mortgages, savings instruments, and insurance? Consider the following points:

• Keep consistent across channels: Consistent storytelling is the key. Stick to the brand message and product message, so your campaign’s key takeaways share a common thread. Be consistent internally and externally, keep tag lines and visuals consistent across in-branch posters, intranets, responsive web pages, micro-site pages, and customer-facing tools.
• Keep ahead by planning ahead: Good content marketing is deliberate – you can’t just wing it and expect to succeed. You’ll want a schedule of posts – your content should be a mix of seasonal and evergreen, so it stays fresh all year round. Keep it in rhythm with your product promotion cycles such as RRSP Season, TFSA calendar year-end or mortgage season. Mix and blend articles and other media that have a longer life with a number of new items that spring in from your overall annual content marketing plan. Consider aligning a content calendar with the dates of product launches.

Creativity - stay on target

The sphere of social media affords the opportunity to 'go viral', but at the end of the day, customers and prospective customers are still looking for concrete solutions. Consider the following creative ideas:

• Stay on topic and on target: The goal is not to lasso everybody, but to gain the attention of those who are in the midst of a crucial decision period, such as those seeking a new mortgage. If you can insert yourself into these sorts of micro-moments and help your audience learn and decide, you’ve done your job. People need mortgages, line of credits, credit cards, loans, RRSPs, and other financial and insurance products, and it's how comfortable and informed they feel about these products that will help them reach an active decision to buy.
• Stay true with real stories: Keep your content real by including case studies and content that individuals can relate to. Be creative, and feel free to lean towards edutainment; however, don't overplay or over-promise. Show your financial product as a solution that can be incorporated into a person's action plan (or bucket list) – the more accessible it is, the more likely it will be accessed. Case studies (with names changed to protect the parties) will allow people to see themselves in the situation.

Technology - Choose your channels

Exploiting multiple channels to spread your message is a good idea, but make sure that it has the right fit with your message. Whether its B2B or B2C, match your channel selection to suit where your target audience is most likely listening and determine what media are best. Here are some platform options:

• Fantastic Video: Generate emotion by ordering up a video that contains rich visuals and a stirring soundtrack. If you want to emotionally connect with people, or simplify the complicated, video is the medium to use. As an added bonus, it pairs perfectly with social media.
• Infographic animation: Use facts and figures to appeal to educated consumers' brains with a visually dynamic infographic style animation that provides facts, demonstrated benefits and inspires action. The interactive elements help make sense of what you have to show, while the visual format makes everything feel lighter and more playful.
• Shareable articles: It’s a given that your articles should include share links for all predominating social platforms, but think of each channel as a starting point for distribution that your networks can leverage. Ensure that advisors have a one-click means of spreading the message to your consumers. Give your customers the capability of finding and sharing content easily too by supplying short, self-descriptive links via e-newsletters, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and beyond.
• Interactive tools and quizzes: Letting viewers experiment for themselves is the best way to educate them. An interactive calculator is a great way to let them see the benefits of, say, investing in a TFSA, or setting up a pre-authorized payment, or switching mortgage products. By letting them answer most of their questions for themselves while they’re relaxing at home, you can bring them that much closer to making an informed financial decision while they’re in your digital environment.
• Personalized Video: Combining the interactivity of tools with the emotional and explanatory strengths of video, personalized video is as immersive, persuasive, and cutting-edge as digital media can be. The customized, dynamic touches (a user’s name in a video, or their data displayed and animated) keep engagement high and attention focused, so your message can really land.

Consumers are bombarded with messages every time they look at their screens. But if you commit to a plan, exercise your creative muscles, and use the technical tools that are best for you, your voice is sure to be heard above the crowd.