We’ve all made online purchases. All of us have also ticked that little box asking if the company can email you with “information” and company “updates.”
We’ve all made that mistake! Over the next few days, the company then spams you repeatedly. Everybody hates it and it’s a wonder that companies still engage in this kind of marketing.
People disdain spam via email, or through any other form of communication for that matter. The same is true on social media.
It’s vital that your financial marketing is distributing valuable, appropriately-timed content across your social channels. But how often is too often? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward.
There are many factors which come into play. These include the value and quality of your content, as well as the number of words in your post. It also hinges heavily on whether you’re using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or another social network. (Different norms and etiquette apply to each one).
Another big consideration is your target audience. How often would they want to see an update or social share from you? It’s important that your financial marketing isn’t silent on social media, but neither should it overwhelm.
To guide you towards your appropriate post frequency, here are three key questions you should factor into your financial marketing strategy on social media:
1. Are you haemorrhaging followers or fans?
This one is pretty straightforward. If you’re seeing a noticeable decrease in your connections, then they are likely seeing your content as spam. After all, if they saw value in what you were saying, surely they would stick around?
Ensure that whatever it is you are posting, that it is relevant to the behaviours, concerns, pain points and interests of your target audience.
Don’t just post about you or your company. Your financial marketing should provide content which is engaging and useful, and not just promotional.
2. Is your content high in value?
If you are not posting what your audience wants to see or read, then you’re doing financial marketing wrong. Your posts should provide value. That means being informative, engaging and even entertaining.
Don’t just share for the sake of it. Some companies post on social media just to appear active. That’s almost worse than saying nothing at all!
Share industry news. Pose questions to your target market which will encourage engagement with your brand. Give out fun facts, advice or tips.
A great question to ask yourself is this: If my content disappeared from the internet tomorrow, would anybody miss it or care?
If the answer is no, then it’s time to change the quality and content of your social marketing. If you’re unsure where to start, get in touch. This is where we excel.
3. Consider the social platform you’re using
To make financial marketing work on social media, you need to adhere to the social rules on the particular network that you’re using. Let’s cover some of the main ones now.
Facebook looks boring when a company page has just one-sentence updates. They could be posting them two or three times a day. The point is that they’re boring.
No one will care about what you’re saying if you do this. Instead, provide something which makes readers stop in their tracks. A photo can be a great way to do this. A video is even better.
Make sure you post at the right time of day. This can vary, but a good window is usually between 1:00pm and 3:00pm.
For Twitter, the pace is much faster. Thousands of new tweets appear every second, so it’s appropriate to be posting frequently. 5 to 9 times a day is a good frequency window.
When it comes to LinkedIn, your financial marketing should be very professional. It should evoke thought and provide compelling value, as this is an environment where a lot of B2B marketing goes on. Good times to post are between 7-9am, and between 5-6pm.
You can also try posting blogs on LinkedIn via their Pulse publishing platform, which helps spread brand awareness and establish you as a thought leader amongst potential clients.
