Ready. Fire. Aim?

If your financial communications projects are missing their mark, use creative briefs to start off—and stay—on track.

Occasionally, I’ll answer a phone call from a prospective new client, and the conversation goes something like this:

Potential Client: We’re looking to create a new [fill in the blank: brochure, newsletter, website, article, etc.]

Me: That’s great. What are you looking to accomplish with this new brochure, newsletter, website, article, etc?

Potential Client: Well, you know, just let people know what we’re all about and that we’re here to help.

Me: Have you identified your ideal target audience and the one message you want them to walk away with after reading your communications (assuming they will read it)?

Potential Client: We really haven’t thought about that. We just need to get this brochure, newsletter, website, article, etc. done as soon as possible.

While I’m always happy to take on a new client, I’m happier when I can actually help them grow their business or communicate better with their clients. Sadly, it seems many financial services firms have trimmed their marketing departments so deeply that they longer have the luxury of thinking strategically about their communications objectives. Many are simply looking to check things off their to-do list without considering their goals.

Before I start a new project, I always make sure to collect some key facts by asking my clients to complete a creative brief. I realize that nobody likes to fill out forms, so my creative brief is, well, brief. The goal is to encourage clients to consider their own objectives before we start writing or design anything.

This document also helps prevent “scope-creep,” or the tendency for projects to sometimes veer off into unintended directions. Here’s a sampling of the questions you should ask yourself before you kick off any financial communications project:

• What is my primary goal? Am I aiming to educate prospects, deepen client relationships, generate leads, or increase sales?
• Who is my target audience? Are they existing customers or prospects? Knowledgeable or neophyte?
• What action would I like my audience to take as a result of this communication?
• How do I want my audience to feel after interacting with my communications? Informed? Inspired? Excited? Curious? Reassured?
• Which celebrity voice do I envision speaking to my customers? For example, is it Jimmy Stewart, James Earl Jones, or Burgess Meredith?

The answers to these questions help me and my clients gain a complete understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish. And while it may seem like a no-brainer, you might be surprised to know how many financial marketing professionals take the ready, fire, aim approach to their marketing and client communications. If you would like a copy of my creative brief,  contact me and I’ll send it to you.

How about you? Do you have any best practices you recommend?

About Neil Rhein

Neil Rhein runs Bull’s-eye Financial Communications, where he creates financial writing that resonates with your readers. He specializes in creating customized communications for financial services clients, including mutual fund companies and asset managers, investment advisers, wealth managers, broker-dealers, clearing firms, and retirement plan sponsors and administrators. For more information, visit www.bullseyecommunications.net.

Is Your Financial Services Firm Late To The Social Media Party? Relax

Don’t criticize financial services companies for being slow to jump on the social media bandwagon. While many of the largest firms are present on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, smaller firms, including many investment advisers and wealth managers, are just starting to dip a toe in the water.

According to Gerd Leonhard, chief executive of The Futures Agency, just 35% of financial advisory firms are using social media, compared to 85% of other businesses. Where people actually get these numbers always baffles me, but I accept Leonhard’s general premise.

The biggest impediment for firms large and small is a familiar foe: the regulators. To date, they have not developed clear, specific rules about what’s permissible and what’s not. Is a tweet considered advertising? Can you offer opinions about investments on Facebook? How should you treat comments by other people?

While I concede that these are complicated issues, FINRA and the SEC need to quicken their pace and provide some meaningful guidance. While a second FINRA “Social Networking Task Force” met in March, their conclusions are not expected to be released until the end of the year.

Note to FINRA: If you’re looking to write your report more quickly, Bull’s-eye Financial Communications can help!

Meanwhile, the SEC began a “social media sweep exam” in January 2011. The scope of these exams boggles the mind and is probably enough to scare many firms away from the social media party. To this, we say don’t give up! Just as happened with the advent of the Internet in the ‘90s, the SEC and FINRA will eventually catch up (or at least get close).

In the meantime, there are some simple ways financial services firms can get started with social media marketing. At the very least, create a profile for yourself and your firm on Linked In, especially if you’re a financial advisor or represent a financial advisory firm. Prospects are going to do their research on you and your firm, and Linked In is one place they’ll search for information.

The content of your Linked In profile can be similar to your website, so creating a Linked In profile should not pose any serious compliance challenges. Similarly, you can quickly set up a basic Facebook page for your firm and a Twitter account (more on Twitter at a later date).

While unresolved regulatory questions pose challenges, perhaps a bigger challenge is finding the time to update your social media outlets in a meaningful way. If you don’t have the in-house talent or resources to produce content that educates and engages your target audience on a regular basis, you may be just spinning your wheels.

Therefore, my advice to financial services companies who feel like they’re missing the social media party is to relax. While you can certainly expand your reach and build a following through social media, there are many other existing tools on your marketing tool belt that pose less regulatory risk. For example, a good old-fashioned newsletter or e-newsletter can educate your clients and prospects and build trust over time.

In the end, effective communications, whether delivered via print, email, websites, tweets, blog posts, or video, will always require one essential ingredient: well-written copy that addresses the target audience’s need and interests.

What’s been your experience employing social media for your financial services firm?