Finance marketing online: part one

“The recent economic environment means that customers are increasingly opting for brands that promote values of trust, security and stability. Customers are harnessing the potential of social networks to voice their opinions and are increasingly empowered to bank in the way they find most convenient. To meet the needs of their customers, financial institutions can harness the power of online and gain advantage in an increasingly competitive market. Tracking conversions and analyzing path to purchase enables providers to maximise their return on online marketing investment.” - Parin Mehta, Industry Analyst, Google UK

Top tips to prosper during the credit crunch, from Craig Brown, Gabe Ingalls and Chris Francis – Microsoft adCenter.

1. Be aware of new micro trends and opportunities on different financial products

2. Prepare and make the most of key seasonal periods – e.g. it is cheaper to build up a strong CTR history in November and December than to try to bid your way into a strong position in mid January

3. Focus strongly on mid-tier finance keywords

4. Use detailed and attractive ad copy to set yourself apart from competitors and pre-qualify traffic to your site

5. Use detailed and extensive negative match lists to avoid as much irrelevant traffic as possible

6. Use Exact Match bidding strategies to grow CTR and reduce your CPCs

Top five creative tips for developing finance campaigns, from Kieron Matthews, Marketing Director, IAB

1. Stay focused – don’t be tempted to communicate stacks of messages because of internal pressures. Focus on one and do it bloody well.

2. Be realistic – finance is highly emotive so be realistic about what you expect to communicate and more importantly what you expect consumers to do.

3. Be clear – make sure you communicate what people can do next. Direct consumers to the step that will improve your chances of a sale. This may not be to your site.

4. Optimise – create a bank of creative, watch it and only use the work that is delivering against objectives.

5. Use your time wisely – assume no one wants to click on your communication so be respectful of the time you have. An objective could be to raise product awareness – click through is not a measurement of awareness.

“Finance advertisers are willing to pay high CPAs for savings customers but are not willing or able to pay high CPAs for mortgage and loans customers. Decreased advertiser competition has led to falling CPCs for mortgage/loan products. Current macroeconomic conditions offer the opportunity to build long-term brand equity in a cost-effective manner through search advertising.”
- Parin Mehta, Industry Analyst, Financial Services – Google UK

Five tips on how to master search in the finance sector, from Jon Myers, Associate Director and Head of Search, MediaVest

1. A strategy which incorporates a blend of PPC and SEO will result in increased prominence and improved acquisition.

2. Use strong sales focused landing pages that incorporate relevant information and are easy to navigate. Try to make pages relevant to each keyword search group and include a small paragraph about the company and the product. Breaking down sales offers into bullet points can help. Also, a clear ‘Apply Now’ button located at the top and bottom of the webpage can make a big difference.

3. For secured loan companies, ensure you pre-qualify your click by stating ‘homeowners only’ and ‘sorry no tenants’ in the creative. This will help to minimise non-relevant clicks.

4. When it comes to tracking orders, tracking systems that integrate with internal application systems work best. Track sales commissions and deal value, optimising the campaign against ROI and strict CPAs. Remember to include all telephone sales in the online reporting.

5. With unsecured finance, insurance or mortgages, using bespoke telephone numbers on the landing pages can help in tracking call queries.

How to best integrate finance with affiliate marketing

‘The financial sector presents unique challenges when it comes to affiliate marketing. The key to success is to partner with a solid and respected network which truly understands these challenges and provides you with the right level of strategic and administrative support to deliver results whilst promoting your brand. Indeed, some of our most successful and profitable advertisers are in the finance sector.’ - Alison Guise, General Manager, Commission Junction Europe

Top five tips for appealing to consumers online, from Philip Mehl Head of HSBC Marketing

1. Make registering and logging onto internet banking intuitive.

2. Enable as many services as possible so that people can stay within channel.

3. Only serve targeted and relevant messages for products and services.

4. Create a website that ‘learns’ from customer visits, and becomes increasingly relevant to them.

5. Recognise how our customers use the internet so that we are there for them when they need us.

How far have banks come in convincing consumers that their online accounts are secure?

“Financial services providers have taken the issue of security very seriously in the digital era and have ensured that customers are comfortable banking online. The dilemma they face is one of maximising usability without compromising security. Several major high street banks have implemented “two factor authentication” measures which require users to carry a hand held device for authentication purposes. Innovation will come from achieving the balance between providing robust security and a seamless user experience.” - Ian Morgan, Industry Head, Google UK

Top ten financial scams to be aware of (from MSN Money):

1. Telephone lottery scams: ‘Winners’ are congratulated on the big prize but before they can claim they must send money to pay for taxes and processing fees.

2. Prize draws, sweepstakes and foreign lottery mailings: Works on a similar basis to above with notification of a prize in return for administration or registration fees.

3. Telephone number scams: Scammers notify people that they have won a sweepstake or holiday with instructions to ring a premium rate number.

4. Investment related scams: An unsolicited phone call will invite you to invest in shares, fine wine and the like. These are usually high risk, not listed on a stock exchange and will be difficult to sell.

5. Nigerian advance fee frauds: An email will invite you to share in a huge amount of money in return for using your bank account. Scammers either use the information given to empty victims’ bank accounts or they convince the person that money is needed up front.

6. Pyramid schemes: These offer a financial investment based upon the number of new recruits to the scheme. Investors are misled about the likely returns.

7. Matrix schemes: Promoted via a website offering pricey gadgets as free gifts in return for spending £20 or similar on a low-cost product. Consumers then join a waiting list to receive their gift. The person at the top of the list gets their gift only after a prescribed number of new members join.

8. Credit scams: Advertisements in local papers offer fast loans regardless of credit history. Respondents are told loans have been agreed but before money can be released they must pay an insurance fee. Once the fee is paid, the company disappears.

9. Property investment schemes: Investors attend a free presentation and are persuaded to hand over thousands of pounds for a course encouraging them to invest in bricks and mortar. The properties are usually derelict or non-existent.

10. Work at home and business opportunity schemes: These work by advertising paid work from home which nearly always demands up front money for materials or requires investment in businesses with little or no chance of success.

Five reasons why finance brands should turn their attention to mobile from Jon Mew, Head of Mobile, IAB

1. Mobile media usage has increased rapidly – already around a third of mobile customers use their phones to access content and applications.

2. Users now have access to a growing array of mobile finance content, from FTSE alerts to mobile banking to financial news.

3. Customers can now pay for things with their mobile phone, on mobile sites and even online. It’s really straightforward, there’s no need for a credit card, no need to sign up or even register, customers just need their mobile phone number.

4. New applications like Monilink (www.monilink.co.uk) are driving the use of mobile banking. It lets you check your balance, get text alerts if your balance is running low and transfer money. What’s even better is it works for a range of banks like NatWest, LloydsTSB, and HSBC.

5. Mobile users have always been used to associating finance with their phones and they trust them. It’s not surprising as most consumers are on pay-as-you-talk tariffs and are happy topping up their phone on the mobile web or by text.

Top five tips for online security, from www.getsafeonline.org

1. Invest in a PC security suite that includes both anti-virus and antispyware.

2. Never click on links in unexpected emails – be sensibly wary of all emails.

3. Keep your operating system (eg Windows XP) and browser fully updated.

4. If you are running on a wireless network make sure it’s encrypted.

5. Shred old paper statements. Better still, suppress them and only access them online.

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