Email signature best practices
Email signatures are often overlooked … until someone needs to get in contact with you. So, if you haven’t thought about your email signature in a while, here are a few ideas to freshen it up.
Make sure you have one!
If you’re in the camp that believes an email signature is unnecessary, think again. Having an email signature is crucial and can provide the recipient with key information about you and your firm. This is especially the case when emailing someone located outside of your office.
Include your phone number
Sometimes emails just don’t cut it. Any issue that’s complicated or involves some subtleties is best discussed over the phone (or in person). Make sure that your email signature includes your phone number. It saves the recipient time and frustration when trying to reach you about serious matters.
Make your initial email and your reply signatures different
It is unnecessary to include all your information in a reply signature – all that detail just takes up space in the email chain. And most people don’t like all the extra scrolling. What you include depends on your responsibilities, but a phone number is usually a must.
It is unnecessary to include all your information in a reply signature.
Keep it short and sweet
We firmly believe that less is more! It’s a good idea to avoid the minutia of your job and life (your birthday and astrological sign are not entirely necessary, are they?). Key information that should be included are your: phone number, company’s name and physical address, link to your LinkedIn profile, etc.
Use a web-friendly font
Fancy, cursive fonts do more harm than good in the world of digital communications. Use a web-friendly font to make your contact information easier to read. And ensure the colours you use are appropriate – a light grey phone number may be difficult to read.
Use a web-friendly font to make your contact information easier to read.
Separate the numbers of your phone number with dashes or periods
Working in financial services, you see a lot – a lot – of numbers. Separate your numbers with care because it’s easy to miss a number when in a rush.
Don’t be caught ending your email on a bad note! Take a look at your signature and see if it needs fixing.
If you’re looking for more communications tips, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/rounding-for-non-math-types/
Save time and resources with clear brand guidelines
Creating clear brand guidelines is not just about ensuring that the look and feel of your marketing materials are consistent. It’s also about saving time and resources.
Let’s take a look at how brand guidelines can help your bottom line. They will:
1. Enable team members to work more effectively together
There is tremendous value in consistency, especially if people are in different areas of the office, in another office altogether or working remotely. With this consistency comes a higher level of confidence and your marketing team will feel an immediate boost to their creative output.
2. Provide practical instructions on daily usage
By ensuring that everyone is using the right font, colour palette, graphics, etc., you’ll have to answer fewer questions, and make fewer corrections during your day.
Answer fewer questions, and make fewer corrections
Brand guidelines have the added benefit of providing a quick education about your brand for new members of the marketing team, so you can cut down on the time that you need to commit to training.
3. Make brand updates easier
For better or worse, brand guidelines are not set in stone. We can’t think of a company that hasn’t done a review of their brand over the past few years.
A major brand refresh – or even a minor update – can be complicated from the get go. But less so if you have well-documented brand guidelines, which will give you and your team a strong starting point. A refreshed brand guideline will also help you disseminate the new brand info much faster.
More time and more resources at your disposal: it’s hard to deny the benefits of creating clear brand guidelines.
Brand questions? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/rounding-for-non-math-types/
Rounding for non-math types
The demise of the penny gave us all a refresher course on rounding.
Most of us know that one to four rounds down and five to nine rounds up, but there can be some surprising pitfalls when dealing with the kinds of numbers that are common in financial services marketing, especially in commentaries and reports.
Let’s get to the bottom of this.
How to round
A common rounding task is to express large monetary units in words instead of numerals. For example, $1,000,000 is often written as $1 million (or $1.0 million, depending on your style) in tables and copy. Depending on the context, you may want to highlight that the figure is approximate.
The key to rounding is to do it once only – looking only to the number just to the right of the last desired digit to determine whether/what rounding is needed.
The key to rounding is to do it once only – looking only to the number just to the right of the last desired digit.
If your style calls for numbers rounded to one decimal place ($x.x), then you would round the following amounts as follows:
- $7,576,000 becomes $7.6 million – 7 rounds up 5 to 6. Don’t be tempted to keep going and round again to $8.0 million.
- $1,986,000 becomes $2.0 million – 8 rounds 9 up to 10, causing 1 to become 2. This is the only situation in which rounding affects a second column.
- $4,746,000 becomes $4.7 million – 4 leaves 7 rounded down to 7. If you start rounding too early, with 6 rounding up 4, then you’ll arrive at $4.8, which is incorrect.
Another rounding rule to watch for
You cannot “unround” figures.
If you have a return of 7.6%, but your style calls for two decimal places, then you need to go back to the source, rather than simply adding a zero to the end (7.60% might be incorrect). In this example, the correct figure could be anything from 7.55% to 7.64%.
That concludes our rounding lesson for non-math types. Hope you enjoyed it!
For editing help from those who know how to deal with numbers, please contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/marketing-articles/5-tips-better-infographics/
[Insert catchy headline]
Headlines are the first words your audience sees. And, if your headlines don’t catch your audience’s attention, they may be the last words your audience sees.
That’s why it’s so important to create headlines that grab your reader’s attention and act as incentive to read the rest of the piece you have taken the time to write.
The following are a few key tips for writing better headlines.
Keep it aligned with the content
Okay, we’re starting with the practical here. If your article is about your economic growth outlook for emerging markets, it’s probably a good idea to have the words “economic” and “emerging markets” in the title, or at least allude to these concepts in some way.
If your title for this article is “Strawberries and cream make for a proper outlook,” people may read on, but you will quickly lose them and their trust, possibly for good.
Keep it tight
Our motto is “the fewer words, the better.” Instead of writing, “The five best ways to improve your portfolio management process,” try “Improve your portfolio management process today.” The second option has almost half the word count and is way more active.
Our motto is “the fewer words, the better.”
And speaking of active words…
It’s always better to use strong, active words over a more passive tone. Verbs tend to draw in readers a lot more than adjectives and nouns.
Start your “search” engines
We’re not sure we’re saying it right, but these days it’s important to consider using words in your headlines that people are likely to “Google.”
If you’re writing about small-cap investing, include “small-cap investing” in the headline to improve the chance that your piece will be picked up by search engines and, when people punch in “small-cap investing,” hopefully your article will be close to the top of the list!
Avoid industry jargon
Financial professionals tend to use a lot of industry words that aren’t necessarily used or understood by the masses. It’s a good idea to save that jargon for the body copy in your piece, where you will have more room to explain what those jargony words actually mean.
You should also avoid largely unknown acronyms in your headlines.
These are just some of the tips we believe will help you write better headlines to better engage readers. Please weigh in if you have other tips on this topic!
Looking for writing help? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
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Five techniques for more effective self-editing
You’ve finished your first draft of that challenging article, blog post or brochure you’ve been working on for days, maybe even weeks. You’re excited to get it off your plate, whether that means publishing it or submitting it for review.
Not so fast! You may not enjoy editing your own work, but it’s an essential part of the writing process. These five simple, yet effective, self-editing techniques will make your writing cleaner, more concise and easier to read. Plus, they’ll save your editor some work.
1. Break up long sentences
Try to keep your sentences under 30 words, especially when you’re writing for the web. Scan your work for long sentences and, if you find any, try splitting them into two.
Before: It is really difficult to come up with an example of an overly long sentence when you are not used to writing that way, but put your mind to it and we are sure you will come up with something.
After: It is really difficult to come up with an example of an overly long sentence when you are not used to writing that way. But put your mind to it, and we are sure you will come up with something.
2. Delete unnecessary words
Some good examples of this are “in order to,” “really,” “very” and other filler words that don’t add to your sentence. Get into the habit of automatically searching for these words and deleting them. Then, take another look at your document to make sure you haven’t used two or more words when one would do.
Before: It is really difficult to come up with an example of an overly long sentence when you are not used to writing that way. But put your mind to it, and we are sure you will come up with something.
After: It is difficult to come up with an example of a long sentence when you are not used to writing that way. But put your mind to it, and you will come up with something.
3. Use contractions
You want your writing to sound natural and mirror the way you talk. That means occasionally using contractions.
Before: It is difficult to come up with an example of a long sentence when you are not used to writing that way. But put your mind to it, and you will come up with something.
After: It’s difficult to come up with an example of a long sentence when you’re not used to writing that way. But put your mind to it, and you’ll come up with something.
4. Stick with an active voice… most of the time
There are times when you’ll want to use passive voice, but most of the time, active voice is more engaging and easier to read. We published a separate blog post on why active voice rules, how to identify passive voice and when to – occasionally – use it. Go check it out.
5. Keep a dictionary close by
Here’s a not-so-secret secret most professional editors will admit to: they don’t know how to spell every word in the dictionary. What they do know is when to look things up. They also know that spellcheck isn’t always reliable. Keep a dictionary on your desk as you’re editing your own work, and look up anything you’re not sure of.
There’s much more a professional editor can do to make your work more polished and professional. Consider working with one before you publish your next piece.
To find the right editor for you, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Going live in 3… 2… 1!
As a marketing professional, you probably know all about the live video marketing trend. It happens to be the big marketing idea right now. Unfortunately, the financial services industry hasn’t adopted this trend as much as other industries, and we think that’s a missed opportunity. Here’s what financial services marketers can learn from non-financial brands that are doing live video well.
What is live video?
In case you’re not clear on what live video is, it’s very much what it sounds like: video streamed live as events happen.
As a marketing technique, live video seems to have picked up steam since the launch of Facebook Live. We’re sure both your personal and professional Facebook streams have been hit with notifications that a specific person or company is now (or was) live.
Live video isn’t just for Facebook, though. You can go live on YouTube or on your company blog. Review your content strategy, take a look at the resources you have available, and choose the channel that makes the most sense for your firm.
Who’s doing it well?
Since we’re talking about video, it should come as no surprise that media properties are using this marketing tool particularly well.
Disney Interactive Media, for example, has established a production team dedicated to producing broadcast-quality live video. Thanks, once again, to Facebook Live, you may have had the opportunity to see the touring cast of Newsies perform the song “Santa Fe” actually live from Santa Fe.
Sure, it’s easy for a company like Disney that knows a thing or two about production value and making great videos. But here’s the thing: live video isn’t about broadcast-quality video. It’s about telling a story in real time and delivering that story to people who might otherwise get to participate in it. And that’s something content marketers already know how to do.
What story will you tell?
It’s up to you, but it should be a story that fits with your overall content strategy, doesn’t feel forced or staged, and doesn’t require a great deal of resources.
Maybe you have an investor presentation, industry conference or other event that you think non-attendees would be interested in. Have someone on your communications team film part of the event and stream it live on Facebook. This could be a great way to give your audience a behind-the-scenes look at the financial services industry and, at the same time, provide a learning opportunity. It could also benefit those who wanted to attend your event but couldn’t make it in person.
You probably won’t want to live stream the entire event, as you still want to provide value to those who attended in person. Instead, live stream meaningful snippets, enough to capture your audience’s attention and potentially drive interest in future events.
It’s up to you, but it should be a story that fits with your overall content strategy, doesn’t feel forced or staged, and doesn’t require a great deal of resources.
The nuts and bolts of live video
Before you go live, there are a few other things to keep in mind.
First, if your channel of choice for live video is YouTube or your company’s blog, rather than Facebook Live, you may want to invest in slightly higher production quality. But the great thing about live video is that you can decide how to approach it.
Second, live video doesn’t mean spontaneous video. If you want your video to have an impact, then people have to see it. It can’t hurt to take to your social media channels and give your audience a heads-up that you’re going live. Let them know when and where, as well as what the topic will be. That way, people will know to tune in.
Finally, never film people – including audience members – without their permission. And make sure your firm’s compliance department is comfortable with what you’re posting live.
To learn more about crafting a content marketing strategy, contact us today at info@ext-marketing.com, or 416.925.1700 or 844.243.1830.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/marketing-articles/5-tips-better-infographics/
3 tips for sustaining your editorial calendar
Producing content over the long term takes resources and commitment. To ensure you stick to your plan, the best path is to create an editorial calendar. Here are some ideas for sustaining your editorial calendar through good times and bad:
1. Include the right categories
Occasionally your readers will want to search your content for relevant subject matter. Assigning categories makes it easy for readers to find what they’re looking for, especially as time goes on and your content accumulates. If you’re two years in and you’ve been sharing and producing custom content daily, you need to give readers the option to find what they are looking for with a keyword search; nobody wants to hit the “previous posts” button again and again.
Make a point of including these six important fields in your editorial calendar:
- category
- keyword
- post date
- status
- tags
- working title
2. Revisit older content
So, a year has passed and it’s time to update your editorial calendar. Wait! Don’t do that just yet. Take time to reread some of your older content and ask yourself:
- What, if anything, has changed since we wrote that?
- Have we changed our opinion and, if so, why?
Can you expand on what you wrote? Are there new findings or ways of thinking that might add to the discussion? If yes, then refresh and re-post. Updating old material is an important strategy to keep in mind when developing content.
3. Expand your editorial calendar
A social media editorial calendar that outlines when and what you want to share on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook involves even more planning than a content calendar as there are many more posts involved. But you can build on your existing calendar to get you started.
Just like your core editorial calendar, well-planned social media updates will cut down on wasted resources, keep you focused on what’s coming up next and help you generate better content for all your campaigns.
Contact us today at info@ext-marketing.com, 416.925.1700 or 844.243.1830 to discuss creating the best-possible editorial calendar.
Read more:
The relationship between financial literacy and communications
4 ways to create an amazing editorial calendar
Creating content over the long haul takes dedication. To guarantee you stick to your plan, the best tool at your disposal is a well-organized editorial calendar.
A good editorial calendar will:
- Cut down on the time and effort involved in creating content
- Act as an internal to-do list that everyone can rely on
- Help you frame the content required for campaigns.
Here are four tips to help you create a solid editorial calendar:
1. Create a communications goal
In many ways, creating an editorial calendar is just like any other project. Put together a work-back schedule with S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based) goals and give key stakeholders an early heads up.
Outline what you want to achieve with your content. Is it higher engagement? Increased sales? To build a positive reputation around education? Your answer will drive your creative, so make sure you’ve got buy-in from the whole team.
2. Focus on bench strength
Content marketing is an ongoing commitment. To keep readers engaged and interested, you’ve got to publish through good times and bad. The best way to ensure you stick to your schedule is to create a reliable team of all-stars who can make things happen.
Consider looking outside your usual marketing communications team — including accessing individuals from your executive, sales, operations and finance teams for fresh ideas.
3. Time to brainstorm
You know your goals and you’ve put together your content team. Now what are you going to write about? We’ve found it helpful to build a database filled with as many content topics/ideas as possible.
If your plan is to post one article per week, try to leave your brainstorming session with at least a dozen ideas. Keep any extra ideas you don’t plan to use in the near term — they might get you out of a pinch one day.
If you’re looking for some guidance about leading effective brainstorming sessions, click here to read our post on the subject.
4. Stay flexible
Even if you’ve built out your editorial calendar for three months, six months or a year, you still have to expect the unexpected.
Let’s say something dramatic happens in the markets, but your scheduled content that week is on health and wellness. Gather the troops: it’s time to produce something fresh. Find an expert to give you a few talking points and give your readers something timely. Write about what’s happening in the news, and save the health and wellness post for another day.
We hope you find these four tips useful as you prepare your next editorial calendar.
Can you benefit from a solid editorial calendar? Contact us today at info@ext-marketing.com, or 416.925.1700 or 844.243.1830 to discuss your editorial needs.
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An introduction to accessible design
Not everyone is talking about accessible design. But they should be. This article provides an introduction to accessible design concepts and links to more information.
The following are just a few of many ideas that will get you thinking about taking on a broader, more thorough accessibility review.
Making print accessible
Accessible design for print is about clear messages – making sure that your readers understand what you’re saying.
Colour
People’s perception of colour can be affected by specific visual ailments, the environment or injury. While colour blindness impacts a certain portion of the population, the contrast between colour hues affects everyone.
It may now be a little passé, but do you remember the blue dress meme? If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s time to review issues such as contrast and colour.
Font
“Big letters” are important but it goes much further than that. In the corporate world today, the majority of accessibility discussions around fonts focus on kerning (the space between letters) and leading (the space between lines), as these have a dramatic impact on print legibility. So, avoid complicated fonts. Choose fonts with recognizable letters and don’t overcrowd your copy,.
Hierarchy
This is a slightly more abstract idea than colour and font. Hierarchy is about the organization and prioritization of content in the overall structure of your document.
When attempting to improve hierarchy, designers often increase header size, add subheads and create bullets (where possible). Hierarchy is incredibly important in web design as well, which we’ll get to next.
Making web design accessible
While the three concepts above also apply to the web, accessible web design is about clear navigation – making sure your visitors can find the information they need. Here are two ideas that are a little more specific to the web.
Logic
Content must be intuitive. Your visitors should be able to predict specific elements, such as navigation, on each page.
Operability
People must be able to access and navigate through content no matter what tools they use to do so, from a mouse to a keyboard, as well as voice recognition.
A note on AODA
When it comes to web design, accessibility goes beyond look and feel. You need to develop your website according to accessibility principles.
Although the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) currently applies to companies with 50 or more employees, we think investment firms of all sizes should think seriously about incorporating AODA principles into their next redesign.
Examples of AODA best practices include:
- Do not add content through Cascading Style Sheet (“CSS”) because it may be inaccessible to screen readers
- Tag PDFs so that they’re accessible to screen readers
- Add ALT attributes to IMG elements in your HTML
Links for more info on accessible design
There’s a lot more to say about accessible design. Check out these sources for all the info you need:
- For more details tips and insights, read RGD Ontario’s Access-ability
- Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
- For web development issues, visit W3C
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com to start making your print and web design more accessible.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/5-reasons-investment-commentaries-arent-bad/
When brainstorming is like playing chess
We are not expert chess players. Heck, we are not even good chess players. But we’re good at brainstorming creative ideas and solutions.
After learning a little bit about chess, we’ve noticed a parallel between the two. Namely, that brainstorming is like listing your “candidate moves.”
What’s a candidate move?
There are some extremely complex definitions of candidate moves on the internet, so we turned to everyone’s online “frenemy,” Wikipedia, where we found this:
“In abstract strategy board games, candidate moves are moves which, upon initial observation of the position, seem to warrant further analysis. Although in theory the idea of candidate moves can be applied to games such as checkers, go, and xiangqi, it is most often used in the context of chess.”
That’s a mouthful. So to simplify the idea, let’s just say candidate moves are the moves you could make next.
How does this relate to brainstorming?
The theory goes that successful chess players go through the complete list of their candidate moves first. Only after the complete list has been created do they begin to dig a little deeper and eliminate potential moves.
Chess players, the successful ones at least, take these little steps over and over again, making further eliminations until the best move remains.
That’s the lesson: there’s something powerful about laying out all your options before you begin any kind of critical analysis.
And that’s just like brainstorming.
The best brainstorming sessions get the ideas on the board first. There is no time for criticism of any kind. Only when you’re done – when you’re completely tapped out of ideas – should you turn your critical eye to your ideas.
The best brainstorming sessions get the ideas on the board first. There is no time for criticism of any kind.
If you start thinking about an executive’s possible response, the complexity involved in executing on an idea, or any other limiting thought, you’re in trouble. It’ll be checkmate for your creative output.
So explore the possibilities and resist the urge to be critical early in the brainstorming process.
Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com for creative solutions to your marketing challenges.
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Fuming over file types? GIF yourself a break
When it comes to representing your company’s brand, your logo is right at the top of the list. It should always look crisp and clear. So much depends on sending the right file type for print, web design, promos and sponsorships. But how are you supposed to know which file type to send? Here’s a tip: everything you need to know is right there in the file name extension. Some of the more common graphic file extensions include:
GIF (Graphical Interchange Format)
These low-resolution (low-res) files look best on the web, and are small enough to send via email. Avoid using them for printed materials.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
PNG files look great in PowerPoint presentations. These are also low-res, and not recommended for printing.
JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
JPG files are fine for office printing and the web. JPG files can be medium- or low-res. They are not necessarily crisp enough, however, for high-quality printing.
AI (Adobe Illustrator)
AI is a source file, meaning the format in which your logo was actually created. Most printers, large-format sign makers and companies that produce promotional products prefer to receive AI files.
EPS (Encapsulated Postscript)
EPS files are also great for printers, large-format sign makers and promo companies.
TIF (Tagged Image File Format)
TIF files can be quite large in size, but are very reliable for high-quality printing.
Avoid getting into a “TIF” with your printer and “GIF” them the right logo file every time!
Contact us today at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com for help with logo design, printing or brand development.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/5-reasons-investment-commentaries-arent-bad/
Wondering if you should impose a news embargo?
If you’re in media relations or corporate communications, you’ve likely encountered (or will encounter) the issue of news embargoes. Here’s a primer on what they are, why you might consider doing them and what challenges may arise.
What is embargoing?
Essentially, companies impose a news embargo (also called a press embargo) when they want to announce to the media something significant, complex and newsworthy, before the news is scheduled to go public. In the financial services world, this news could be a major portfolio manager move, a change in CEO or other senior executive position, a big fund closure, the launch of a unique product or service, a corporate merger or acquisition, etc.
Use a news/press embargo when you want to announce to the media something significant, complex and newsworthy, before the news is scheduled to go public.
Why should you consider doing it?
From the company’s perspective, imposing a news embargo may serve several purposes:
- Relationship building. What better way to “reward” a media outlet (or specific journalist) who has treated you fairly than to entrust them with important news ahead of the masses? This outlet will appreciate your gesture and will likely continue treating you well
- Controlling the message. You have something big that you wish – or need – to announce, so you want the media to cover it as favourably as possible. Depending on the announcement, influencing the message is an effort to mitigate corporate reputational risk or enhance your company’s status
- Getting the message right. When you provide information to the media before official dissemination, you’re giving them time to absorb details, ask questions and get the facts straight. Maybe you even offer up the CEO or another spokesperson to provide a compelling quote or two. Bottom line, it’s always best to run an accurate story
Why would the media want to do it?
There could be a few reasons, such as the first and third points above, but the primary benefit of accessing embargoed news is the opportunity to “get the scoop” first. In such a competitive media market, who wouldn’t want to type or say those two magical words: breaking news! Much of it revolves around privilege and cachet – earning the reputation as a strong media outlet that’s worth following.
The primary benefit of accessing embargoed news is the opportunity to “get the scoop” first.
Keep these points in mind
While the premise of a news embargo is simple, the execution can be complex. Here are a few things to consider:
- Along with the CEO and other key stakeholders, develop a corporate policy on embargoing. For instance, with whom are you willing to embargo? In what situations will you embargo? You should establish your policy before a significant situation arises. In the heat of a big moment, you might not make the best decision
- Embargoing involves a giant leap of faith. You need to trust that the media outlet won’t deliberately or inadvertently leak confidential information, or run their piece before your announcement (huge disaster!). The outlet needs to trust that you’re giving full and accurate details, and that you’re not engaging all other media (which would negate any competitive advantage)
- Be clear regarding what and when you are announcing, and when you expect the embargoed piece to run. This can be challenging since the outlet wants it out ASAP after your press release, but you can’t be perceived as “playing favourites.” If their story drops only minutes after your press release, exquisitely crafted and replete with well-placed quotes, that will raise eyebrows. You don’t want to destroy any goodwill you’ve gained with other media outlets
- From a legal, regulatory and – for what it’s worth – ethical viewpoint, be mindful of selective disclosure. Love it or hate it, the press release is the great equalizer when it comes to disseminating information, as it democratizes access to material (or other noteworthy) changes. Seek an internal legal opinion if you’re not sure whether or not the news can be embargoed
Want more insights on how to work effectively with the financial media? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
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Let’s explore the value of custom content
To connect with your existing clients – and to reinforce your brand, communicate your value as an investment management firm and create new opportunities – it’s high time that you craft tailored content specifically for them. We’re talking about custom content.
A lot of your custom content will focus on answers to your clients’ questions – that’s what makes it useful. Producing content like this sets your firm apart as a helpful, authoritative resource. Even better, custom content has a direct impact on fund sales and conversion rates. Let’s explore.
Your clients are looking for content
A study from AOL & Neilson captured how people spend their time on the web. It breaks down like this:
- 53% reading published content
- 23% on social media
- 7% checking email
But here’s the stat we really want to share: 23% of all social media messages included links to published content. How much does that add-up to? Well, people share 27 million pieces of content every day on social media.
People share 27 million pieces of content each day on social media.
Content levels
Your firm is probably sharing content in one form or another. So, where does custom content fit into your broader content initiatives? This is how we break down content:
- Curated, published content from reputable sources. For us financial services marketers, large North American news outlets, such as The Globe and Mail or The Wall Street Journal, are prime sources.
- Firm-based content. This often includes product information, campaigns (e.g., RRSPs and RESPs) and portfolio manager perspectives.
- Custom content. This is all about sharing your insights and expertise to a specific target audience (e.g., through infographics, videos, articles and blog posts).
When you put these three types of content together, you dramatically increase your chances of engaging your clients.
Custom content builds relationships
Why bother spending the extra time and money producing custom content? Because it provides a solid return on investment. Consider the following four data points when putting together your pitch for custom content:
- 68% of consumers like custom content because it’s tailored to their interests (Source: The Content Council)
- 55% of consumers said they would be more apt to buy another product from a company that provides them with custom content (Source: The Content Council)
- 70% of individuals want to learn about products through content rather than traditional advertising (Source: NewsCred)
- Clients invest and refer 2 times more often when they report feeling engaged by their advisor (Source: Vanguard)
Developing custom content
Knowing about custom content is one thing, producing it is another. Here are six ideas for launching a new custom content initiative at your firm:
- Blogs – e.g., write a series of posts helping millennials save and invest better
- Articles – e.g., create an advertorial highlighting the relevance of a new investment solution
- Videos – e.g., produce videos that show how investing can make life better
- Infographics – e.g., find an engaging way to share stats around retirement savings
- Whitepapers – e.g., write a whitepaper explaining the shifting role of the advisor
- Newsletters – e.g., craft print and digital newsletters focused on investor education
An interesting thing about these ideas is that they all cross-pollinate. That is, you can put videos in blogs, infographics in whitepapers, blogs in newsletters, and more. This exponentially improves your odds of engaging your clients.
Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com to develop custom content and give your clients what they want.
https://ext-marketing.com/marketing-articles/five-techniques-for-more-effective-self-editing/
Five easy ways to create better newsletters
Newsletters are a great way to keep your clients and prospects engaged because they allow you to share stories that educate and inform.
The number one rule for producing great newsletters is to write articles that engage your target audience. Let’s move on to some other ideas that will help you write better newsletters.
1. Focus on a theme
When you’re flushing out your editorial calendar, find some overarching themes that: (1) your clients and prospects will want to know more about and (2) will show that you are a subject matter expert. Focus each and every edition of your newsletter on just one theme.
For example, if your topic is retirement, you can write articles about staying healthy in old age, long-term financial planning, estate issues and financial education for young people.
2. Write killer headlines
This advice is just as true for newsletters as it is for any other marketing or advertising material. Given that everyone’s attention is being pulled in many different directions these days, a strong headline is often the best way to grab the readers’ attention – and convey your one key message.
Everyone’s attention is being pulled in many different directions these days. A strong headline is often the best way to grab the readers’ attention.
3. Add images that will maintain focus
A killer headline paired with an appealing image will help keep your readers’ attention. There’s no set rule for what images work best. Traditionally, images with smiling faces and/or images that take a moment for the reader to “get” tend to work well.
4. Keep it current
There’s an old saying that goes “put the news in the newsletter.” Our clients’ most popular newsletters – the ones that result in great responses and requests for more information – are often tied back to the news of the day.
Current content often means tighter deadlines, but it’s worth it. So make sure you have enough resources available to create this content as needed.
Current content often means tighter deadlines, but it’s worth it.
5. Do the research
Writers should be able to back up what they say in their articles. And, to add value, newsletter publishers should have more data and resources on hand as well. That way, when clients ask for more information, you can keep the conversation going and continue to add value.
To learn more about creating stronger newsletters, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/marketing-articles/five-techniques-for-more-effective-self-editing/
The importance of continuing education
Financial services marketers are talented and creative problem solvers. They have to be. And since the financial services landscape – from client needs to regulatory demands – is constantly changing, financial services marketers should always be building their knowledge through continuing education. Here are four reasons why:
1. People still trust experts
Regardless of how social media may be changing this perception, people still lean on subject matter experts to complete the task at hand correctly. By continuously upgrading your education, you will ensure you remain an invaluable asset on your team.
2. Helps you stay ahead of the curve
Knowing your industry inside and out – and being on top of the ever-changing landscape – will help you form more insightful opinions about what industry trends may be coming.
This forward-thinking mentality is a great way to build trust.
3. Your network will grow
People want to connect with experts. So don’t be shy when you complete a course or achieve a certificate.
Update your LinkedIn profile, let people in your office know and start sharing your newfound knowledge with others.
4. Generating content will be easier
The more you know, the more topics you’ll have to write about.
In an age where content is king (or very important at the least), anyone looking to build their profile should be generating content in one form or another.
For marketing and investment commentary support, contact us today at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
When technical terms attack: Avoiding jargon in investment commentaries
Sometimes jargon is useful, and can be used as an efficient way for investment professionals to discuss obscure and complex topics with precision.
More often though, jargon is used as a mental and verbal shortcut. Instead of thinking about what we really mean and using clear and unambiguous language to say it, we use jargon, even when talking to non-specialists – in this case, an average investor.
Instead of thinking about what we really mean and using clear and unambiguous language to say it, we use jargon. It’s a verbal shortcut.
At its worst, the result can be incomprehensible writing.
For example, here are a few jargon terms that often pop up in investment commentaries, along with some ways to avoid using them:
Alpha
Instead of “negative alpha,” it’s easier for the average reader to understand that “the fund underperformed relative to the benchmark.”
Bottom-up
When describing this kind of investment style, try “focusing on a specific company, rather than an industry or economy.” Likewise, don’t assume that your reader will understand “momentum” without explanation.
Fundamentals
Instead of discussing “the company’s strong fundamentals,” try “the strength of the company’s financial statements and management team.”
Headwinds
This term is popular in the investment industry, but try “challenges” instead – or better yet, name the particular challenges you mean. Similarly, instead of “tailwinds,” try a term such as “favourable conditions.”
So are we saying you should never use technical terms in your writing? No, of course not. But think hard about what you’re trying to say and the best way to say it.
Think hard about what you’re trying to say and the best way to say it.
Sometimes only a technical term will do. If that’s the case, define it clearly up front. For example, you will probably have to discuss duration when writing about fixed income funds, so explain that it is a measure of the interest-rate sensitivity of a bond.
Your investment commentaries will be livelier and more readable if you use technical terms sparingly.
Sometimes it takes a few more words to say what you really mean, but getting the point across clearly is worth it.
If you want support for your investment commentaries, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/prepping-for-mrfp-season-get-your-facts-in-order/
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/5-reasons-investment-commentaries-arent-bad/
Slide some design tricks into your repertoire
A search for “PowerPoint Design Do’s and Don’ts” will return dozens of sites offering firm rules for PowerPoint design, but we think there is one rule that overrides them all: your presentation has to be easy to read.
Keep your viewers in mind, and you can’t go wrong. Here are some tips to keep you on the path toward PowerPoint clarity:
Edit your text
Cutting text is the best thing you can do to make your slides look clean. Don’t hesitate to use point form sentence fragments, or one word bullets. You can fill in the blanks with the support of your notes.
Restrict yourself to two fonts
Although one font is ideal, it’s okay to use one font for your headers and another for body copy. Sans-serif fonts work best for slide copy (like Calibri or Arial) as they are clean and easy to read.
Use no more than three or four colours
Too many colours can be visually distracting. Most firms have two main corporate colours, with a few secondary colours available if you need them. Try to stick to the two main colours, using lighter and darker tones if necessary.
Keep calm and don’t over-animate
Those animation features are so cool and so easy to apply, but try to control yourself or your presentation may resemble a middle-school science project! Ditto for Clip Art and Smart Charts.
Use graphs and charts
Look for spots where numbers can be converted to pie charts or bar graphs. Convert long lists into tidy tables using preformatted table design options.
If you’re looking for some help with your presentations, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/7-time-saving-commentary-tips/
Presenting a few helpful PowerPoint tips
PowerPoint is 26 years old this year and some people at Ext. Marketing Inc. (we won’t name names) have been building presentations for almost as long, back when slides were printed onto expensive transparent sheets and we called them overheads and carried them around in boxes.
While presentation technology has changed for the better, some of the slide-building fundamentals we learned in the early days still hold true.
1. Build Master slides first
Before creating a presentation, click View > Slide Master and create custom Master slides with the approved corporate logo, colours and fonts (your marketing department probably has branded Master slide decks ready for use).
If you’ve never used Master slides before, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the concept. It’s fairly simple, and will save you tons of time: no more painstaking, slide-by-slide design updates.
2. Use the Outline window to add text
Toggle between Slide and Outline view at the left-hand of the PowerPoint Home screen, and add your slide text in the Outline window rather than typing directly in the individual slides.
Add your slide text in the Outline window rather than typing directly in the individual slides.
This small step will save you time in the long run: the tidy Outline hierarchy makes it easy for you to organize your thoughts, make major text edits, and import or export large blocks of text with one click.
3. Use the Slide Sorter to move things around
You can simply click and drag to reorder your slides without losing track of anything or accidentally deleting a slide. Slide Sorter is also the best way to gain an overall high-level view of your presentation message and how it flows.
Simple but effective. Just like PowerPoint.
If you’re looking for some help with your corporate presentations, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Three more ideas for writing better speeches
Last week we shared four tips to help strengthen your next speech. Since we still believe that speech writing involves a highly refined set of skills – and that communications professionals who have these skills are a hot commodity in the financial services industry – we wanted to provide you with three more tips you can quickly implement when writing your next speech.
1. Simplify everything
There are a few ways you can simplify your speeches. First, you can simplify the topic. People who can simplify a complicated topic are the true superstars in the world of marketing and communications.
Second, you can simplify your language. Capitalizing on strong verbs, removing unnecessary adjectives and avoiding jargon are three easy wins for speech writers. Third, you can simplify your structure. Too many asides will distract your audience, so stick to the topic at hand.
Simplify the topic, your language and your structure.
2. Write like you talk
The spoken word is a different kind of animal than the written word.
Whereas in the written word, you can convey a certain level of formality by avoiding contractions and using sophisticated words, the spoken word should almost always be delivered with a more casual tone of voice.
The spoken word should almost always be delivered with a more casual tone of voice.
In speeches, contractions like “we’re” are better than “we are.” And words like “commence” should always be replaced with simpler words, in this case a word like “begin” would be appropriate.
3. Finish with a bang
It’s important to wrap up your speech by reminding your audience what you’ve told them. For bonus points, some sort of flash of creativity (like a clever quote) at its conclusion will undoubtedly make your speech more memorable in the minds of your audience.
Looking for more ideas about writing better speeches? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 866.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
Four tips for writing great speeches
Speech writing is a refined skill, and communications professionals with the ability to write strong speeches are a hot commodity in the financial services industry. Here are four tips that will help improve your next speech.
1. Start strong
Professional speakers – and authorities in their field – have the experience to start their speeches any way they want. People are often there to see them as much as to hear what these speakers have to say.
Everyone else should take one of the following approaches when writing the start of a speech: humour (but not a “joke” per se), a quote, a challenging question or an engaging story.
2. Appeal to emotions, not logic
It’s tempting to try to appeal to people’s sense of logic when speaking because you want to show them that you are right. But that approach doesn’t always work.
Appealing to people’s emotions, however, will. We’ve never heard of an audience “getting caught up in the logical nature of the argument.” It’s the emotional pull of an argument that works because it appeals to something that’s deeper than reason.
In a way, financial services marketers have it easier than marketers in other industries because people generally have a strong interest in those issues that impact their finances.
3. Focus on one idea
Choose a topic and stick with it.
If your speech is too short, resist the temptation to switch topics. The last thing you want to do is confuse your audience or muddle your argument. So keep it simple and straightforward – focus on one idea and one idea only.
4. Refine your transitions
Transitioning between proof points is the no-man’s land of speeches.
If you’re stuck on a creative way to move from point A to point B, you can at least summarize what you’ve said. That approach will keep people focused, while also giving them a little break.
The best approach, however, is to treat transitions the same way you did your introduction – with another little story or some humour.
Looking for more ideas about writing better speeches? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
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