It’s important for companies in the financial services sector to get their blog content more than any other industry. Their business is other people’s money, and with this sensitive subject comes topics such as savings, debt, the future, family, quality of life and even finances and death. Financial services touch every aspect of a consumer’s life, which is why blog content in this industry has to be trustworthy, useful, compliant and, most importantly, human. Follow our top tips for writing great blog content for financial services brands.
1. Make it easy to read
Your financial services blog copy needs to be as clearly written as possible. Think about why your audience is there and the purpose of the blog post. You don’t want to leave readers befuddled, overwhelmed or confused by reams of professional language or terminology. You need to use well-crafted and engaging copy that speaks their language and can make your point in an interesting, enjoyable way. Use headings, highlighting, bullet points, lists, and a clear narrative to bring your point home.
2. Get visual
If you’re talking about statistics, percentages or any kind of interesting data, sometimes words alone won’t cut it. The Financial Times is a great example of a financial services publisher that uses visual data to bring stories to life, with a whole content section dedicated to charts and graphics. Factoring in this kind of content into a blog post, maybe even as a video or infographic, really helps to simplify content and keep audiences engaged.
3. Stick to brand guidelines
Brand consistency is key. From offline communications to social media messaging, paid media copy and blog content, the audience in question must quickly recognise what they’re engaging with as belonging to a certain brand. This helps to create trust, a key trait in the financial services brand/consumer relationship. Spend time understanding your brand’s guidelines around tone, style, personality and values. Plenty of financial businesses are breaking through the marketplace with strong brand presences, like Lloyds Bank and its promise to ‘be by your side’, so it’s more important than ever to understand what your brand stands for and to bring that to life using blog content.
4. Humanise your content
Take a look at First Direct, which demonstrates this point fantastically well. Its web copy speaks to its customers like you’d speak to a friend. This kind of tone invites you to trust and like the brand, and want to hear more about what they’ve got to say. Whether you’re writing for consumers, partners or professionals, you’re still writing for real people, and this kind of conversational language can help your blog content really start to build relationships and leave a lasting impression on your audience.
These top tips are surefire ways to start writing great blog content for financial services brands. Looking at the example brands referenced above, and other big names in the financial services market, and it’s clear to see that the days of dry, overwhelming, purely transnational content are over. Follow these tips and start creating first-class content that your audiences will connect with, understand and trust today.
Get in touch with WooContent today to discover how as a copywriting agency we can help you with writing great blog content.