In this environment, super funds and asset managers must rethink their marketing strategies to not only minimise costs but also address evolving client sentiments, emphasising transparency and value.

Understanding the shifting economic landscape

The global economic environment remains volatile, with inflationary pressures, geopolitical tensions, and shifting interest rates creating a complex backdrop for financial markets. The performance of superannuation funds, asset managers, and other investment vehicles has become increasingly tied to these macroeconomic factors, requiring firms to stay agile in their marketing and communication efforts. This has seen that 67% of marketers worry about reducing spending while staying ahead of competitors.

The Australian superannuation industry’s 2023 rebound is a case in point. While the 7.6% growth in assets reflects a recovery, it doesn’t negate the challenges posed by prior market contractions. Additionally, the cost-of-living crisis in Australia and similar pressures in other developed markets means investors and members are more acutely aware of the impact of fees on their returns. This heightened awareness isn’t limited to superannuation funds; it extends to the entire asset management industry, where transparency and perceived value have become crucial differentiators.

The global relevance of Australian superannuation trends

While Australia’s specific regulatory and market conditions are unique, the broader trends affecting its superannuation industry are relevant to financial services firms worldwide. The pressures Australian super funds face—such as balancing growth with cost efficiency and navigating member expectations in a volatile market—are shared by super and pension funds globally.

Similarly to Australia, despite market volatility global pension funds grew by 11% in 2023. This global alignment of challenges and volatility underscores the need for a more nuanced marketing approach. Super and pension funds not only need to communicate their resilience and growth in the face of market volatility but also provide a clear rationale for the fees they charge. This requires a shift from traditional marketing tactics to strategies that prioritise transparency, education, and value-driven messaging.

Cost-efficient strategies to match social sentiment during market volatility

Given the current economic pressures, super and pension funds must be particularly attuned to the sentiments of customers and members. When individuals are facing financial strain, they are less tolerant of what they perceive as excessive spending by the institutions managing their money. This presents a unique challenge for marketers in the superannuation and asset management sectors; you must balance the need to promote your services with the necessity of demonstrating fiscal responsibility.

One of the key considerations for super funds and other finance brands is the perception of marketing expenditures. In times of economic hardship, members are likely to be critical of marketing campaigns that appear extravagant or out of touch with their financial realities. This criticism can be particularly sharp in the superannuation industry, where members are acutely aware their funds are being used to finance such campaigns.

”While large-scale marketing efforts like paid partnerships or above-the-line advertising may seem like the easiest way to achieve mass reach, their high costs and lack of tangible value for members will face scrutiny during economic pressure,” says The Dubs Agency head of strategy, Alexandra Middleton. “To navigate this delicate terrain financial marketers need to put audience, not brand, first and build their strategy around delivering value at every stage of the funnel.”

Marketing should focus on conveying the value your brand provides as well as addressing the needs of your audience, even if it means stepping back from brand messaging or direct promotion. To do this effectively financial marketers need to identify the key topics that are relevant to their audiences in the long-term and build big rock content pieces that allow them to own the topic in market. Minimising investment in multiple marketing initiatives, these big rock content pieces can then be atomised to provide multiple opportunities to reach your audience using messaging that really matters to them. The Big Shift is the perfect example of this.

“From one big rock content piece a finance brand could produce awareness, consideration and conversion content year-round, simply by honing in on different angles within a big rock content piece,” says Middleton.

At an awareness level, this could involve using creative in-feed social content to engage audiences on the trends and topics that interest or concern them. Consideration content then provides an opportunity to introduce your brand, educate your audience and solve their needs, often through more editorial content. It can also be an opportunity to address barriers to entry such as performance and fees. Here funds can highlight past performance and explain the rationale behind fees as well as the strategies in place to protect and grow member assets. Transparency and education are critical components of this approach. By demystifying the fee structure and clearly articulating how those fees contribute to long-term growth and stability, you can build trust and reduce scepticism among your members. Having built a connection with your audience and addressed their needs, atomised conversion content can then focus on practical tools and resources that ultimately drive your audience to take action.

Leveraging data and insights to drive marketing effectiveness

The use of analytics can help identify emerging trends in member sentiment, allowing you to proactively address concerns before they become widespread issues.

For example, social listening tools can be used to gauge member reactions to market fluctuations and adjust messaging accordingly. If members are expressing concern about market volatility, marketing campaigns can be tailored to reassure them by highlighting the fund’s risk management strategies or long-term investment approach. Similarly, segmentation analysis can help identify different member groups based on their financial situation, enabling more personalised communication that resonates with their specific needs and concerns.

Strategic marketing in an era of market volatility

The financial services industry is at a crossroads, where the interplay between market performance and member expectations is more complex than ever. For superannuation and asset managers, the key to navigating this environment lies in adapting marketing strategies to reflect the realities of the economic landscape and the evolving sentiments of your members.

By focusing on transparency, education, and value-driven content, you can not only weather the current volatility but also strengthen your relationships with members and clients. In doing so, you position yourself not just as custodians of wealth but as trusted partners in your members’ financial journeys, capable of guiding them through both the peaks and troughs of the market cycle.

The post How to market cost-effectively in times of market volatility appeared first on Financial Marketer.

This not only underscores the potential financial benefits of addressing this advice gap but highlights a broader, more pressing issue: the role of superannuation and pension funds in delivering affordable and accessible financial advice, both in Australia and globally.

The global context: Ageing populations and the rising need for financial advice

Australia is not alone in facing the challenges posed by an ageing population. According to the University of Sydney, by 2026 more than 22% of Australians will be aged over 65 (up from 16% in 2020). This demographic shift is mirrored globally, with 1 in 6 people predicted to be over 60 by 2030.

These demographic shifts place immense pressure on existing pension systems and highlight the need for individuals to be better supported into retirement. Financial advice is crucial in helping people navigate the complexities of retirement planning, investment strategies, and tax implications, ensuring they can maintain their standard of living in retirement.

As part of this support, Alexandra Middleton, the head of strategy from finance marketing specialist group The Dubs Agency (which developed The Big Shift interactive report) said digital tools and content should form the backbone of how pension funds help members.

“Educational content and resources should be a key tenet of how funds support members and a valuable tool to promote their offering in market,” said Middleton.

The role of superannuation funds in Australia

In Australia, superannuation funds are at the forefront of this challenge. As part of the government’s “Delivering Better Financial Outcomes” package of reforms, super funds are now empowered to deliver personal financial advice to their members. This reform represents a significant shift in the role of super funds, allowing them to go beyond their traditional function of managing retirement savings to becoming key providers of financial guidance.

The potential impact of this shift is enormous. With 11.8 million Australians currently lacking adequate financial advice, super funds have a unique opportunity to bridge this gap, ensuring their members are better prepared for retirement. This isn’t just about providing advice; it’s about fostering a culture of financial literacy and empowerment, helping individuals make informed decisions about their financial future.

The Global role of pension funds in financial advice

While Australia is pioneering in allowing super funds to provide personal financial advice, the role of pension funds in delivering such services is becoming increasingly relevant worldwide. In the United States, only 1 in 3 people who have not consulted a financial adviser feel financially secure according to the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raised concerns about the advice gap, noting many people are not receiving the financial advice they need, particularly those with modest pension pots. The same can be seen across Asia, with a report by Cerulli highlighting retirement advice needs are not being met.

Pension funds globally are in a unique position to address these needs. By leveraging their existing relationships with members and their deep understanding of investments and retirement planning, pension funds can play a crucial role in delivering tailored financial advice. This not only helps members achieve better financial outcomes but also enhances the value proposition of the funds themselves, making them more attractive to potential members.

However, a video with Prof. Dean Sanders, Partner, Deloitte Access Economics, highlights the growing opportunity for all kinds of financial organisations to fill this advice gap. Super and pension funds are in a perfect position to be successful in this space if they act quickly. Moving away from just traditional marketing and advertising to embrace technological shifts will be paramount to the success of your advice delivery model. Consider AI, personalisation and interactivity to engage clients and make a real impact.

Quantifying the opportunity in financial advice

The opportunity for super and pension funds to step into this advisory role is significant. According to the Iress and Deloitte research, addressing the financial advice gap in Australia could increase national savings by $2 trillion over 30 years. In a video with John O’Mahony, Partner, Deloitte Access Economics, the industry could see $2.1 billion in revenue if they effectively capitalise on this growing opportunity.

Globally, the potential impact is even more substantial. In the UK, addressing the advice gap could boost retirement savings by billions of pounds, while in the US, it could lead to a significant increase in retirement readiness among workers.

A report by Royal London found there are 3.7 million non-advised customers who are open to financial advice and have over £50k in investible assets. This is equated to over £185 billion in investible assets available. Further afield, looking across all 10 markets in Asia, the percentage of workers concerned about being financially insecure in retirement is substantial—ranging from 50% in China to 95% in Vietnam—and is equal to or even exceeds the percentage of retirees who share this concern. Looking to Singapore, according to a report by Statista “Singaporeans were less confident about their financial security when it comes to income streams and retirement issues.”

However, this opportunity is not without its challenges. The competition for new customers—those seeking financial advice—will be fierce. “Super and pension funds need to be proactive in capturing this market, and marketing will play a critical role in this effort,” says Middleton.

The importance of marketing in capturing new members in a changing landscape

In an increasingly competitive landscape, super and pension funds must be visible and actively engage with potential members. Far from simply taking a volume approach, to effectively drive member growth and retention, marketing activity needs to be strategic, with content and channel chosen based on audience and the objective you’re trying to achieve. As shown in The Big Shift research, as megatrends reshape the landscape and open up new opportunities, super and pension funds need to be flexible in pivoting their offering and how they communicate it, to ensure they remain relevant.

A full-funnel marketing approach, which includes brand awareness, consideration, and conversion strategies is essential for differentiating in market and driving awareness of expanded offerings. Research consistently shows the impact of an always-on, full-funnel marketing program. A recent Nielsen meta-analysis found that full-funnel strategies see up to 45% higher ROI compared to marketing campaigns across a single purchase stage. This approach is particularly relevant for super and pension funds, as the decision to switch funds is often a long-term process that involves multiple touchpoints. “As well as delivering consistent content that addresses audience needs at each stage of the funnel, super and pension funds also need to think about how they can tailor their content to serve the needs of different audience demographics,” says Middleton. “To make this as effective and efficient as possible, funds can leverage creative social assets to deliver relevant, personalised messages in-feed, while driving back to useful base material.”

The Big Shift: A case study in strategic marketing

As well as shining a light on the opportunities tied to evolving advice needs, The Big Shift is also a case study of how super funds can use interactivity and content atomisation to drive engagement with members.

With interactivity shown to drive 73% more engagement than static content, The Dubs Agency worked with Iress to extend the reach of its insights through an interactive content ecosystem that provided multiple touchpoints on site and in social feeds. Through the atomisation of content around key pillars, Iress was able to cement its thought leadership in areas that underpin its broader strategic objectives. The Big Shift shows how super funds can utilise one big rock content piece to produce assets that target multiple audiences with relevant messages at every stage of the funnel.

It’s time to fill the gap

As the competition for new customers intensifies, the need for a comprehensive marketing strategy becomes even more critical. Super funds must ensure they’re not only visible but also actively engaging with their target audience across all stages of the marketing funnel. This requires a commitment to continuous marketing efforts, with a focus on building long-term member relationships through content and resources that reflect their changing needs.

The post Meeting the financial advice gap: The role of super and pension funds appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Global recognition and influence

The burgeoning strength and influence of Australian super funds are not confined to domestic boundaries but are gaining recognition on the global stage. When Brookfield Asset Management pursued the acquisition of Origin Energy Ltd., AustralianSuper took a proactive stance, contesting the bid due to the perceived undervaluation of a key player in Australia’s green energy transition. These assertive moves represent a departure from the traditionally passive role of Australian super funds with funds now becoming lead investors in global projects, highlighting their growing influence.

With Australia’s retirement savings pool projected to triple to A$10.5 trillion by 2040, these funds are becoming significant players in global finance, transforming Australia from a debtor nation to a capital exporter. Peasley, who oversees a portfolio of $65 billion of Australian Super assets explains in an interview with Investment Magazine, “We’re taking larger stakes in businesses and being more of a lead owner, as opposed to being a minority investor following the owners.”

Their commitment to sustainability, such as AustralianSuper’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and Aware Super’s company-wide exclusions from unethical investments, enhances their appeal with investors and competitors alike. As they expand their presence to international financial centres like London and New York, global brands are taking note of their strategies. This newfound prominence underscores Australian super funds’ pivotal role in shaping the future of financial marketing and investment worldwide.

Leading by example: Australian super fund strategies

Australian super funds are employing diverse digital marketing tactics to connect with their audience effectively. For instance, AustralianSuper’s approach encompasses a multi-platform strategy, utilising social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and X. Through these platforms, AustralianSuper shares valuable insights on retirement planning and investment strategies, targeting audiences at the awareness and consideration stages of the marketing funnel. Interactive content and partnering with industry experts to establish AustralianSuper as a trusted adviser in the financial landscape.

Hostplus distinguishes itself through its search marketing prowess and website optimisation efforts. By leveraging targeted keywords and user-friendly website design, Hostplus ensures individuals have easy access to essential retirement planning resources. This strategy effectively targets users at the consideration and decision stages of the marketing funnel, facilitating informed decision-making and encouraging active participation in financial planning.

Innovative campaigns: Future Super case study

The “FutureWealth” campaign by Future Super exemplifies innovative marketing within the Australian super industry through its strategic execution. By seamlessly integrating traditional advertising with modern digital strategies, the campaign effectively engages a broad audience. Through emotive storytelling and relatable scenarios, Future Super communicates the significance of retirement planning to audiences across different stages of the marketing funnel. The campaign’s innovative approach fosters emotional connections and highlights tangible benefits, inspiring action and engagement among its target audience.

Australian super funds are setting the standard for global retirement planning and financial marketing through their strategic engagement and influence on prominent brands.

The post Australian Super Funds leading the charge appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Addressing common challenges

Across geographies, pension and super funds face similar challenges in engaging audiences who may not prioritise retirement planning. Individuals worldwide struggle with long-term financial planning, with BlackRock’s 2023 Read on Retirement Report indicating a 15% decline in retirement confidence since 2021. This emphasises the importance of tailored marketing strategies that address the informational needs and emotional concerns of diverse audiences globally.

Laura Blows, editor at Pensions Age, writes in an article about social media and finance institutions, “The pensions industry has lagged behind in its use of social media to engage with savers, due to attitudes and time/cost constraints, but this is starting to change.”

Engaging social media: Legal & General

Legal & General Pension utilises social media to disseminate expert insights on retirement planning, investment trends, and market analysis. It utilises platforms like like X and Instagram for raising awareness through engaging visuals and business updates while LinkedIn is used to provide expert insights to audiences in the consideration stage.

What sets it apart?

What sets Legal & General apart is its interactive approach. They actively respond to queries, conduct live Q&A sessions with financial experts, and organise virtual events, creating regular touchpoints with their audience. This dynamic engagement educates its audience and establishes a sense of trust and transparency.

Search marketing and website optimisation: Aviva Retirement Solutions

Aviva Retirement Solutions stands out for its comprehensive approach to search marketing and website optimisation, ensuring a seamless user experience for audiences across the globe. By focusing on relevant keywords and optimising its website content, Aviva ensures individuals searching for retirement planning solutions find valuable resources effortlessly.

What sets it apart?

The website features interactive retirement calculators, webinars, and thought-provoking blog posts on financial planning. Aviva employs personalised content recommendations based on user behavior, ensuring visitors find relevant information effortlessly. The seamless user experience contributes to increased user engagement and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

Strategic traditional advertising: Prudential Pension Campaign

Prudential has successfully blended traditional advertising with a modern touch to engage a broad audience at various stages of the marketing funnel. Its pension campaign, aired across television, radio, and print media, leverages storytelling and real-life scenarios to raise awareness and foster interest among potential customers, ultimately guiding them toward consideration and conversion stages

What sets it apart?

Prudential understands the emotional aspect of retirement planning and has crafted advertisements that resonate with individuals on a personal level.

Beyond the conventional channels, Prudential has also integrated its offline campaigns with online platforms. This synergy enhances the overall impact of its marketing efforts, allowing Prudential to reach a broader demographic and reinforce its brand message effectively.

Harnessing the power of podcasts: Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows has embraced podcasting to deliver insightful content to its audience. By hosting regular podcasts featuring industry experts, it provides in-depth analysis, market trends, and expert opinions on retirement planning. This approach not only caters to the growing popularity of podcasts but also positions Scottish Widows as a thought leader in the pension industry.

What sets it apart?

The podcasts cover a range of topics, from investment strategies to the psychological aspects of retirement. Hosted live with a panel of impassioned experts, the content, people and host changes often keeping it engaging and fresh for audiences.

Pension marketing explained

In the UK pension industry, successful funds are those that understand the evolving needs of their audience and adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.

Laura Blows explains in her article on social media and finance organisations, “Pension schemes utilising social media need to tailor their approach on different platforms, for instance talking to younger members on TikTok and older members on Facebook.”

The ability to create a compelling narrative, provide valuable content, and target the audience at each stage of the funnel across multiple platforms is the driving force behind successful financial marketing.

The post UK Pension funds Redefining Digital Marketing appeared first on Financial Marketer.

The case for educational content

According to Gary Weaven, the founding Executive Chair of Industry Fund Services, super funds should be focusing on improving their content marketing and delivering better financial advice to members. Weaven explains that there’s a massive information gap for super funds to fill, such as providing information on the pension and taxation system, investment strategies and salary sacrificing.

Speaking to The Dubs Managing Director, Josh Frith, “Financial literacy is a huge issue in Australia, so supporting people beyond just their superannuation needs is key to helping and keeping them.”

Providing content your clients need can help you form meaningful connections and foster the trust and loyalty needed to retain them for the long term. In fact, 81% of people note that trust plays a factor in their purchasing decisions, making educational content an important area for super funds to capitalise on.

“The closer a super fund can deliver tailored and personalised content to targeted audiences within its member base then it will have far greater success with its engagement and interaction with members.” Josh explains.

The educational content super funds need to create

There are a number of things to consider when creating educational content. Firstly, you must understand your target audience and create content that aligns with them. For example, a person starting their first job will need different information than someone reaching retirement age. Also, don’t forget about creating content for advisers, this is an opportunity for your super fund to build connections with a large client network.

Secondly, no matter what format you are creating your content in or which audience you’re targeting, your content must be easy to understand. Superannuation can be a complex topic. It’s critical your educational content is simple and engaging, otherwise, clients won’t interact with it.

Thirdly, you should be creating content in a variety of formats and distributing them across a range of channels. From your website to your social media platforms, you should be sharing this content everywhere a client interacts with your super fund. Additionally, creating a variety of content can help keep your communication channels fresh and engaging, as well as enable your content to appeal to a wider audience. This is where repurposing and reusing content can be helpful. If you create an hour-long webinar that’s housed on your website, you can repurpose this by dividing it into bite-sized videos that can be shared on your social channels.

Super funds doing financial literacy content well

There are a number of super funds already doing financial literacy content well. Both HESTA and Active Super have dedicated learning hubs that deliver great educational content to clients.

HESTA online learning hub offers an interactive video series where clients can find tailored financial advice and guidance about all things superannuation. The best part about these videos is their interactive nature, with different scenarios popping up that clients can click to receive a video specific to their situation. Its content is particularly engaging as videos are story-based, enabling clients to relate and form real connections. HESTA’s learning hub is targeted towards older Australians, either nearing retirement, about to retire or have retired, with all content tailored to this audience.

Active Super’s education hub is targeted toward a different audience, that being Gen Z and Millennials. Bright, fun, and engaging, Active Super’s education hub delivers easy-to-understand super fund information across a diverse range of topics, appealing to those who need to understand the basics as well as those who want to be hands-on investors. Offering webinars, blogs and editorial content, Active Super distributes its education content in a variety of formats. They also have a variety of tools and calculators helping to make it easier for clients to plan for their future, including an interactive tool that allows members to see where and how their money is invested.

The post Why super funds should focus on educational content appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Why your super fund can’t forget about financial advisers

While financial advisers are a niche audience, creating unique and engaging content can have a positive impact on your super fund. Most super funds, especially industry super funds, aren’t creating content for advisers, making this a prime opportunity for you to gain a competitive edge.

Creating value-driven adviser content about topics tailored to their interests and needs can help you nurture and convert leads, and build both brand trust and awareness. With the number of financial advisers in Australia having reduced by almost half since 2019 to 15,600, and  750,000 Australians set to retire in the next five years, the demand for advice is expected to rise, presenting ample opportunity for super funds to make long-lasting connections that will benefit client retention and your bottom line.

How to make unique content that hits

Just like with your regular content program, adviser content must be tailored to your target demographic’s needs and provide valuable information. Don’t make adviser content for the sake of making it. Rather, place time and resources into producing unique adviser content that’s engaging and professional.

Your unique content should be:

• Timely and provide key information
• Easy to understand and engaging
• Delivered in a variety of formats (editorials, webinars, infographics, social media posts and videos)
• Tailored and personalised
• Educational
• Published on a consistent schedule

At the heart of it, your adviser content should be useful and educational. Creating content about a breadth of topics, from market updates to how to improve client interactions and boost business efficiencies, will ensure you cater to all advisers while keeping content engaging.

Super funds doing unique content well

While not created by a super fund, Advisely is a great example of a content program tailored to the needs of financial advisers.  Advisely is a community purpose-built by Iress to help financial advisers boost efficiency and increase their capacity to take on more clients. Covering future-fit advice, business strategy and tactics to drive efficiencies in business operations and client interactions, Advisely is a practical resource designed to drive measurable improvements in advice businesses. The Advisely Index allows finance professionals to benchmark their efficiency and performance against top-performing peers, while insights and discussion threads within the community deliver expert and peer advice to help improve this measure of performance. Advisely stands out for the variety and practicality of its content from regular insights, to webinars, easy-to-digest social content and even a CPD Growth Masterclass video series.

Colonial First State’s ‘Adviser Hub’ has a variety of tailored content, from webinars to podcasts to thought leadership helping to keep information fresh and engaging. It also publishes content weekly, helping to nurture leads and build meaningful connections with advisers.

What makes its unique content truly stand out is its dedicated LinkedIn adviser hub. Colonial First State publishes content on social media helping to create a more ‘human’ connection with advisers and ensure their content is easy to find and engage with. Rather than having it solely live on their website, they are publishing content where advisers regularly hang out.

Australian Ethical Super’s ‘Adviser Insights’ section also produces value-driven content that’s engaging and tailored to financial advisers, featuring content from Australian Ethical’s experts as well as covering first-hand the challenges faced by real advisers in the industry.

What makes its unique content truly great is its video INSights and INDepth series. These videos are a Q&A style series with industry experts, helping to present Australian Ethical Super as authorities in the space to build trust and loyalty. As the names suggest, their INSights series are short 2-5 minute videos that are easy to understand about specific topics and their INDepth series are around 1 hour where they dive into a complex topic. With the focus on education, these videos are a great example of different ways super funds are producing adviser content.

What super funds can learn

With most super funds doing adviser content being retail super funds, there remains a large gap in the market for industry super funds. This presents a prime opportunity for industry super funds to get ahead of the curve and create content that connects with advisers, builds brand awareness and fosters trust.

Overall, unique content needs to be tailored to the specific target demographic, provide valuable information and be engaging in format. Keeping content simple and easy to understand will ensure your super fund publishes content that connects with advisers.

The post The value of unique content for advisers when you’re a super fund appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Creating dedicated content for financial advisers is a way your super fund builds meaningful relationships with finance professionals with significant influence. While traditionally super fund content has been focused on clients, creating content for advisers provides an opportunity for you to nurture and convert wholesale leads. By converting one adviser, you’re also engaging with their current and future clients, so targeting this niche sector should be a strategic priority.

At The Dubs, we have performed desk research on Australian super companies to get a picture of which funds are creating adviser content effectively, and how they can improve. From Australian Ethical Super to Colonial First State, we have analysed three of Australia’s major super funds to help you improve and execute adviser content that converts.

Based on our analysis, we noted most super funds creating content specifically for financial advisers are retail funds. This highlights a gap in the market for industry super funds to take advantage of and build cred with advisers. By filling this information gap, industry super funds can capture the attention of advisers and generate leads, trust, brand awareness and growth opportunities.

While targeting financial advisers is a niche demographic, delivering value-driven content that provides timely and useful information is a great way to capture their attention. Articles, thought leadership, social media posts, webinars and videos that align with advisers can improve your reputation and generate brand awareness. Aiming for an always-on content strategy can enable your super fund to generate meaningful leads that can be nurtured and encouraged to create long-lasting relationships between you, the advisers and their clients.

Australian Ethical Super

Overall, Australian Ethical Super’s ‘Adviser Insights’ section delivers tailored and valuable editorial and video content that can benefit audiences.

What is it doing right?

Aside from the content hub being easy on the eyes, Australian Ethical Super’s impressive array of content formats between short form and long form videos, webinars and editorial content, helps to ensure its content remains fresh and engaging. It also provides a mode of delivery that’s suited to a wide variety of clients.

Its videos are professional and deliver content primarily in a Q&A format with senior industry experts that makes it easy for users to follow along. Speaking with industry experts helps Australian Ethical Super to appear as an authority and gain trust with audiences.

In terms of editorial content, it’s written with clarity to make the content easy to understand for all levels of advisers and focuses on education. Information is timely and focuses on a broad range of topics to provide variety to audiences.

Where can it improve?

While still in its infancy, with the first piece of content being published in December 2021, it could improve the frequency of content. An always-on content program should be the aim, with a variety of content being produced weekly. This would increase SEO performance, as well as place it front of mind with audiences. It also could make content easier to find by categorising it, either by topic or format to make the site more user-friendly.

Overall score: 11/12

MLC Super

Overall, MLC Super’s ‘Insights Series’ can improve its adviser content by producing a wider variety of content, rather than just solely focusing on webinars.

What is it doing right?

MLC’s ‘Insights’ section on its website is easy to find and navigate, with each of its webinars laid out to make it easy for users to sign up or watch previous ones. Focused on providing advice to advisers, its webinars are tailored and personalised to its target audience. Each webinar is presented by senior industry experts and is interactive in nature, helping to foster trust and brand loyalty, cementing MLC as an authority that advisers can turn to.

It also provides the option for advisers to chat directly to MLC, offering an omnichannel method of communication and helping web users find the information they need easier.

Where can it improve?

MLC should consider producing a wider variety of content such as editorials, short form videos, infographics and interactive charts. MLC also could look to repurpose current webinar videos, to be used not just across the site as short video content, but also on social media channels such as LinkedIn.

Additionally, it could use imagery throughout the ‘Insights’ section to make the webpage more engaging for users. It should also aim to increase content frequency, striving to create an always-on content program.

Overall score: 4/12

Colonial First State

Overall, Colonial First State’s ‘Adviser Hub’ is a great example of a super fund doing adviser content well.

What is it doing right?

Colonial First State has a wide variety of tailored content, from webinars to videos to thought leadership, that’s published a few times a week. Producing multiple content formats helps to keep audiences engaged and content fresh. Additionally, its adviser content is categorised on its homepage making it simple and easy for users to navigate to the information they need.

Colonial First State is the only super fund to create adviser content for social media. Colonial First State’s dedicated LinkedIn adviser hub is a great way for it to create authentic connections with users and improve engagement, by making it easier for users to access the content it produces.

Where can it improve?

While Colonial First State is the super fund with the most frequent content, it could still look to improve this area by adopting an always-on content program. This could be achieved by repurposing content, such as webinars to create bite-sized videos, and producing shorter form content like infographics and interactive charts. This style of content not only helps to improve frequency, but also engagement by delivering short, easy-to-digest and valuable information that’s tailored to advisers.

Overall score: 11/12

Scoring: This is a comparative scoring system.
‘Imagery quality’, ‘Frequency of content publishing’, ‘Number of content categories’ and ‘Number of content formats’ were all scored against each other. For each criteria the worst performer scored ‘1’ and the best performer scored ‘3’. This gives a total score out of 12 for the 4 criteria ranked.

The post 3 Australian Super Funds Creating Content for Advisers appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Marketing your ESG commitments has never been more important

Millennials and Gen Z care about the values of the finance brands they work with. More importantly, they care about what their finance brands and super funds are doing to better the planet, whether that’s environmentally, socially or politically. Creating super fund content that markets your ESG commitments has never been more important when trying to get Gen Z and Millennials on board.

According to the RIAA, 78% of 18-24 year olds and 84% of  25-39 year olds would consider moving their super if their current fund didn’t align with their values.  And with 80% of Australians citing a lack of educational content around ethical investing as a key barrier to making informed decisions, there’s a clear gap to be filled.

So, how can your super fund market its ESG commitments and ethical investing options best?

• Create a story – Share your ESG commitments with your target audience by making investor-related content such as providing key market insights for your ethical funds or how investing ethically can help the world for example. Ensure you share not only what you are doing but the impacts it has on communities.
• Take an omnichannel approach – Make it easy for your target audience to identify your ESG commitments by sharing them across your social platforms and website regularly.
• Share across different content styles – Don’t just write a blog post, or only share a video. Create content in different formats such as video, infographics, thought leadership and more so as to keep the information fresh and reach your entire audience base.
• Ensure your ESG commitments align with your company values – Don’t align your super fund with ESG commitments that are out of place or not a true reflection of your brand. Consumers value authenticity and it’s critical your ESG commitments and ethical investing reflect this.

Ethical superanuuation funds are on the rise

Today, 88% of Australians expect ethical investing, and ethical super funds are on the rise to meet these demands. In fact, assets owned by Responsible Super Fund Leaders grew to a record $783 billion by the end of 2022, up from $743 billion in 2020. Currently, only around 10 out of 53 super funds are considered Responsible Super Fund Leaders (down from 13 in 2021), showcasing an opportunity in the market to provide tailored products to an audience hungry for them.

According to Responsible Investment Association Australasia chief executive, Simon O’Connor, “Australians are rapidly willing to shift their money to be in line with their own beliefs and values and are expecting their superannuation to invest in a way that’s responsible.”

Super fund content doing it right

Future Super, Active Super, and Australian Ethical Super are examples of ethical super funds increasing their popularity amongst Millennials and Gen Z.

Future Super’s content strategy is one example of a super fund effectively marketing its ESG commitments and ethical investment options. Its hard-hitting advertisements alongside its effective social media strategy have helped it grow its engagement amongst Gen Z and Millennials.

With over 10,000 Instagram followers, 30,000 Facebook followers and 3,500 LinkedIn followers Future Super’s content strategy has a winning formula. What makes it stand out isn’t simply the modern design and graphics that grab users’ attention, but the harsh, frank political messaging. Future Super doesn’t shy away from the impacts of climate change, proudly promoting messaging that if we don’t all begin to invest ethically the planet will be destroyed. This messaging alongside the fresh content, omnichannel marketing and always-on content strategy has ensured it’s gained a large and loyal following of Millennials and Gen Zs.

The best part about ensuring your super fund content markets your ESG commitments is that while it targets Millennials and Gen Z in particular, there’s also a growing number of older people wanting their superannuation to be managed ethically. With more people demanding ethical investing it’s more important than ever for your super fund to reflect these desires in both your funds and content marketing.

The post How super fund content can get Gen Z on board appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Instagram underutilised by all superannuation funds

Instagram is a great method of attracting and engaging younger clients. With over 1 billion users on the app monthly, superannuation funds that aren’t actively posting targeted content are losing out against their competition that does.

All of the superannuation funds utilised Instagram as a section to promote their staff and achievements, limiting their engagement and followers. With the younger demographic on Instagram and Reels becoming more popular, providing educational content that will improve financial literacy will be beneficial to attract an interested audience. In fact, educational content makes consumers 131% more likely to buy a product or service.

YouTube: helping to educate clients about superannuation funds

The superannuation funds that are nailing YouTube are the ones that are providing educational and inclusive content. Australian Super has done well by creating a series that offers content to improve clients’ financial literacy – from basic topics like ‘What is Superannuation’ to more complex areas like ‘Retrenchment: What you need to know’. They’ve also created a campaign titled ‘Super Moments’ which involves heartwarming stories from a range of Australians which helps to build trust, approachability and authentic connections with audiences.

HESTA on the other hand is underutilising YouTube by using it to promote awards videos and content that has little to no relevance to interested clients. When videos are tailored to a target audience and reflective of their interests, it can be a competitive tool to acquire new customers and improve lead generation, with 87% of businesses reporting that video gives them a positive ROI.

Superannuation funds love X

X was the most actively utilised social media platform for the top four superannuation funds, with Aware Super excluded as they don’t utilise the channel. Overall, X was predominantly used to share new products, funds achievements and recent news, which is generally in line with what users expect and demand from X accounts.

Spaceship has utilised X particularly effectively by creating an always-on content program that balances fund updates, educational content, and their short videos titled ‘Real Money Talk’ in which they chat to regular people about financial topics such as saving tips. Spaceship stands out from the crowd by balancing content everyday consumers want, like financial education, with what informed investors and businesses like, such as market updates. They share this content across social channels, creating an omnichannel approach to their marketing strategy. Also, Spaceship utilise X by replying to clients’ concerns through the reply feature, creating an additional communication channel other than the traditional chatbot function on platforms like Facebook.

Facebook remains steady

In general, Facebook is being utilised as a method of communication between clients and superannuation funds. All funds are effectively utilising Facebook messenger as an omnichannel approach to customer service. Clients can ask general questions and receive help for basic enquiries quickly and easily.

Much of the same content that is seen on X is also seen on Facebook, with a mixture of educational content, market updates and fund information making up the majority of the posts. Aware Super is doing well by tailoring their content to Facebook’s millennial audience, which is their largest demographic.

LinkedIn: tailored to the right audience

Aware Super, Australian Super, HESTA, and Sun Super have great engagement and have accumulated a large number of followers through their tailored and always-on content strategy. Much of these super funds LinkedIn content is utilised for sharing new products, celebrating milestones and market updates. While this content is needed to showcase your superannuation funds’ reliability and transparency, you should also create content that addresses your target audiences’ specific needs and education. Producing high-quality, valuable, and educational content should be a greater focus for your super fund on LinkedIn, as this will help you build strong connections and build value with consumers.

While Spaceship’s content marketing program is top of its game, they could better utilise LinkedIn to extend their reach as they lack a consistent schedule on this platform.

Overall, these superannuation funds highlight the importance of an always-on, tailored content program to reach new audiences, nurture leads and improve brand trust and credibility.

The post Top 5 superannuation funds on social media appeared first on Financial Marketer.

Niche super funds that are doing it right

Niche super funds offer clients a more transparent way of investing their money. Super funds like Future Super and Crescent Wealth have defined their branding by how they invest clients’ money, identifying specific areas and industries they won’t invest in. Transparency is king with 53% of people being more likely to consider brands that are transparent and 94% of consumers saying they are more likely to be loyal to a brand that offers transparency.

Crescent Wealth is the first super fund to invest clients’ money according to the values of the Islamic faith. In addition, they also actively educate people within the Islamic community about retirement planning, contribute to not-for-profits that support the Islamic community, and amplify the voices of the Muslim community with the aim of creating social and political change. Moving beyond just investing money ethically, Crescent Wealth has defined its branding by giving back to the community. These charitable initiatives not only incentivise the Islamic community to choose Crescent Wealth, but giving back to the community leaves 85% of customers with a more positive image of the super fund.

Defining a niche

Defining a niche isn’t an activity reserved only for super funds – all financial organisations can benefit from creating tailored, personalised services for specific market segments. Defining your finance brand’s market niche is the first step in creating a targeted marketing strategy. But how can you do this?

• Identify underserved communities and address their key financial problems
• Identify key values your finance brand can address (such as environmental or social issues)
• Select a specific demographic you can tailor your content and services to (for example, providing services for just women or only Gen Z)

Once you have identified your market niche, now you need to analyse and dissect their specific financial problems. Providing solutions that remove these pain points can enable you to deliver a superior customer experience. By improving the overall customer experience your brand can improve customer retention by 33% and customer satisfaction by 32%.

In the case of Crescent Wealth, they defined their niche as individuals who follow the Islamic faith. For Future Super, they defined a set of environmental and ethical values. Another great example of defining a niche is Nerve neobank, which provides banking services to musicians.

What all finance brands can learn

Defining a market niche isn’t just for super funds – every finance brand can benefit from it. Consumers are demanding more tailored and personalised services and it’s up to your finance brand to deliver them if you want to generate and acquire leads. Create services for specific market segments and reap the rewards long into the future.

The post Why niche super funds are on the rise appeared first on Financial Marketer.