If you’ve ever needed a strong coffee – it’s now. The financial landscape is changing at a rapid rate, so grab a coffee and let’s prepare for the challenges ahead. Here’s what Q2 is looking like for financial services marketers.
Compliance, compliance and more compliance – the joys of MiFID II
We hate to say we told you so, but the unforgiving MiFID II financial regulations implemented on 3 January 2018 are not going away. In fact, they’re here to stay (for the foreseeable future at least) and there will be no let-up throughout Q2.
MiFID II will continue to affect a wide range of business practices moving forward. From the way you communicate with retail and professional clients to the way you distribute research – you’re sure to feel the full force of these wide-reaching rules.
Recently we have seen an influx of panicked emailed from brokers regarding the MiFID II rules on content. Yes, they do apply to your broker and yes you will need to rewrite and restructure much of your content.
Clouds over crypto marketing and ICOs
Since Facebook banned ads that ‘promote financial products and services frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices’ there has been somewhat of a dark Cloud hanging over crypto marketing and ICOs.
On March 14th, Google also announced its ban on crypto ads and Twitter looks like it’s about to join them. It doesn’t help that there are numerous scams out there giving the crypto/ICO world a bad name.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
While there are many things you can do to navigate Facebook ad blocks, marketing financial services could become even more of a challenge throughout Q2 and beyond, so it’s important to keep an eye on breaking news and updates to help you stay one step ahead of the game. While developing your social strategy is still important, don’t neglect other marketing and PR channels.
Increased stress and serious competition
Last year, ICOs raised a whopping $5.6 billion. This year, they raised over $1 billion by the end of February – so what does this mean? Well, it’s clear that the crypto/ICO craze is far from over. Sure, regulatory bodies are circulating and could make changes at any time. But for now, competition remains fierce with new ideas and digital coins cropping up daily.
So, if you want to stand out from the crowd during Q2 and for the rest of the year, you really need to take a good, hard look at your marketing strategies. Do you have a unique set of USPs – and are they interesting enough to attract investors?
Do you have all the relevant marketing materials including a pitch deck and a well-written Whitepaper ? Are you marketing on the right social platforms? Take off your blinkers as you venture into the next quarter of the business year.
If you need help with your content marketing or social strategy – speak to the Contentworks team today. Our finance and compliance savvy writers and strategists will help take your business to new heights throughout Q2 and beyond.
