Shift to Always-On Social Strategy for Financial Firms

from an Event-Based Strategy
ALWAYS-ONALWAYS-ON
Moving to
VOL 1

INTRODUCTION
“Time and tide wait for no man,” goes the ancient
proverb. Today, that could be said about the pace of
change in technology and marketing. With the majority
of your customers looking at multiple screens, a glut of
information, and mounting demands on their time, event-
based corporate messages get lost in the deluge.
03 MOVING TO ALWAYS-ON FROM AN EVENT-BASED STRATEGY
In the digital age, reaching customers means
having a conversation, rather than sending
a one-sided message. It means delivering
responsive, relevant, timely interactions
on the customer’s schedule. Marketing
dollars have the most effect when you offer
something of value, and when you engage
your audience consistently over a period
of time.
“It’s about giving
first and attracting
customers, rather
than chasing them.”
Shane Snow,
Chief Creative Officer, Contently

This change in the marketing landscape
poses challenges for every industry, but
financial organizations face additional hurdles
dictated by regulatory and compliance laws.
Nevertheless, in many ways, financial sector
firms lead the way in social and content
marketing. Companies like BlackRock, Citi,
American Express, HSBC, and Visa consistently
produce quality, relevant, timely content that
engages with key social audiences to the
benefit of the company’s bottom line.
Others, however, have yet to take the first
step. We see a widening gap between
organizations that use social media
successfully and those that don’t.
INTRODUCTION
“The risk of not doing
something interesting
is bigger than not
doing anything at all.”
Paul Butcher,
Head of Digital Communications, Citi

“We need to shift from
brand campaigns to
social conversations.”
Clara Shih,
CEO and founder, Hearsay Social
This guide offers a road map for steering your
company to an always-on social strategy. We’ve
gathered the perspectives of leading social and
content marketers, including many who lead
those financial sector success stories. Read on
to get an idea of what you can expect, how to
address the legal challenges, and what best
practices you can learn from the trail blazers.
INTRODUCTION

PART TWO:
WHAT DOES
ALWAYS-ON MEAN?

WHAT DOES ALWAYS-ON MEAN?
“It means that instead of thinking in terms of
campaigns, stunts, or short-term initiatives,
you consistently aim to build and retain your
audience on an ongoing basis—more like
regular exercise than a shot in the arm.”
—Shane Snow
“Always-on leads to quality content generated
on a consistent basis. A successful always-
on strategy involves establishing an editorial
calendar that addresses both organic
evergreen and real-time content.
—Lorin Suslow,
Social Media Marketing Strategist, BlackRock
“Education that inspires.”
Financial companies have a solid advantage
when it comes to getting attention and
building audiences. They’re in the business
of helping people manage their money, so
they have expertise that everyone needs.
Anne-Marie Kline, former SVP of social and
digital at Digitas calls always-on an “everyday
brand building” strategy. “Mainly,” she says,
“it’s about living in the education space—
but education that inspires… trying to
find people in those moments when they’re
searching for specific information or
planning something in their life.” To inspire
your audience, she says, don’t think in terms
of products, such as checking accounts or
credit cards. Instead, think about how you
can help people gain financial independence,
invest for the future or start their own small
business off on the right foot.
E-Trade offers a great example of a financial
brand changing its strategy from “talking
baby” entertainment campaigns to always-
on content targeting investors hungry for
financial education. As E-Trade CMO Liza
Landsman said at the 2014 Ad Age Digital
Conference, “It didn’t make sense for us to
pretend investing was easy. Hence, the
baby went into retirement.”

“Always on means creating a
continuous flow of relevant,
engaging content and
actively sharing it (mostly
through social media) with
your relevant audiences. By
doing so, you can create an
ongoing interaction with
clients and prospects.”
Johan Hillebrand,
Head of Content Management, Robeco

“In a world of continuous
conversations and
relationship building,
branding and lead
generation don’t have
to lead separate lives.
They should be part of a
continuum—an ongoing
conversation with the
market that allows you to
find the customers who
are… in market to buy.”
Michael Weir,
Sr. Director Digital Marketing, Pivotal

PART THREE:
WHAT STOPS
FINANCIAL MARKETERS?

WHAT STOPS FINANCIAL MARKETERS?
“It’s not free.”
Kline remembers a time when marketers
equated social with free advertising. “I think
we’re over that part,” she says, “but we’re
still dividing the dollars between media,
nonworking dollars, and working dollars.
Developing content, sourcing content,
incubating it, predicting the escalation model—
all of that takes time, resources, and money.
It’s not free.”
Top management foot-dragging
For that reason, top management must buy in.
But it’s not only buy-in that’s important. Amy
McIlwain, president of Financial Social Media,
says active C-level participation on social
platforms is critical to success. “When senior
management is unwilling to engage from a
personal standpoint… they’ve really missed
the understanding and the opportunity.”
Siloed organizations
Lack of communication and collaboration
between departments can also kill a social
strategy. Social media doesn’t work when
it’s controlled by one group or distribution
channel. Turf wars on who “owns social” can
keep the best ideas from surfacing and
discourage would-be ambassadors. A viable
social strategy often requires a shift in the
organizational structure, which can be difficult
for large, established financial firms to pull off.
Legal and compliance concerns
In a world where a misplaced tweet may
violate compliance laws and cost companies
heavily in fines, financial employees and their
managers have reason to be nervous. But
when a single Facebook post requires dozens
of people to sign off on it, and content
languishes for months in the legal queue, the
result looks more like “always-stonewall” than
“always-on.” There is a happy medium, as
companies like BlackRock, American Express
and Visa prove every day.
The measurement conundrum
Let’s face it—always-on is, at its root, a
holistic strategy that makes measurement
a complicated task. When an average of
10 pieces of content is consumed before
a sale, who’s to say which one played the
biggest role? Measuring always-on success
and tying it to the revenue numbers that top
management cares about is difficult—
and essential.
What keeps some marketers in the financial space from pursuing an always-on strategy,
even though the writing is clearly on the wall? We see five main challenges:

PART FOUR:
HAPPENING NOW:
A SHIFT IN THINKING

HAPPENING NOW: A SHIFT IN THINKING
The BlackRock example
Asset management company BlackRock
is proof that social media success doesn’t
necessarily take years to unfold. In just a
few months, the company doubled the
engagement rate for the content they posted
on LinkedIn, and produced consistently top-
ranking updates.
Our own research
A study of LinkedIn clients conducted in Q4 of
2014 shows that companies across the board
are embracing sponsored content. Compared
to a similar study in Q1 2014, field customers
with an always-on sponsored content strategy
went up from 25% to 42%.
Despite the obstacles marketers face, the shift to an always-on strategy is inspiring change
and innovation within the financial industry.

HAPPENING NOW: A SHIFT IN THINKING
“Brand trust is what you build between a
past and a future interaction. It’s a matter
of time and a matter of integrity.”
—Paul Butcher
Positive implications
The shift toward always-on is taking hold as
senior management teams begin to realize
the benefits for their organizations. While the
initial impulse may be to tap into revenue
opportunities, an always-on strategy also
helps financial firms manage risk and build
trust. People are talking about your brand,
and your presence in that conversation can
make all the difference.

Operational benefits abound as well in
the realm of customer service, employee
engagement, and the ability to attract and
retain talent. Empowering employees and
creating an environment where they feel
like they’re making a difference will make a
positive impact on your business’ culture.
Time Integrity
Trust

PART FIVE:
HOW TO:
CONVINCE STAKEHOLDERS

HOW TO: CONVINCE STAKEHOLDERS
“The tipping point is when senior
management starts to get online and
engage personally. They start to see
their competitors online. They start to
see consumer brands and they connect
the dots: ‘Wow, if it’s working in that
industry, here is how we could apply
it to our industry.’
“Social media is no longer only geared toward the
younger demographic. We see more and more baby
boomers and seniors getting onboard with social,
and that baby boomer generation is typically in the
leadership role. They’re starting to see the true value
beyond just personal use and how it can really help
grow their business.”
—Amy McIlwain,
VP, Social Digital Strategy at Moore Communications Group
How can you convince top management that they need to get serious about social
media and an always-on strategy? Point to personal experience, competitor successes,
and consumer brand examples:
Show evidence that it works
“There have been several occasions where,
for one reason or another, content marketing
spend has gone dark. The decline in
awareness, consideration and engagement
correlated perfectly with the reduction in
spend.” – Lorin Suslow
As a marketer trying to convince top
management to support an always-on
strategy, the most important thing you can
do is demonstrate how it contributes to the
business objectives they care about. Connect
traffic and brand engagement to sales, and
you’re on your way. The shift to always-on
involves a fundamental change in the way
marketers relate to revenue.
LinkedIn success stories:
How HSBC, Citi, Zurich, and
others measure results on LinkedIn

“If you can show
management that relevant
clients and prospects
are ‘liking’, commenting,
forwarding and
downloading your
content, then its relevancy
becomes undeniable.”
Johan Hillebrand,
Head of Content Management, Robeco

“Instead of marketing
being a cost center
(spending money to
reach people), marketing
helps you accrue assets
(audience relationships,
email addresses,
customers). Always-on
helps you to build
audience rather than
simply reach audience.”
Shane Snow

PART SIX:
HOW TO:
SET YOUR COMPANY
UP FOR SUCCESS

HOW TO: SET YOUR COMPANY UP FOR SUCCESS
“Efforts to generate greater awareness
around a brand should be linked to
discovering and exploring parts of the
customer life cycle, not just to any particular
organizational fiefdoms such as PR or
advertising. This gives marketing leaders the
opportunity to erect teams to hit marketing
goals effectively according to customer
needs, not the traditional marketing
organization chart.”
—Ryan Skinner,
“Build the Case for Content Marketing on Efficiency,
Differentiation, and Granular Metrics,” Forrester
Research, October 8, 2014
Break down the walls
It’s important that everyone understand your
organization’s goals, guidelines, and top
priorities when it comes to social media. Clear
lines of communication and responsibility are
key, which may mean breaking down political
and organizational barriers.
The transition to an always-on strategy is ideally a collaborative exercise where everyone in
your company takes ownership.

Get everyone on the same page
After you’ve defined a clear organizational
structure, put everyone in a room together to
decide on priorities. Collaborative workshops
allow people to connect on a personal level,
giving them a sense of ownership in the
process and raising the liklihood of successful
program implementation.
Enlist legal as a strategic stakeholder
Your legal department is there to keep you
out of jail, but that doesn’t mean they need
to play the role of antagonist. “Embrace
legal as a vital part of the machine,” says
Kline. “Share ownership of your program
with them, and respect the role they play,
instead of fearing it.”
Suslow agrees. “Legal and compliance
play an important role in the crafting of
content,” she says. “We always brief them as
far in advance as possible in order to remain
compliant throughout the entire process of
content creation.”
Develop guidelines from the beginning,
rather than looping legal approvers in at
the end of content creation—and above
all, respect their time. “Usually, there aren’t
enough lawyers to approve content—this is
a function that everyone is learning,” says
Kline. She recommends setting up a recurring
meeting for approvals, “so it’s not a fire drill
every five minutes.”
“Content marketing is so much more
effective when all the channels interact
and build off of one another.”
—Lorin Suslow

“Through a combination
of technology, training,
and policy, we have
proven we can engage in
a productive dialogue with
regulators and develop an
effective working model
that empowers firms,
marketing teams, and
regulated employees
to successfully engage
and delight customers.”
Yasmin Zarabi,
Head of Compliance,
Hearsay Social

“If you get a good partner,
legal will help you figure
out how to create good
content that’s compelling
and that people want to
share versus advertising that
is totally vetted and, you
know, focus-grouped, and
figured out to the hilt.”
Anne-Marie Kline

“During my time at Citi
and GE, we shared our
marketing plan and
calendar with legal at
the beginning of each
quarter, and treated them
as a stakeholder in our
go-to-market plan. Their
contribution was essential
to our success.”
Jennifer Grazel,
Global Head of Category Development-Financial Services,
LinkedIn

PART SEVEN:
HOW TO:
SOURCE GREAT CONTENT

HOW TO: SOURCE GREAT CONTENT
“iShares recently launched an always-on
program called iThinking, to translate
market trends into actionable investment
ideas. My team takes this content and
creates thought leadership pieces on
the blog, to then be distributed
to the appropriate channels
and target audiences.”
—Lorin Suslow
Use “big-rock” content or events to produce
smaller, ongoing content pieces
No one has time to read a 20-page ebook
or watch a 30-minute webinar every day. But
from these cornerstone pieces of content
can come additional, more quickly digestible
nuggets of information.
Repurpose high-performance content
An article on time management that hits a
nerve with readers in January may be just as
relevant in July. Don’t be afraid to re-sponsor
high-performing old posts, or to try old
content on new audiences.
“If the content is performing, keep it going!”
–Ashley Helfrich, Account Manager, LinkedIn
The prospect of producing enough content to fill an always-on editorial calendar can be
daunting. Here are some strategies:

HOW TO: SOURCE GREAT CONTENT
Partner with brand journalists and publishers
Small and medium-sized business owners
follow financial brands on social media
largely to stay up on the latest financial
trends, according to a 2014 LinkedIn survey.
Partnering with publishers and news
services offering the skills of experienced
journalists brings credibility to your content
and gives you the ability to quickly respond
to market events.
Here are a few publishers and services that
our experts recommend:
• Contently
• NewsCred
• Skyword
• StoryFul
• The Wall Street Journal
Enlist your audience
Creating effective content starts with listening
to find out what your audience cares about,
but customer conversations, photos, or
videos can themselves make great content.
Whether you open up opportunities, such as
contests or surveys, or just amplify insightful
comments, audience participation posts can
engage customers on a whole new level.
Reach out to industry influencers
When you read a good article, see someone
posting great comments in a group, or listen
to an inspiring talk at an event, don’t hesitate
to reach out and say thanks. Over time, you
may be able to expand your communication
to the point where you feel comfortable
asking that person to contribute to your
content program. Just be strategic about
when and how you approach them.
Think about it from the perspective of
starting a relationship.
“Take their personal and professional lives into account.
Prioritize influencers who are the most likely to have time
available when you need them. For example, finance
executives are not likely to want to create content at the
end of fiscal year, and accountants are most likely out for
the count around April.”
—Caitlin Roberson,
VP West, Skyword

PART EIGHT:
HOW TO:
USE ALL YOUR PLAYERS

HOW TO: USE ALL YOUR PLAYERS
Senior financial leaders already have stature
in the industry, and may be quoted in the
news frequently. It makes sense to amplify
that voice through digital media. Build up
figureheads—thought leaders within the
organization that are always on, always
communicating and representing the brand
when they’re out in public.
Make social training part of the on-
boarding process
McIlwain recommends training employees in
social from the moment they come on board,
and not to make it only about legal dos and
don’ts. “Connect them with the social media
team,” she says. “Empower them with the
tools they need to best represent the brand
online. Coach them and show them the
positives of how they can help distribute
the message.”
Two top finance brand ambassadors on LinkedIn:
Mark Mobius,
Executive Chairman,
Templeton Emerging Markets Group,
Franklin Templeton Investments
linkedin.com/in/markmobius
Linda Descano,
Managing Director and Global Head of Content Social,
Citi
linkedin.com/in/lindadescano
Your most valuable source of content is likely the people who work for your organization.
From top management to product experts, committed employees make passionate and
believable brand ambassadors. Your job is to empower them and give them a platform for
communicating their expertise.

Training tips from the McIlwain playbook:
• Think carefully about your personal
brand. Include a personal element, but
stay focused. “For me, it is entrepreneur,
social connector, and traveler, so anything
I’m posting, I keep in mind, does it fit one
of those three buckets? If it doesn’t, I don’t
share it.”
• Keep public and private accounts
separate. “If you want a private Twitter
handle for personal use, don’t say
that you work at XYZ Company or
use your work email address.
Use a different headshot.”
Unleash the power of your sales team
In the offline world, there is no more powerful
group of brand ambassadors than your
salespeople, who represent your organization
day in and day out. Mobilizing them on social
media taps into the power of their individual
networks, aligns their daily conversations
with the brand, and is an easy and powerful
multiplier of ROI for brand initiatives.
At Allstate Insurance, for example, nearly
every brand initiative—from TV ads, sporting
event sponsorships, corporate philanthropy,
and the popular Mayhem character—gets
promoted by Allstate’s 5,000+ agents on
social media.

“In the social era, traditional
marketing, sales, product,
and customer service
functional silos must
give way to a cohesive
and customer-centric
experience. Sales and
marketing alignment
has never been
more important.”
Clara Shih

PART NINE:
HOW TO:
ENGINEER YOUR SUCCESS

HOW TO: ENGINEER YOUR SUCCESS
“Get serious about targeting.”
While helpful content is important, the first
and most essential question you should
always ask is not “how?” but “who?” In its
Social Marketing Update report for 2014,
eMarketer charges marketers to “get serious
about targeting,” if they want increased social
ad spending to result in satisfying results. Be
clear about who you’re trying to reach and
the kind of engagement you’d like to see
from them.
Create customer journey objectives
and measure against them.
Buyers today do their own research, often
reaching out to sales only after they’re 90%
sure they know what they want. On average,
they consume 10 pieces of content before
making a purchase—which means content
must deliver customer value and offer
measurable business performance at each
stage of the buying journey.
“The approach generally is that stories
lead to engagement (which you should
measure in terms of attention time),
engagement leads to relationships
(which you should measure in terms of
repeat attention and subscription to more
content), and relationships lead to ROI
(which you should measure in terms of
conversions and brand lift).”
—Shane Snow
“I use a variety of indicators to aid in the
content selection and amplification process.
Some involve organic metric performance,
and others include revisiting past high
performing pieces of evergreen content.
CTR and engagement rate combined with
impressions served tells me a lot about the
health and targeting accuracy of my always-
on programs.”
—Lorin Suslow
Measuring and optimizing an always-on marketing strategy is a complicated process worth
a more in-depth study. But here are a few key points:

HOW TO: ENGINEER YOUR SUCCESS
To begin measuring performance, divide
your buyer’s journey into stages and create
business objectives for each stage. Each
organization is different, and the stages and
objectives you work with should come as a
result of internal discussion and collaboration
with your senior management team.
Here’s how we think about it at LinkedIn:
Reach content objectives:
Brand awareness and user engagement
metrics: page views, shares, return visits,
and time spent
Nurture content objectives:
Sharing of contact information, unsolicited
return visits, event attendance, quality
generated leads, meetings scheduled
Acquire content objectives:
Purchase or renewal, customer evangelists,
empowerment of brand advocates,
deepening of customer relationships
“As always-on has evolved within our overall marketing
strategy, we realized measurement needed to be taken a step
further. Instead of focusing on impressions, clicks and traffic,
we are now focusing on metrics such as engagement rates,
views, likes, shares and comments. We realized it was critical
to define KPIs for each piece of content, as each piece of
content served a different purpose.”
—Monu Kalsi,
VP, Head of Digital Marketing,
Zurich North America

PART TEN:
CONCLUSION:
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
IN THIS TRANSITION

CONCLUSION: YOU’RE NOT
ALONE IN THIS TRANSITION
The transition to always-on marketing can be
messy—you may need to get comfortable with
disruption and risk. But the biggest risk of all is
that your company is left behind, unable to
compete with others more willing to confront
those challenges and lead their organizations—
and their industries—to a new, transformative
way of interacting with customers.
Remember that always-on marketing success
comes after engaging audiences consistently
over a period of time.
Be patient—consistency and responsiveness
may not happen quickly in your organization.
But when the right people begin to see the
logic behind your strategy, you’ll start to have
real impact.
The good news: You’re not alone. Thousands
of other financial marketers today recognize
that always-on strategies are essential to
career and business success.

You can mine their experiences and expertise
to help on your own journey. Start with this
checklist of always-on milestones, gleaned from
our interviews:
Define an always-on strategy for your
company.
Secure the support of top management.
Gather a broad spectrum of internal
partners, including legal, to agree
collaboratively on goals, guidelines, and
processes.
Establish clear lines of communication and
responsibility.
Enlist top management and other
committed employees as brand
ambassadors.
Make social training part of the employee
on-boarding process.
Identify target audiences and set clear
customer journey objectives.
Invest in high-quality content that supports
business objectives, along with the needs of
your audience.
Measure content performance against
customer journey objectives.
CONCLUSION: YOU’RE NOT ALONE IN THIS TRANSITION

PART ELEVEN:
15 CONTENT MARKETING
AND FINANCE EXPERTS
TO FOLLOW

15 CONTENT MARKETING AND
FINANCE EXPERTS TO FOLLOW
Paul Butcher
Head of Digital Communications, Citi
linkedin.com/in/paulbutcher1
@paulwbutcher
Ashley Helfrich
Account Manager, LinkedIn
linkedin.com/pub/ashley-helfrich/9/3a8/b08
Monu Kalsi
Vice President, Head of Digital Marketing,
Zurich North America
linkedin.com/in/kalsi
Jennifer Grazel
Global Head of Category Development-
Financial Services, LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/jennifergrazel
@jgrazel
Johan Hillebrand
Head of Content Management,
Robeco
nl.linkedin.com/pub/johan-
hillebrand/3/67a/973/en
@Johan3704
Anne-Marie Kline
Former SVP of Social Content, Digitas
linkedin.com/pub/anne-marie-
kline/1/2b8/620
@amkline

Ryan Skinner
Senior Analyst-Content Marketing,
Forrester Research
uk.linkedin.com/in/ryaneskinner
@rskin11
Clara Shih
CEO and founder, Hearsay Social
linkedin.com/in/clarashih
@clarashih
Shane Snow
Chief Creative Officer, Contently
linkedin.com/in/shanedsnow
@shanesnow
Caitlin Roberson
VP West, Skyword
linkedin.com/in/caitlinroberson
@caitlinmarketing
Amy McIlwain
VP, Social Digital Strategy at
Moore Communications Group
linkedin.com/in/amymcilwain
@amymcilwain
Lorin Suslow
Social Media Marketing Strategist, BlackRock
linkedin.com/pub/lorin-suslow/12/644/508
@LorinSus

Michael Weir
Senior Director, Digital Marketing, Pivotal
linkedin.com/in/michweir
@sparqlight
Yasmin Zarabi
VP, Legal Compliance, Hearsay Social
linkedin.com/in/yasminzarabi
@yasminzarabi

LINKEDIN MEMBERS NUMBER
313+ MILLION PROFESSIONALS.
That’s over one-half of the 600 million professionals
on the planet. This represents the largest group
anywhere of influential, affluent and educated
people—44% of whom engage with financial
institutions on social media, according to
our research.
Professional Publishing Platform
Our evolution into a professional publishing
platform drives increased engagement on
LinkedIn. Compared with other professional
publishers, content on LinkedIn works
differently. The rich data on our platform
means we can deliver the most relevant
content to our members.
For more about marketing on the LinkedIn
platform, download The Sophisticated
Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn, or
visit LinkedIn.com.

Shift to Always-On Social Strategy for Financial Firms

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