Dave Landry Jr. as our guest blogger; provide some important insights as to how Financial Services need to utilise Direct Marketing.

While trends are always changing and evolving in the digital marketing world, financial companies have been somewhat slow to jumping on the digital bandwagon. There are many rules and regulations regarding how financial companies can and can’t communicate with their customers and investors. However, many financial firms have been able to get pretty creative with their digital marketing strategies.

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Not long ago, the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) began changing regulations and lifting their restrictions on how the financial industry can communicate with their public online. This will open the internet doors for the financial industry to have a much bigger, and long awaited, presence online. This movement has already begun:

• With over a third of Americans using mobile apps to do their banking, the popularity of these hand-held devices are changing the way people are doing business.
• Retailers and other consumer goods companies are acquiring over 70% of their customers on social media, compared to just 33% of banking and financial institutions reaching new clientele.
• Financial brands are planning on increasing their marketing budgets by 59% for mobile, 58% on social media, online videos by 57% and allocating only 8% for display ads.

These are just a few reasons why new communications technology will have a much bigger impact on the financial industry heading into 2015 and beyond. They will be looking to the internet and their websites for new leads and clientele.

ON THE SOCIAL SCENE

More financial services are engaging with social media platforms since it has become such an integral part of everyday life. They are recognizing the fact that a negative comment or complaint has the ability of going viral and reaching millions of people in a very short amount of time, sometimes even overnight.

On the brighter side, financial giant Bank of America has almost two million “likes” on Facebook and is doing an excellent job with their visual content and stories. They are supporting our troops, engaging with families, showcasing charities and our community.

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GO MOBILE OR GO HOME

With the overwhelming popularity of handheld devices, financial institutions need to take heed of this growing trend. Many industry leaders in the banking business are already allowing their customers the ability of capturing an image of a check and depositing it into their account via their smartphone.

Mobile usage and the number their apps being downloaded is skyrocketing into the billions. At the Apple store alone, the number of these tools being accessed rose from 40 billion in January of 2013 to over 80 billion in October of 2014. A mobile marketing strategy and the use of apps are a must in today’s handheld world.

SHARING IS CARING

Whether you are texting on your smartphone or posting on any of the hundreds of social media sites, it is all about sharing. Social platforms are an excellent place to increase engagement with your customers. You can showcase your business, post autobiographies, and educate consumers about important financial decisions. Contests, sweepstakes, polls, and giveaways also encourage customers to engage with businesses and share their content with friends

Don’t get left in the dark, or more appropriately turn a deaf ear, to the important field of communications in our age of information. You can be seen and heard in a variety of ways that will benefit you and your business.

Dave Landry Jr. is an online business writer, tech enthusiast, and entrepreneur. In addition to covering business marketing, his writing also covers start-up tips, business technology and communications, the impact of globalization and social media marketing. Follow him on Twitter today!