How to do digital marketing of fintech apps
Mobile banking is on the rise. Indeed fintech was escalating much before the pandemic drove everyone online. There’s been a surge in online payments, receipts, investments, loans, and other financial transactions, and with this surge has come to an outcrop of fintech apps that compete with one another in cyberspace.
Although standing out and making your app in this environment is challenging, it can be done with the right marketing strategy.
What the numbers say
About 64% of digital users on the internet – use fintech today, and the number is likely to grow, says Ernst & Young’s Global fintech Adoption Index 2019. The report goes on to say that the usage has doubled over the past couple of years. If that’s not proof enough, Adjust and Apptopia support this claim in their Mobile Finance Report (2020), saying that all countries have experienced an increase in the use of mobile banking and payment apps. Payment sessions grew by almost 50%, while the overall increase was recorded at 26%.
That’s irrefutable proof that if you are in the fintech business, you are in for some tough competition. Time to pull up your socks and craft some great marketing strategies. Here’s how:
Mobile First
The fundamental notion or goal of fintech is to make financial transactions easier. And it’s a fantastic idea. Consider having your bank in your back pocket, ready to be accessed whenever you need or desire. A consumer may not always carry cash or cards, but he is more than likely to have his mobile device. So, fintech is inherently mobile-first, and that is the approach you should adopt too, which does not mean merely making your app mobile-friendly.
You should begin designing your app and website, focusing primarily on mobile usage and adapting it for laptop or computer usage. Google CEO Schmidt got it right when he said, “the answer should always be mobile-first. You should always put your best team and your best app on your mobile app.” And Apple adopted this wisdom keeping its mobile app design simplistic. The one-column design minimises content yet lets the user know what the company can do for him.
In the fintech space, leaders like Paytm and Navi have gone beyond the mobile-first approach and enforced mobile app downloads if you want to transact. You can only access Navi’s website on your desktop. You’ll need the mobile app for transactions. Paytm does allow transactions in their web version, but only if you have the app.
Informing vs Selling
“More than 50% of revenue across 14 major industries is generated by social sales,” says Smallbizgenius. In an environment where half the people you encounter are trying to sell something, someone who tells you why you should buy their product and how to use it is more than welcome. The more information that delves deeper into the industry, presenting use instances and scenarios, the better.
Navi, for instance, educates its consumers not just about loans but also about other aspects of the BFSI industry through its YouTube channel. Conversely, PayTm focuses its videos primarily on the use of the app. Zerodha, an online trading platform, offers its viewers free courses in finance under its varsity vertical. Making education an integral part of your digital marketing strategy attracts even those who may not otherwise be interested and helps spread the word about your business.
Video Marketing
The Groww trading app has a huge YouTube presence. They’ve segregated their video content into 52 different playlists, and they have close to 1.5M subscribers. That’s the power of video marketing. The millennial audience looks for explainer videos when they are uncertain or confused, says Wyzowl. And YouTube is not the only channel for video marketing. There are several others like Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. You just need to choose the channel best suited to your campaign and the consumer you want to target.
Influencer Marketing
Some brands have millions of followers on social media while others struggle. Some may flourish on one channel and fall flat on another. If you truly want to have a strong digital footprint, you should have a presence across channels. Influencers are the answer to this challenge.
There are many celebrities and influencers with millions of followers ready for you to tap into. Many fintech companies are now roping in influencers ranging from celebrities to YouTubers and Facebook users who are celebrities in their own right to raise awareness and boost sales.
CRED – the app that helps you pay your credit card bills collaborated with famous sports persons and Bollywood celebrities like Rahul Dravid, Karishma Kapoor, Anu Kapoor, and Deepika Padukone to create videos, thus increasing their followers. Groww played smarter by collaborating with finance YouTubers like Basic Gyan and B Wealthy not only to help promote their app and generate awareness but also to educate their users. Such collaborations can work wonders for your brand.
Get Socially Aggressive
No violence! That’s not what we are advocating. But you must aggressively create and expand your social media presence. It’s hard to manage multiple social media channels, so perhaps you should invest some time and effort in identifying 2 or 3 channels where you can find your target audience that works best for your brand.
You can then deep dive into these channels to understand how best you can leverage them to your advantage. Each social media platform has several tools that you can use to generate brand awareness, drive conversations, and increase sales. The techniques and tools you use will influence how you can leverage the platform. If you find all that overwhelming, there’s always the option of outsourcing all or part of your digital marketing activities to a branding and marketing agency.
Build Relationships
Another important part of any marketing effort is to build a relationship with your consumer. Traditionally this was the realm of salespersons on the shop floor. Today it’s the responsibility of the marketing manager or strategist, the entire marketing department, and even the CMO. One way to build relationships is to start a conversation through a social media channel and then gently lead your consumer to a personalised messaging platform that lets him share his views and concerns unhindered.
There’s a lot to be gained by such personalisation. Little things like reminding your users to pay their bills and sharing news bites that are likely to affect them directly will touch the heart of your consumers and humanise the otherwise robotic app.
Make your app a household name
From Colgate to Xerox and Fridge; there are quite a few examples of brand names replacing product names or vice versa. The point is if your app becomes a word of common parlance and finds a place in everyone’s vocabulary, you’re set. You’ve cracked the awareness strategy. PayTM, for instance, came up with the perfect tagline Paytm Karo – which replaced the term UPI payment in India. This strategy is hard to create and harder to execute, and you’ll only see results in the long term. But if you can do it, you’ll reap huge benefits.
Wrapping up
If you are the CFO, CEO, or CXO of a fintech company, this data probably has you concerned about the stiff competition your company is likely to face. To ease your concern, Litmus Branding, your digital marketing agency in India, brings you some tips that you can incorporate into your digital marketing strategy to stand out and drive sales.
No matter what you are aiming for, we hope these strategies will help you expand your reach and strengthen your customer base. Litmus Branding your digital marketing agency in Ahmedabad, India, is here to help you. All you need to do is call or write to us.
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