This week / What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
This week
📰 Don’t be alarmed, dear reader, you haven’t dramatically overslept. I’m running two experiments this week:
I’m sending out the newsletter at six in the morning rather than the evening, so you can slot it wherever it fits best in your Sunday routine.
I’ll be LIVE on Twitter this evening to discuss anything you find interesting in this week’s issue. Please join my Twitter Space at 5:00pm London time.
📸 Flashback: At the beginning of May, we covered why fighting against something will help you stand out. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella agrees. This week, he used the Windows 11 launch event to position his company as the ‘anti-Apple’.
👉🏻 Now, read on to learn why…
① Every social media platform cedes power to rivals over time.
② It’s not clever to pump out the same content across networks.
③ You need a different approach for each channel.
④ Transaction banking isn’t sexy but it is reliably profitable - and catching on.
⑤ Robo advisers have had their day but the future for hybrid advice looks bright.
⑥ Every major social medium now has an audio product, just as interest wanes.
⑦ Your customer should be the hero of your marketing.
This week / What’s new? / Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
What’s new?
The FT’s Elaine Moore wrote an opinion piece pondering whether, as millennials reach middle-age, Instagram may be losing its money-making ability.
① In short:
“The millennials who made Instagram into a phenomenon are creeping towards middle age. Uploading selfies requires time and effort they no longer have to spare. It might even feel embarrassing.”
“Posts from friends are disappearing, replaced by brand campaigns. Influencers, a breed of online celebrity created to flog things to followers, have taken over the app.”
“Every social media platform cedes power to rivals over time. But for years, Instagram has defined the sector. Instagram must now hope that its user base is big enough to avoid MySpace-style irrelevance.”
This week | What’s new? / Why does it matter? / What’s next? | What else? | Quotable | One more thing
Why does it matter?
As much as I’d love to see Covid slay Instagram, I think it’s unlikely. The truth is that the Facebook-owned app will morph before Covid does and survive just fine. It’s done so before. Instagram isn’t what it was a year ago or a year before that. The nature of social media is to change because they’re all chasing eyeballs and have no purity of purpose or loyalty to their original design. So, Moore’s piece matters because it reminds us how quickly the social landscape moves and it should prompt us to think about what that means for our marketing efforts.
With audiences frequently migrating from one hot app to the next, with the focus and sometimes capabilities of those apps evolving weekly (see Media & Marketing below), it’s easy for marketers to conclude that they need to be spreading their message across as many media as possible if they’re going to be sure of reaching their audiences. I disagree.
② If the dynamic nature of social media teaches us anything it’s that focus and consistency are key. The apps will evolve over time but that’s why we should be clear about what we’re trying to achieve - who we’re trying to reach, how we’re going to do it and why - on each one. Contrary to what you might think from watching many large brands on social, there’s nothing clever about pumping out the same content on every social network.
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? / What’s next? / What else? | Quotable | One more thing
What’s next?
Take action
Check in with your marketing team this week. When it comes to social media, are they focused or chasing the crowd? You’ll never build a following if you spread yourself thin with the same content across multiple social media channels.
③ Have the courage of your convictions. Articulate your objectives, then choose a channel for each one. That means a different approach, sometimes different messaging and certainly different types of content for every channel. I can't tell you what’s best for your business without knowing more about it but here’s some advice I offered an investment firm recently:
Facebook: Relaxed and familiar, this is a place to reach private clients by sharing helpful financial planning and interesting lifestyle content.
Instagram: Focused on attractive visuals, this is an appropriate channel to appeal to employees - both present and future - by sharing behind the scenes looks at the brand and stories about what it’s like to work here.
Twitter: Perfect for growing awareness and building relationships with journalists, analysts and pundits. The key is to engage with them.
LinkedIn: The more buttoned-up, professional network, it can be used for reaching advisers, charities and institutional investors by demonstrating investment expertise and hinting at ideas they would benefit from.
YouTube: A great place to increase the reach of video content to all audiences.
Get help
I’m looking for a full-time, in-house role but in the post-Covid age of depleted marketing budgets and remote teams with skills gaps, many organisations need marketing and communications support that’s agile, flexible, and risk free. That’s why I founded WhatsNext Partners.
Whether it be as a permanent member of your team or with 'on demand' support, let me know if you need my help.
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This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? / What else? / Quotable | One more thing
What else?
Three other articles that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
Goldman opens UK transaction bank to offset trading volatility
④ Transaction banking isn’t sexy but it is reliably profitable. Shhhh…it’s catching on.
“Goldman Sachs will start offering transaction banking services in the UK this week, as it continues to expand in Britain as part of a drive to diversify beyond its dominant trading and advisory businesses.”
“Goldman says the transaction bank, which offers services such as cash management and treasury to businesses, has already won 250 clients and $35bn in deposits, putting it ahead of schedule on a five-year plan to attract $50bn of client money and win $1bn of new revenue.”
“In addition to retail banking, chief executive David Solomon has made it a priority to generate more stable and predictable revenues from commercial banking, to offset the volatility of the trading businesses.”
TECHNOLOGY
Advisers launch a tech revolution to tap the wider market
⑤ Robo advisers have had their day but the future for hybrid advice looks bright.
“British names including Charles Stanley, M&G Wealth and Tilney Smith & Williamson are jumping into the market with stripped down advice offerings delivered using a hybrid of online tools and personal consultations, often via video call.”
“The wealth industry has been criticised for decades over the ‘advice gap’ that leaves consumers with too little wealth unable to access financial advice. Only 8 per cent of UK adults take formal financial advice, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.”
“The crux of the challenge is to find the right points to put the human in and the right point to be digital. The more digital we can make it, the lower the cost for the customer,” says Richard Caldicott, deputy chief executive of M&G Wealth.
MEDIA & MARKETING
Facebook’s Clubhouse competitor is here
⑥ Every major social medium now has an audio product…just as interest wanes.
“Facebook’s Clubhouse competitor, Live Audio Rooms, is making its way stateside. The company announced today that some US-based public figures, as well as certain groups, can start hosting rooms through the main Facebook iOS app.”
“There’s no cap on the number of listeners allowed in — a major shot at Clubhouse, which imposes room size limitations.”
“Unlike Clubhouse, which drew in early listeners by giving them auditory access to Silicon Valley hot shots, Facebook is hoping to cast a broader net of influencers with Live Audio Rooms. Among the named public figures who will have access to the feature on launch will be musicians; media figures; and athletes.”
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? / Quotable / One more thing
Quotable
⑦ Anamika Gupta, Head of Customer Marketing, Fujitsu Americas speaking on an online panel organised by The Drum, to discuss the latest developments in B2B marketing and what marketers need to do to stay competitive:
“I’m a big movie fan and, in most movies, there is a hero with a problem, who then finds a mentor or guide to help them. The guide shows the hero how to develop their strength and go conquer the world. Sometimes in B2B marketing storytelling, we forget that our customer is the hero of the story and we are playing the part of the guide.”
This week | What’s new? | Why does it matter? | What’s next? | What else? | Quotable / One more thing
One more thing…
The UK's fintech scene has become much less London-centric over the last couple of years, with the likes of Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow developing into thriving hubs, according to a report from Findexable. Finextra has the details.
Off cuts
The stories that almost made this week’s newsletter:
🤕 Monday: Somewhat confusingly, Revolut sees profits soar as customer numbers nearly double in lockdown boost and yet losses at Revolut double to £207m as revenue growth slows, while Revolut boss expects digital bank to remain profitable
👩🏼💼 Monday: Waverton hires new marketing head from Schroders
💵 Tuesday: This little-known payments start-up is now Europe’s third-biggest fintech
👨🏻💻 Wednesday: Refinitiv launches platform for wealth management firms and their active trader customers
🤑 Wednesday: State Street plans crypto ETF back-office ‘land grab’
🙉 Wednesday: Why we shouldn’t listen to crypto ‘experts’
🤝 Thursday: Visa to acquire open banking platform Tink in €1.8bn deal
📈 Thursday: Vanguard steps up push into financial advice
🏈 Thursday: Does your fund manager have skin in the game?
💸 Friday: Value for money a priority for wealth managers’ clients
👀 Friday: Most wealth managers look the other way as clients bet on cryptos
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