Data has become critical in financial services marketing, especially as it relates to content marketing, according to Ed Nini, head of ETF Marketing at Principal Global Investors.
With the rise of content marketing, data has allowed firms to better understand and better assess which message connects with a particular audience and the next steps to undertake. It has allowed them to produce more personalized content that translates into actual sales.
“Data has changed the game,” said Nini. “Data has allowed us to target better. It has allowed us to understand the effectiveness of our content and overall marketing activities.”
He added that it also leads to better leads and sales engagement and that it helps connect the dots between marketing and sales.
“Having data helps us understand what is truly relevant and is truly engaging to a particular target audience,” he said. “Without that data, you’re throwing darts at the wall to determine what content sticks with that person,” which makes it more challenging to understand the cause and effect of a sale.
On a more granular level, data has shown that videos, especially short videos, as well as podcasts, have had a tremendous impact and effectiveness on target audiences. “Videos and podcasts are gaining more prominence in marketing strategies and being used as tactics that move the needle for marketing plans,” he explained.
Nini predicts that going forward, the traditional intersection between marketing and sales in the B2B space will slowly disappear.
“Organizations will figure out a way for us to engage with a particular audience without human intervention,” he said. “It’s going to be a digital engagement, even digital capabilities, that we don’t realize today. Much different ways of delivering information.”
