Welcome to the latest episode of At the Forefront: Fintech Conversations!
To learn more and listen to our previous episodes, click here.
Earlier this month, Forefront’s digital team traveled up to Boston to attend HubSpot’s 2023 INBOUND conference. In this episode, Forefront Managing Partner Eric Soderberg sits down with AVP and Head of Digital Amanda Perrucci to discuss some of the team’s key findings, including valuable insights on LinkedIn ads, event marketing emails and delivering customer experience via social media.
Amanda and Eric begin with a discussion on LinkedIn ads, which various speakers at INBOUND identified as the single best way to reach a B2B audience on social media. However, it’s a common misconception that using this tool results in quick, easy wins. According to Amanda, LinkedIn ad agency B2Linked recommends a $5-8k monthly investment in LinkedIn Ads over at least 3-6 months of running campaigns to reach optimal results.
Additionally, Amanda shares information about a new LinkedIn ad format B2B firms can leverage: Thought Leader Ads. This format is highly recommended, as it harnesses the networking reach of your top executives to drive brand awareness and engagement (for more information on recommended LinkedIn ad formats and objectives, check out Amanda’s recent blog post).
Next, Amanda and Eric discuss key findings on effective event marketing. Amanda relays tips on how to increase email open rates and event show-up rates, including two surprising tidbits. First, although it might start to seem unnecessary or redundant to email multiple times about the same event, it’s been proven that more is almost always better when it comes to getting results. Second, unsubscribes can actually be seen as a positive response: if nothing else, they are a form of engagement, as irrelevant contacts are pruning themselves from your list of warm, qualified leads who are more likely to convert.
Lastly, Eric and Amanda discuss how to create a positive customer experience on social media. While B2B fintechs are often hesitant to engage on social, using it solely for brand awareness, there are plenty of opportunities for these firms to insert themselves into important industry conversations. Amanda explains the difference between social monitoring (checking and responding to your mentions and comments) and social listening (proactively scanning for opportunities to provide commentary or simply plug your firm). Whether executed through technology or organic keyword searches, social listening can get your firm in front of users who were previously unfamiliar with your offering. Amanda wraps up the conversation with some insights on the updated LinkedIn algorithm and advice on activating your full team to engage with your social posts.
See below for a breakdown of what was discussed. Happy listening!
Timestamps:
1:00 – Tell us what you learned about LinkedIn Ads at the INBOUND conference.
2:55 – You mentioned a $5-8k monthly spend for LinkedIn Ads. This may be outside the budget of some smaller firms. Is this type of program worth pursuing without that level of spend?
3:30 – What were some of your main takeaways on email marketing for events?
4:42 – What were some of your main takeaways on social media and customer experience?
6:25 – What did you learn about the latest updates to the LinkedIn algorithm?
7:14 – How important is it to get your team to engage with your company’s social posts? Which forms of engagement drive maximum impact?
